Every year the members of our tasting panel blind-taste hundreds of cigars. At the end of the year we take time to look back and compare the best of the cigars once again. The Top 25 are our absolute favourites from the 2014 tastings.
How Many Leaves Go Into Making One Cigar?
The answer isn’t as straight-forward as you might think. Of course, it’s obvious that the amount of tobacco used will vary considerably from Vitola to Vitola, and that it will also be influenced by the density of the roll. It can be said that the wrapper and the binder each use one half of a tobacco leaf.
A Cigar with Ranald Macdonald – There’s Something Churchillian about him.
At the time of the smoking ban, most venues opted to close their cigar bars, empty their humidors and quietly forget about the centuries of history that made London the cigar capital of the world outside Havana. Not Ranald Macdonald.
Rick Rodriguez: From Cigar Salesman to Master Blender
The ambassador of General Cigar for CAO and a cigar master was not born in a tobacco field. His relationship with cigars started late, and he had to train for many years to become what he is today. We met him in Dortmund.
Powerful: Highland Park Dark Origins
The new bottling has produced an extraordinary character. The nose is determined by peat, sherry, fried bananas with honey and black chocolate, the aromas are powerful in the taste. The Family Blend The Lineage by Alec Bradley comes into its own perfectly in this combination.
30 Years of Gestocigars
Gestocigars, located in Geneva, Switzerland is celebrating its 30th anniversary in 2015. A good op portunity to have a look behind the scenes of the Swiss importer company, which has repeatedly garnered attention due to its excellent price-performance ratio.
For the Afternoon: Marzadro Espressioni Teroldego
An extraordinary example of barrel-matured grappa. The fruity sweetness, merging with the bitter almond and mild woody tones on the tongue, is the ideal starting point for a distinguished encounter. A Primeros Nicaragua Maduro by Davidoff, with its texture of spicy toast boosts the liquid interaction between fruity sweetness and woody aromas.
Global Players in the Cigar World – A View on Recent Market Activity
During the last few years, however, there seems to be movement in the branch. Manufacturers are now increasingly entering the new markets. Nevertheless, increasingly more manufacturers are aiming to create globally strong brands. How the world market will look in the future is still hard to predict. The spirit of adventure has been drawn out, however, and the mood is good.
One Day in the Life of Rafael Barrera
La Flor Dominicana opened its factory in Tamboril in 1996. Torcedor Rafael is now 38 years old and has worked at La Flor Dominicana for 16 years, almost from the start. All in all, he's happy with his choice of workplace and with his career. The intimate cigar world that is Tamboril exposes itself once more.
Xikar: The American Dream from the Garage
Who is the best partner for a cigar smoker? There are several: The cutter, the auger and the lighter. They should be practical; good design is preferable, and the cutter should cut like a knife through butter. Xikar offers all this to perfection, while behind the name there is a typical American entrepreneur story.
Ediciónes Limitadas – Innovation Born of Necessity
It all began in 2000 when Habanos S.A. introduced the line Ediciónes Limitadas that represented one of the very first ideas for special, limited-production cigars. For the first five years, Limited Editions were only found in five brands: Cohiba, Montecristo, Romeo y Julieta, Partagás and Hoyo de Monterrey. By now, until 2014, there have been forty-eight Limited Editions in total.
5th Gothenburg Cigar Festival
In August this year, around 200 people attended the 5th Gothenburg Cigar Festival on the island of Hisingen. Beside the presentations, the area outside the nightclub invited people to simply hang out, smoke cigars and meet up with like-minded people.
