Holy Smokes: The Top Nine Cigars of 2016

This was from a young box made in early 2016. On opening the box, I was surprised to see a resplendent box of cigars, with dark oily wrappers and the new hologrammed Cohiba bands. The wrappers were much darker than the standard Cohiba wrappers. The lancero is one of the forgotten sizes as the trend for larger ring gauge cigars continues.

This is one of the few sizes from the Mille series that I had yet to smoke. Until then I believed that the Chateau Haut Brion was the strongest Cuban Davidoff.  For both, size is certainly deceptive. It is the more discerning cigar smoker I think that would take the time (and expense) to enjoy one of these fabulous discontinued cigars. 

I managed to source a box of these from a collector. In October, I had to make a trip to Vienna for a friend's birthday and to meet some local cigar smokers (Reinhold Widmayer, the owner of Cigar Journal, Milagro Morales and Markus Mayr). The aromas that came from the packet were mouth-watering. I passed the box around for everyone to nose and they all complemented the box. The heady tobacco aromas of aged tobacco was encapsulating. You should have seen their surprise when I gave each of them one to try. Sharing a cigar experience with friends is one of the reasons I love cigars so much.

This is one of the stand out presentations of any Cuban cigar in the past few years. The stunning gold and black outer box opens up to reveal the Bushido in all it’s 109 vitola beauty. A cigar release with a great story linking Japan and Cuba. I was lucky enough to meet Norio Hattori (Marketing Director for the Pacific Cigar Company) in Cuba and Dortmund recently and found out that he was responsible for the packaging and name for the release. A definite must-have in any cigar collector’s humidor. I tried this last in Hong Kong with James Wu at his Kinlonz 1492 member’s club. Nothing disappoints me with this cigar. It’s well made and is smoking like a dream. Slightly milder than the standard Diplomáticos flavour but a good medium with a smooth latte like flavour. I’m a big fan of the 109 vitola and this really was a top smoke in a memorable location.

I read a lot about this brand which was founded by two NYC Police Officers, Juan Cancel and Bill Ives. Small production makes it hard to find but I found it in Hoboken Cigars, Hoboken, New Jersey.  Run by the ever smiling and jovial Don Donato, and certainly worth the hunt. Made in Nicaragua, they have great construction, dark smooth wrapper leaf, rich medium bodied smoke, spice and chocolatey notes. 

This is one of the newest releases from the Boutique Blend Company, headed up by Rafael Nodal.  I smoked this recently in Brisbane, Australia and it featured in a previous TheRake.com article. Three different wrappers, one blend. A novel concept with tobacco aged using a Solera type tobacco ageing method. The Solera Fantastico was a really stand out cigar, not just due to the balance and flavour of the cigar but also the spectacular construction which gave me near perfect pyramiding on the ash.  

I discovered this brand when I visited New York and went to The Cigar Room in Fort Lee, just over the George Washington Bridge with my good friend Sonia Smith. The Cigar Room lounge was big and airy. Their walk-in humidor is not huge but full of goodies. I met William and Carlos, the owners of the company in their new shop and lounge. Both gentlemen are very knowledgeable on New World and Cuban cigars. This is the only Reserva in their range. All the tobacco has been aged for a minimum of 6 years. A beautiful Ecuadorian wrapper dresses a filler that is Dominican with 45% piloto Cuban ligero.  What you get is a big stick for your buck that weighs in at around medium, medium full. There's a good degree of complexity with strong flavours of leather and earth, and hints of cinnamon. It's a tasty cigar if you can find it! 

Riste Rivetski is the man behind the brand and he's made it his mission to develop blends and vitolas he likes; if you like it too then that's all fine and dandy.  Of Macedonian heritage, Riste makes sure you know about it. Jas Sum Kral means “I am king”. I met Riste through Facebook and have followed the growth of his brand with interest. Made in Nicaragua, Riste has a good medium full blend with a nice amount of spice. It’s not too overpowering as a pure Nicaraguan can be. I believe it’s an Ecuadorian wrapper, half Mexican San Andres and half Jalapa seco binder leaf, the filler is a secret. The dark oily smooth wrapper is topped off with a very tightly wound pig tail cap and has a closed foot. Riste dispenses of a cutter and just uses his teeth to bite off the pig tail, it comes off perfectly and leaves a near perfect cap hole – he’s so rock ‘n’ roll!  The range is Lancero, Lonsdale, Toro and Robusto. 

I was very sceptical about this cigar and with a price tag of $500 (that's more expensive than a Cohiba Siglo VI Gran Reserva), I didn't believe that any New World cigar was worth this.  This project is down to Eladio Diaz who is Davidoff's primary blender. The Oro Blanco (which translates to 'white gold') was created after Diaz was watching what must have been a spectacular sunset in the north west of the Dominican Republic.  "In my moment, I was inspired to craft a unique tobacco blend that would represent my sincere gratitude for Mother Nature and the beautiful moment I experienced in that place... a moment so rare." The tobacco has been aged for twelve years, from a batch of 2000-2001 tobacco which was apparently exceptional.  Each cigar is presented in a large wooden box with a metal plate which can be engraved. Launched in 2014.   I can honestly say that this cigar exceeded my expectations and delivered an amazing smoking experience.  Whilst retaining the luxurious feel and texture of Davidoff's, it was somehow completely different. The packaging and presentation is everything you expect from Davidoff, however, the flavour is not. This was a cigar which smoked and developed like a Cuban. The first time I've ever tasted a New World cigar that had the classic three stage story like a Cuban. The Davidoff Oro Blanco is simply outstanding and in a class of its own.  It's a shame you have to spend twenty times the normal price of a cigar to get a sublime experience.  Probably the only time I will ever smoke that cigar.