From the thousands of nominations of outstanding cigars, accessories and lounges that were sent to us this year, our readers selected the best via online voting. In September, the winners of the public votes were announced and the Cigar Trophy Awards were thus awarded for the sixteenth time since 1998. Not all of the nomination categories made it through to the voting period. Due to the lack of nominations, this year, no prizes were awarded for the countries of origin Brazil, Costa Rica, Mexico and Europe.
In total, 15 categories were voted on. Four awards were not decided by the public but by a jury. These included the Ambassador prize, which went to the Cigar Authority, the Charity & Community award for charitable projects (Plasencia Cigars), as well as the award for Lifetime Achievement, which was given to Manuel Quesada.
Cuba
Partagás Serie D NO. 5
The renowned Partagás Serie D No. 5 was voted Cuba’s best cigar for the third time (its short Robusto won the competition in 2013 and 2009). This cigar is considered one of Partagás’ best-loved formats.
Dominican Republic
La Flor Dominicana La Nox
La Flor Dominicana’s La Nox (Toro) was voted best Dominican cigar. Tony Gomez, son of founder Litto, is personally responsible for La Nox’s blend, which was originally available in just one format. It was launched in July 2015 and was joined this year (2016) by an additional vitola, the Petite.
Honduras
Alec Bradley Sanctum Robusto
The Best Cigar Honduras 2016 comes from the house of Alec Bradley. Its Sanctum line Robusto, rolled at Plasencia, beat out the other candidates on the shortlist. Created by Ralph Montero, the blend features tobaccos from Honduras, Costa Rica, Colombia and Nicaragua, and was introduced for the first time in 2014.
Nicaragua
Padrón 1964 Anniversary Series Maduro
Padrón’s 1964 Anniversary Series Exclusivo Maduro joins the ranks of 1964 series cigars that have received a Cigar Trophy in the Best Cigar Nicaragua category. The Exclusivo format with its Maduro wrapper made Cigar Journal’s Top 3 back in 2012 and is considered one of the Nicaraguan producer’s classics.
This article was published in the Cigar Journal Winter Edition 2016. Read more
