Cigar Journal’s Top 25: Cigar of the Year 2017

Each year, our panelists smoke hundreds of cigars in blind tastings so that in our tasting notes we can give you the most objective impressions possible of our smoking experience. For the Top 25 list published at year’s end – that is, the cigars that particularly stood out for us – we asked numerous panelists to pick their personal favorites from the tastings of 2017.

Only the cigars that received a combined score of 91 or more, and those that were initially released less than two years ago were eligible for selection.

#1 | My Father The Judge Grand Robusto

José Pepin Garcia – respectfully called Don Pepin – is a name known to friends of the cigar all over the world. And rightly so. Born in 1950, he left his homeland of Cuba in 2002 to go first to the United States (from 2003), and then to try his luck in Nicaragua – with resounding success. In 2009, he started his company My Father Cigars in Estelí, Nicaragua, and opened an impressive factory. Together with his son, Jaime, and daughter, Janny Garcia, he creates cigars that are regularly showered with awards. My Father The Judge Grand Robusto was released at the end of 2016.

Tasting notes: This cigar starts off slightly salty, with interesting woody and almond tones. It is unbelievably smooth, nutty, delicately acidic, and develops subtle notes of anise, coffee and bread in the very creamy smoke texture.

Owner: My Father Cigars S.A.
Factory: My Father Cigars S.A.
Origin: Nicaragua
Wrapper: Ecuador Sumatra
Binder: Nicaragua Corojo & Criollo
Filler: Nicaragua
Size: 5 x 60 | 127 x 23,8 mm
Released: 2016