Top 5 of 2021
It's that time again, a new year, time to look back on the year that was 2021 and give you a rundown of my picks for the top 5 cigars smoked!
In the number 5 spot we have the Perdomo 20th Anniversary Maduro.
This stick scored a solid 93 points on review with 10/10 marks for Construction, Burn, Draw & Flavour.
Brand: Perdomo
Size: Robusto
Origin: Nicaragua
Wrapper: Nicaragua Habano
Binder: Cuban-seed Nicaragua
Filler: Cuban-seed Nicaragua
The PERDOMO 20th Anniversary Maduro has decadent 8-year old Cuban-seed Nicaraguan Maduro wrappers that are bourbon barrel-aged for an additional 14 months to ensure the rich, sweet flavors pair perfectly with the higher-priming Cuban-seed Nicaraguan binder and filler blend that offers a balance of semi-sweet notes of chocolate and espresso on the finish
4th place is none other than the Eiroa 'the First 20 Years' by CLE.
This little but impressive stick took away 94 points with an overall comment of
"This might have just taken the top spot in my go-to micro stogies list (topping the Petite Tatuaje Reserva Broadleaf) I for one am very excited to see what CLE produce over the next few years. I know they aren't really a 'new' cigar company as such, but they are new to market and this cigar shows us that they are holding nothing back."
The Eiroa family purchased Camacho cigars in 1995, giving Christian Eiroa his start in the industry. Under the family’s guidance, Camacho cigars became a juggernaut and became world famous for their stout and potent lineup of cigars. Now with his new brand CLE cigars, formed after Camacho was sold to Davidoff, Christian is celebrating his 2 decades in the cigar industry with a special release, Eiroa the First 20 Years.
Now in the number 3 spot is a cigar that wasn't officially reviewed by us, but I did get to smoke a good number of them this year and they stuck in my mind so they have earned a spot in the top 5.
"The Drew Estate Undercrown 10 offers smokers an experience of Mexican hot chocolate, naturally sweet with hints of raisin and cacao, waves of intense black pepper, along with notes of sun-dried cherries, espresso, woodiness and earthiness,” said Pedro Gomez, factory ambassador for Drew Estate.
This is a must try cigar for any DE or Liga fan, and while it's not their best cigar by a long shot, it is a solid release from them and one of the better 'new' cigar blends they have done in recent years IMO.
With a huge 95 points in review, the Alma Fuerte - Sixto II Hexagon by Plasencia was never not making this list. I even said at the time "This is one of the best cigars I have smoked in a fair while. I'll be surprised if this doesn't end up on my top 5 list this Christmas."
The Sixto II is a blend of Jalapa, Condega, Esteli and Ometepe producing flavours of cocoa and black pepper, wood and earth as well as dark cinnamon and fruit.
For a long while this cigar was sitting in the top spot only just slipping in November to the second position!
In the number one spot for 2021 we have the DT&T U-Boat. This sees Steve Saka take the number 1 spot for 4 of the past 8 years, each with a different cigar, which is damn impressive!
The U-Boat scored a 96 points, among the highest ever rated cigars we have reviewed.
Brand: DT&T
Size: 7x50
Wrapper: Habano 2000 sun grown
Binder: Jalapa, Nicaraguan
Filler: Dominican Republic, Nicaragua & Connecticut broadleaf
Steve says this about the stick "Raul [Disla] made the U blend that we use for Unstolen Valor. The U Boat is my tweaking of that blend. It is my taking his work and saying I think it will be better if we did this with it instead of that with it. That’s essentially what U Boat is, but at the heart of it is still Raul’s work with me just nibbling on the edges.
I feel that the Unstolen Valor is a very pepper centric cigar. It starts off as a soft pepper, and then it builds in spice as you smoke it. While I feel it is an enjoyable cigar, I don’t feel it is one of the more complex cigars. I feel that by softening some of the notes it lets some of the other flavours come out. That’s what the U Boat is. It is taming it back a little."
Now for a special mention.
This cigar missed out on a top 5 slot this year, but did take away 91 points on review.
Honestly, It isn't even the best stick in it's line in my opinion, however it earned a special mention as one of the most unique sticks to be released in 2021 (and not only in 2021 to be fair...)
The Stillwell Star Aromatic No.1 is a new release from DT&T that blends cigar tobacco with pipe tobacco.
This is an interesting smoke for sure. It is unlike any cigar I have ever tried and I'm damn excited to try the others.
To me, it is noticeable that its pipe tobacco, it has all the characteristics of pipe tobacco and that seems a little weird at times, but it works, its tasty and intriguing.
If anything tho, I will say that it almost seems like you're not smoking a cigar.. it feels like something else, obv its not a pipe either.. its new and its exciting and is 100% a must try.
So there you have it! my top 5 for 2021. Did I miss something? What are you picks?
