As we've done here at Smokingpipes since 2019, it's time to celebrate our favorite cigars from this past year. It's a completely subjective list, admittedly, but one that's pure. It's free from advertising dollars, devoid of industry bias, and unadulterated by blatant brown nosing.

The format is simple. We compiled a list of our favorite cigars smoked throughout 2023 — not confined to those released this year, simply those that we most enjoyed over the past 12 months. We each smoked every cigar on the list and rated them individually based on the following attributes:

• Construction: the quality of the roll, draw, and burn consistency
• Flavor: how enjoyable the flavor profile is overall*
• Presentation: the overall aesthetic appeal of the packaging, band, and branding
• Value: the ratio of overall quality to price
• *In the case of equal scores, the Flavor ranking acted as tie-breaker.

This year's participants featured Shane Ireland, Vice President of Retail and Director of Smokingpipes; Steve Mawby, Customer Service Manager; Alan Britt, Customer Service Supervisor; Tyler Caldwell, Customer Service Representative; James Shores, Cigar Specialist; and myself. We've all enjoyed cigars as well as pipe tobaccos for years, and while this top-cigar list represents our own personal preferences, we're confident that you'll enjoy many of them too:

• 20. Crowned Heads: La Vereda No. 50
• 19. Dunbarton: Red Meat Lovers Beef Stick
• 18. Espinosa: 601 La Bomba Napalm
• 17. Crowned Heads: Las Calaveras 2023 LC50
• 16. Aladino: Sumatra Toro PCA 2023
• 15. RoMa Craft: Intemperance Volstead 1920 George Remus
• 14. Liga Privada: H99 Papas Fritas
• 13. Foundation: Metapa Claro Corona Gorda
• 12. Stolen Throne: Yorktown Fleet Box-Pressed
• 11. Warped: The Devil's Hands
• 10. Cavalier: Tres Delincuentes Habano Robusto
• 9. Joya de Nicaragua: Clasico Original Churchill
• 8. Rojas: Breakfast Tacos Sumatra
• 7. Room101: Johnny Tobacconaut Toro
• 6. Tatuaje: Skinny Monsters Frank
• 5. El Septimo: Michelangelo
• 4. Wildfire: The Wanderer Robusto
• 3. Aladino: Smokingpipes Candela Queens Perfecto
• 2. Caldwell: Long Live the Queen Queen's Sword
• 1. Dapper: HolySmoke Genesis

Top 20 Cigars

20. Crowned Heads: La Vereda No. 50

A cigar over a year in the making, the La Vereda is Crowned Heads' latest and most premium offering. Three-year-aged Nicaraguan and Dominican tobaccos comprise the filler blend encased within a Nicaraguan binder and a four-year-aged Nicaraguan Shade Grown wrapper from Jalapa. Moreover, only seven pairs of rollers were selected to make the La Vereda at Enersto Perez-Carrillo's La Alianza factory, working at only 60% of their normal speed to ensure the utmost attention to detail and quality of construction. Defined by smooth, creamy, and nutty notes with a hint of spice and earth, the La Vereda by Crowned Heads starts off our list and should also be bookmarked as a cigar worth aging.

• Score: 7.54
• Price: $18.40
• Length: 5.38"
• Ring Gauge: 50
• Country: Nicaragua
• Wrapper Type: Shadegrown
• Wrapper Country: Nicaragua
• Filler Country: Dominican Republic, Nicaragua
• Binder Country: Nicaragua

19. Dunbarton: Red Meat Lovers Beef Stick

Though the Red Meat Lovers from Dunbarton Tobacco & Trust is not technically a new cigar, it was a store exclusive since 2019 for Smoke Inn in collaboration with the Red Meat Lover's Club, a Florida-based organization dedicated to the celebration of its namesake cuisine. Dunbarton would release the cigar for the club's annual dinner, but in 2023, it became a regular-production, nationally available blend. According to Dunbarton, the Red Meat Lovers "was created intentionally to be smoked after enjoying a heavy meal of steak or prime rib," and it boasts the rich, bold, and spicy flavor profile you'd expect from a cigar meant for smoking after such a robust meal. A Connecticut Broadleaf Maduro wrapper encases a Mexican San Andrés Negro binder, with fillers from Nicaragua and the United States.

• Score: 7.54
• Price: $15.45
• Length: 6"
• Ring Gauge: 48
• Country: Nicaragua
• Wrapper Type: Connecticut Broadleaf
• Wrapper Country: United States
• Filler Country: Nicaragua, United States
• Binder Country: Mexico

18. Espinosa: 601 La Bomba Napalm

The 601 line is Espinosa's flagship series, and the La Bomba variation is the most full-bodied of the lineup and the most novel regarding construction. Befitting the name, each 601 La Bomba cigar features a fine tobacco "fuse" extending from the cap — an aspect that assisted the 601 La Bomba's Presentation score in our ratings. It's a Nicaraguan puro with an Habano wrapper, rolled at Espinosa's La Zona factory in Estelí, and while strong and bold, it doesn't lack in nuance and refinement, impressing with floral, tea-like notes and hints of spice and graham cracker.

• Score: 7.83
• Price: $10.94
• Length: 5"
• Ring Gauge: 52
• Country: Nicaragua
• Wrapper Type: Habano
• Wrapper Country: Nicaragua
• Filler Country: Nicaragua
• Binder Country: Nicaragua

17. Crowned Heads: Las Calaveras 2023 LC50

A yearly, always-anticipated release from Crowned Heads, the Las Calaveras series welcomed its ninth iteration this year. Like the Day of the Dead festival its name is inspired by, the line honors people close to Crowned Heads who have passed away, with each annual edition marked by a different blend and color palette. The 2023 version is distinguished by a yellow-orange band and a Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper, with Nicaraguan binder and fillers. Like every Las Calaveras release, it's rolled at the My Father factory in Nicaragua, and this year's edition offers a delightful flavor profile of chocolate sweetness, dark fruits, and complementing spice.

• Score: 7.88
• Price: $12.95
• Length: 5"
• Ring Gauge: 50
• Country: Nicaragua
• Wrapper Type: Connecticut Broadleaf
• Wrapper Country: United States
• Filler Country: Nicaragua
• Binder Country: Nicaragua

16. Aladino: Sumatra Toro PCA 2023

A family project between Julio Eiroa and his son Justo, Aladino personifies the quality and nuance of Honduran tobacco. From seed to cigar, the Eiroas manage all aspects of production, and their farms boast some of the industry's most interesting innovations. Aladino's Cameroon line was the first to feature Cameroon-seed tobacco grown in Honduras, and with the Sumatra Toro PCA 2023, that model extends to Sumatra seeds. Though enveloped in a Sumatra wrapper, the Sumatra PCA 2023 cigar is a Honduran puro, delighting with flavors of pepper, chocolate, malt, and leather. Among only the few limited-edition cigars on our list, try it now before it's gone for good.

• Score: 7.88
• Price: $16.00
• Length: 6"
• Ring Gauge: 52
• Country: Honduras
• Wrapper Type: Sumatra
• Wrapper Country: Honduras
• Filler Country: Honduras
• Binder Country: Honduras

15. RoMa Craft: Intemperance Volstead 1920 George Remus

The Volstead 1920 variation extended RoMa Craft's iconic Intemperance series earlier this year. Named after the law that established alcohol prohibition in the United States, the Volstead 1920 line follows a similar "wet" theme as the Intemperance Whiskey Rebellion 1794 but with different components: It maintains the same Nicaraguan and Dominican fillers as the entire Intemperance line but with an Ecuadorian Sumatra wrapper and Mexican San Andrés binder, offering a rich profile of spice, earth, cedar, and malt chocolate.

• Score: 7.96
• Price: $9.00
• Length: 5"
• Ring Gauge: 56
• Country: Nicaragua
• Wrapper Type: Sumatra
• Wrapper Country: Ecuador
• Filler Country: Dominican Republic, Nicaragua
• Binder Country: Mexico

14. Liga Privada: H99 Papas Fritas

Liga Privada is a special project by Drew Estate that focuses on small-batch releases featuring rare and unique tobaccos — with limited quantities not feasible for regular production These are some of the tabacalera's most distinctive, sought-after, and premium blends, representing the best of Drew Estate's reputation. Within Liga Privada, the Papas Fritas line is unique and special unto itself: Both a series and a 4.5" x 44 size, Papas Fritas cigars feature the "leftovers" of Liga Privada's famed blends. These are no second-rate cigars, however, comprising top-grade Broadleaf and Grade A1 tobaccos that were too short to fit into larger vitolas. In the case of the H99 version, these premium fillers are encased in a Mexican San Andrés binder and a distinctive Corojo-seed wrapper grown in Connecticut. The H99 Papas Fritas is among the best cigars when balancing construction, flavor, and price, ranking highest in the Value category out of all the others on our list.

• Score: 8.04
• Price: $7.50
• Length: 4.5"
• Ring Gauge: 44
• Country: Nicaragua
• Wrapper Type: Corojo
• Wrapper Country: United States
• Filler Country: Honduras, Nicaragua, United States
• Binder Country: Mexico

13. Foundation: Metapa Claro Corona Gorda

Many of Foundation's cigar series pay homage to Latin America's rich culture and history, and the brand's latest release, Metapa, follows that signature Foundation convention, honoring Nicaraguan poet Rubén Darío. Sharing the name of Darío's hometown, the word metapa derives from an indigenous term for agave plants, which often appeared in Darío's poetry. As a cigar, the Metapa features an Ecuadorian Sumatra wrapper in Claro and Maduro options, with a Nicaraguan-grown Connecticut Broadleaf binder and Nicaraguan filler tobaccos from Estelí and Jalapa. It delights with a balanced and approachable flavor profile of warming spices, coffee, and a subtle sweetness.

• Score: 8.08
• Price: $14.50
• Length: 5.5"
• Ring Gauge: 48
• Country: Nicaragua
• Wrapper Type: Sumatra
• Wrapper Country: Ecuador
• Filler Country: Nicaragua
• Binder Country: Nicaragua

12. Stolen Throne: Yorktown Fleet Box-Pressed Torpedo

Another new blend for 2023, Stolen Throne's Yorktown Fleet celebrates the brand's new headquarters in Yorktown, Virginia, as well as the Battle of Yorktown, which sealed the United States' victory in the War of Independence with help from the French Navy. As a cigar, the Yorktown Fleet showcases an Ecuadorian Sumatra wrapper with Nicaraguan binder and fillers — the latter featuring ligero from the Condega region never before used by Stolen Throne. Personally, this is among my favorite Sumatra-wrapped cigars to date, offering a complex mix of espresso, chocolate, hazelnut, and slight leather notes.

• Score: 8.17
• Price: $9.90
• Length: 6"
• Ring Gauge: 50
• Country: Nicaragua
• Wrapper Type: Sumatra Maduro
• Wrapper Country: Ecuador
• Filler Country: Nicaragua
• Binder Country: Nicaragua

11. Warped: The Devil's Hands

Warped is the only brand to feature in every one of our top-cigars lists since we started in 2019; The Devil's Hands maintains that laudable record. Rolled at Aganorsa Leaf's TABSA factory and exclusively composed of their Nicaraguan leaf, Warped's The Devil's Hands is an enticing Nicaraguan puro presented in a single 6" x 44 vitola. The binder and fillers highlight leaf from Estelí — a Criollo '98 binder, along with Criollo '98 and Corojo '99 fillers — with the Shadegrown Corojo '99 wrapper cultivated from Jalapa. In line with Warped founder Kyle Gellis's signature blending style, The Devil's Hands is complex, nuanced, and supremely balanced and consistent, expressing smooth and creamy notes with touches of graham cracker and spice.

• Score: 8.21
• Price: $11.00
• Length: 6"
• Ring Gauge: 44
• Country: Nicaragua
• Wrapper Type: Shadegrown Corojo
• Wrapper Country: Nicaragua
• Filler Country: Nicaragua
• Binder Country: Nicaragua

Top 10 Cigars

10. Cavalier: Tres Delincuentes Habano Robusto

In Spanish, tres delincuentes translates to "three delinquents," and Cavalier's series draws inspiration from the 1996 song of the same name by the California hip-hop group Delinquent Habits. Cavalier's executives, Sébastien and Eylin Decoppet and Sales Director Brian Motola, heard the song on the radio one day when commuting back to the factory from the tobacco fields in Jamastran, Honduras, and they immediately started working on the Tres Delincuentes line. Available across three different wrappers, each version corresponds to one of Cavalier's three "delinquents," united by the same Ecuadorian Habano binder and fillers from Honduras, Nicaragua, and the Dominican Republic. This Habano variation represents Eylin, and it's incredibly satisfying, punching high above its price with a smooth, creamy, medium-bodied profile — a perfect everyday, all-day smoke.

• Score: 8.30
• Price: $6.95
• Length: 5"
• Ring Gauge: 50
• Country: Nicaragua
• Wrapper Type: Habano
• Wrapper Country: Honduras
• Filler Country: Dominican Republic, Honduras, Nicaragua
• Binder Country: Ecuador

9. Joya de Nicaragua: Clasico Original Churchill

Joya de Nicaragua's Clásico Original isn't a new cigar, but it hasn't been readily available for the past 15 years. In 2023, though, Joya re-released the storied blend in commemoration of the brand's 55th anniversary. It features the same Ecuadorian Connecticut Shade wrapper as Joya's iconic Número Uno line but with a different blend of Nicaraguan fillers and binder. An historic cigar, the Clásico Original holds a prestigious pedigree: It was the official cigar of the Nixon White House and the first Nicaraguan puro exported from Nicaragua. Living up to all accolades, the Clásico Original is a top-tier cigar, delighting with the butter, oatmeal cookie, and cream notes we all expect and love from Connecticut Shade wrappers.

• Score: 8.42
• Price: $8.56
• Length: 6.88"
• Ring Gauge: 48
• Country: Nicaragua
• Wrapper Type: Connecticut
• Wrapper Country: Ecuador
• Filler Country: Nicaragua
• Binder Country: Nicaragua

8. Rojas: Breakfast Tacos Sumatra

Following the Street Tacos series, Rojas Breakfast Tacos line debuted this year with the same Hispanic cuisine-inspired branding and a killer flavor profile across all three of its wrapper versions: Ecuadorian Connecticut, Ecuadorian Sumatra, and Mexican San Andrés Maduro. While the Street Tacos lines are available in multiple vitolas, the Breakfast Tacos series is united by a single, 4.5" x 46 Petite Perfecto vitola — meant as the perfect short smoke to start the day. They share the same Nicaraguan fillers and binder, rolled at Noel Rojas's factory in Estelí, with this Sumatra variation offering a unique flavor profile marked by umami notes, hints of soy sauce, and a touch of earth.

• Score: 8.46
• Price: $6.00
• Length: 4.5"
• Ring Gauge: 46
• Country: Nicaragua
• Wrapper Type: Sumatra
• Wrapper Country: Ecuador
• Filler Country: Nicaragua
• Binder Country: Nicaragua

7. Room101: Johnny Tobacconaut Toro

When Matt Booth debuted the Johnny Tobacconaut in 2015, it was a limited-edition line and only the second Nicaraguan puro in Room101's portfolio. In 2023, though, it returned as a regular-production series with the same intergalactic branding but in a new blend: an Ecuadorian Connecticut wrapper over a Mexican binder and Nicaraguan fillers. It's a staple Connecticut-wrapped cigar, replete with ample complexity and consistent balance.

• Score: 8.5
• Price: $9.99
• Length: 6"
• Ring Gauge: 52
• Country: Nicaragua
• Wrapper Type: Connecticut
• Wrapper Country: Ecuador
• Filler Country: Nicaragua
• Binder Country: Mexico

6. Tatuaje: Skinny Monsters Frank

Few cigar series are as storied as Tatuaje's Monster line. Originally a Halloween limited edition inspired by various horror characters, the series has since expanded to numerous offshoots, with the Skinny Monsters comprising Lancero versions of the original Monster series. The Frank — named for Mary Shelley's iconic novel — showcases a Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper with Nicaraguan binder and fillers. It's a cigar alive with notes of leather, aged cedar, and roasted nuts, always satisfying and forever reliable, and it also ranked highest in the Construction category.

• Score: 8.5
• Price: $9.00
• Length: 6"
• Ring Gauge: 38
• Country: Nicaragua
• Wrapper Type: Connecticut Broadleaf
• Wrapper Country: United States
• Filler Country: Nicaragua
• Binder Country: Nicaragua

Top 5 Cigars

5. El Septimo: Michelangelo

El Septimo is among the industry's most clandestine brands, crafting some of the most prestigious and luxurious cigars in the world but keeping many of their components a secret. Thanks to their proprietary farms in Costa Rica's nutrient-rich soil and their intimate precision-farming methods, El Septimo manages all steps of cigar production and cultivates premium tobacco free of pesticides or chemicals. Their cigars are hand-rolled at the brand's own factory and aged between five and 15 years, comprising a minimum of three long-filler types for captivatingly complex flavor profiles. As part of El Septimo's Sacred Arts Collection, the Michelangelo is one of seven cigars named for historic painters. It's a 5.5" x 50 Perfecto, aged for 10 years and offering a flavor profile of spice, leather, and coffee.

• Score: 8.54
• Price: $16.00
• Length: 5.5"
• Ring Gauge: 50
• Country: Costa Rica
• Wrapper Type: Undisclosed
• Wrapper Country: Undisclosed
• Filler Country: Undisclosed
• Binder Country: Undisclosed

4. Wildfire: The Wanderer Robusto

Established by Jeremy McDonald in 2021, Wildfire Cigars is the youngest brand on our list this year, but his experience with cigars surpasses a decade as the former National Sales Manager for Caldwell Cigar Company. McDonald expresses his expertise through Wildfire, acting as the brand's "camp counselor" and leaning into the company's fun, laid-back, summer-camp aesthetic. With a clear core ethos, Wildfire and McDonald encourage cigar smokers to live life to the fullest and create shared memories with fellow enthusiasts. One of Wildfire's core, regular-production lines, The Wanderer showcases an Ecuadorian Sumatra wrapper over a Nicaraguan Habano binder and a unique filler blend of Pennsylvania Broadleaf, Dominican Piloto, and tobaccos from Paraguay and Jalapa, Nicaragua. Compex and distinctive, it satisfies with pepper, cream, chocolate sweetness, and herbal notes.

• Score: 8.67
• Price: $10.50
• Length: 5.25"
• Ring Gauge: 50
• Country: Sumatra
• Wrapper Type: Nicaragua
• Wrapper Country: Ecuador
• Filler Country: Dominican Republic, Nicaragua
• Binder Country: Nicaragua

3. Aladino: Smokingpipes Candela Queens Perfecto

Aladino has featured at least one cigar on our end-of-the-year list since 2020, and this year's entry marks Aladino's highest rating and a cigar that's personally special to Smokingpipes. Earlier this year, Aladino introduced the Candela Robusto — a Honduran puro distinguished by a gorgeous Candela wrapper. We enjoyed the blend so much that we collaborated with the Eiroas to release a special, limited-edition Queen's Perfecto vitola, exclusive to Smokingpipes. It was no surprise that it ranked in the top three. No one crafts Candela cigars better than Julio Eiroa: He was the largest Candela grower in the '80s and '90s, when Candela enjoyed its peak popularity. The Candela Queen's Perfecto honors his legacy and expertise with this special leaf, characterized by distinctive notes of hay, grass, sugar, and cream.

• Score: 8.75
• Price: $8.00
• Length: 5.25"
• Ring Gauge: 46
• Country: Honduras
• Wrapper Type: Candela
• Wrapper Country: Honduras
• Filler Country: Honduras
• Binder Country: Honduras

2. Caldwell: Long Live the Queen Queen's Sword

Introduced this year, Long Live the Queen is Caldwell's latest regular-production series, riffing off of the brand's iconic Long Live the Queen line. While the Long Live the King features a Corojo wrapper and binder from the Dominican Republic with fillers from Nicaragua, Peru, and the Dominican Republic, the Long Live the Queen highlights a complex, four-country blend: a Cameroonian wrapper, a Sumatran binder, and fillers from Nicaragua and the Dominican Republic. A stunning cigar from construction to branding, the Long Live the Queen Queen's Sword is a perfect Lancero distinguished by a signature Caldwell flavor profile: incredibly smooth and nuanced with herbal and floral notes, subtle cream, and slight spice. It's only fitting that it ranked highest in our ratings' Flavor category.

• Score: 9.00
• Price: $14.50
• Length: 7.00"
• Ring Gauge: 38
• Country: Dominican Republic
• Wrapper Type: Cameroon
• Wrapper Country: Cameroon
• Filler Country: Dominican Republic, Nicaragua
• Binder Country: Indonesia

Smokingpipes Top Cigar of 2023

1. Dapper: HolySmoke Genesis

In our Top Cigars of 2020 list, Dapper ranked number one with the La Madrina Corona Gorda. This year, Ian Reith and Dapper return for the crown thanks to the HolySmoke Genesis. The box and branding immediately arrest with a bright color palette and stunning, biblical iconography — a reference to the cigar's collaboration with the Holy Smokes club, a Bible-study cigar group in Colorado. A single, 6.5" x 52 Figurado, the HolySmoke Genesis is a lesson in ticking all the boxes: The artwork is eye-catching and memorable; the flavor profile is sublime; and the construction is flawless — an impressive feat especially in this vitola but no surprise having been rolled at Raul Disla's NACSA factory. The Mexican San Andrés wrapper presents with dark notes of chocolate and malt, and the Nicaraguan binder and fillers support with notes of spice and underlying boldness. Consistently flavorful from first light to final third, Dapper's HolySmoke Genesis is a captivating cigar that's full of complexity, intrigue, and satisfaction. Congrats to Dapper and Reith on being the first to repeat at number one.

• Score: 9.21
• Price: $16.99
• Length: 6.5"
• Ring Gauge: 52
• Country: Nicaragua
• Wrapper Type: San Andres
• Wrapper Country: Mexico
• Filler Country: Nicaragua
• Binder Country: Nicaragua

Category Finalists:

• Construction: Tatuaje: Skinny Monsters Frank
• Flavor: Caldwell: Long Live the Queen Queen's Sword
• Presentation: Dapper: HolySmoke Genesis
• Value: Liga Privada: H99 Papas Fritas

Thank you to all of these brands for another great year of cigars! Hopefully, our compilation introduces you to some new cigars and encourages you to start 2024 with an excellent smoke. What were some of your favorite cigars of this year? Share your thoughts in the comments below!