Since 2004, leading cigar publication Cigar Aficionado has been announcing its annual top 25 cigars of the year. In the first year of its top 25 list, Cigar Aficionado awarded manufacturer Padrón with the honor of being number one. For 2021, the publication has once again awarded Padrón with its top honor — its fourth time at the top of the list — courtesy of its 1964 Anniversary Series Torpedo.
The box-pressed cigar is a full-bodied Nicaraguan cigar, which Cigar Aficionado explains as starting with “a woody, nutty core that gradually becomes more complex.” The 1964 Anniversary Series first came out in 1994 in celebration of the company’s 30th anniversary. Founder José Orlando Padrón hoped to create a cigar that reminded him of those he used to enjoy in Cuba. The resulting cigars were box-pressed, and while the company didn’t invent the technique, the 1964 Anniversary Series helped to popularize box-pressed cigars, with other brands following suit.
To compose the list of top 25 cigars, the experts at Cigar Aficionado reevaluate its highest-rated cigars of the year — those with a score of 91 or higher — and subject them to further blind tastings. The entire list of top 25 cigars is currently live on Cigar Aficionado‘s website, where you can watch the editors discuss this year’s winners, as well as check out archives of the top 25 awards.
The cigar starts at $18, but with the news of this top prize, it’s likely that single smokes and boxes of the cigar will be going quick.