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.
Toscano Originale
In the category of Best Medium Filler, this year for the first time cigars were honored that are not entirely manufactured using whole tobacco leaves. Despite prominent competition, including cigars from Cuba, in the end, the Toscano Originale decisively came out on top. Produced in Italy, the cult cigar is hand-rolled from Kentucky tobaccos.
This article was published in the Cigar Journal Winter Edition 2016. Read more
