2022 By The Numbers
It’s a tough job, but somebody’s got to do it,” is the tongue-in-cheek reaction we often get to the revelation that to compile our ratings we taste upwards of 600 cigars during the course of a year. While we do enjoy the task, once a year we strive to bring you even more data about the cigar market—the hard way—through math.
Crunching the numbers from six issues of Cigar Aficionado and 24 issues of Cigar Insider, our twice monthly newsletter, never fails to provide a comprehensive look at what countries produce the highest-quality smokes and which sizes and shapes have scored the best. It can also be a helpful guide on where to get the most bang for your buck.
The good news is that the percentage of highly-rated cigars continues to grow alongside the swelling number of imports. The bad news for consumers is that prices have increased markedly, especially for Cuban cigars.
Cigar choices are growing at a clip rivaled only during the “cigar boom” of the 1990s. The surge witnessed in 2021, with 456 million units imported, seems to have held. By August 2022 imports had already reached 307 million (the last numbers available). Of that number, Nicaragua took the lead at 167 million cigars shipped to the U.S., with the Dominican Republic and Honduras at 84.6 million and 54.4 million, respectively, according to data from the Cigar Association of America.
The bulk of cigars we rate come from the biggest importers to the United States, informally known as The Big Four: Nicaragua, the Dominican Republic, Honduras and Cuba.
Cuba maintains its hold on the top scores with Nicaragua just behind. The Dominican Republic has overtaken Honduras after trailing for a number of years.
Out of the 628 cigars smoked last year, 272 cigars (43.3 percent) earned scores of 90 points or higher, a considerable achievement given the increased production, and slightly more than the previous year. The upper stratum of 93 points (or higher) was reached by 46 cigars, some of which found their way into the Top 25 cigar list of 2022 (Note: this analysis does not include scores from our Top 25 list, which is a retasting of the year’s highest-scoring cigars). In that high-scoring group, 31 scored 93 points, 12 scored 94 points, and two cigars achieved the rare distinction of 95 points, which is considered Classic on our 100-point scale. Only one cigar reached the astounding height of 96 points.
The majority of cigars that scored 93 points or more hailed from Cuba with a total of 18. Nicaragua was close behind with 14. The Dominican Republic had nine cigars in this category and Honduras had four. A single entry came from the United States.
At 272 cigars, Nicaragua provided the most smokes to our tastings and also broke 90 points more times than any other country at 124 cigars (or 45.6 percent) with an average score of 89.26. However, Cuban cigars, which were rated 82 times, included 62 scores of 90 points or more for 75.6 percent. This was quite an uptick. Cuba’s percentage of 90-point scores rose by almost 10 percent from 2021 and nearly 20 percent from 2020. Cuba was also the top-scoring country for 2022 with its total of 82 ratings averaging 90.83 points.
Of the three cigars that scored 95 points or more—our Classic status— two were Cuban. The first was the H. Upmann No. 2 (96 points), a figurado that went on to become the No. 1 Cigar of 2022, and the other was the Romeo y Julieta Churchill (95 points).
Handmade Cuban cigars overall have never been considered wallet-friendly, but starting partway through 2022 prices rose significantly, particularly for the Cohiba and Trinidad brands, with some reaching prices of $100 or more. In part, this was a result of supply and demand. But prices were also adjusted across the globe to level the playing field. While countries such as Spain had sold Cuban cigars for considerably less than other markets, those prices were raised to put them on an even level with the Hong Kong standard. The most expensive cigar tasted was the Cohiba 55 Aniversario Edición Limitada 2021 at a whopping £377.50, or $467per cigar. As the increases went into effect throughout the year, simply averaging the prices paid by Cigar Aficionado throughout 2022 does not accurately reflect current prices because, depending on the country, the prices of half the Cubans rated by Cigar Aficionado increased before the year ended. The average price for Cubans last year was $45.97 or £37.28, but the same cigars today would cost much more.
While Nicaragua did not provide any cigars that achieved a Classic rating last year, it still proved quite formidable with a total of 14 smokes that scored between 93 and 94 points, Outstanding on our 100 point-scale. Mainstays of the industry such as Padrón, Altadis, Rocky Patel and more appeared on the list, sometimes multiple times. Established brands such as Padrón’s 1964 Anniversary and Serie 1926 lines (both 94 points) or My Father’s core and Le Bijou 1922 lines (94 and 93 points, respectively) performed alongside newer releases such as A.J. Fernandez’s New World Dorado Robusto (94 points, $11) or Foundation Cigar Co.’s Olmec Claro Corona Gorda and Robusto (93 points, $12.50 and $13.50). Some were quite pricey such as the double-tapered Padrón Serie 1926 80 Years (94 points) at $33.80 each. But with an average price of $11.55 for Nicaragua, there were also high-quality smokes that could be found for a low-price tag at any size. Examples include the corona-sized Gilberto Oliva Reserva 5.75x43 ($5.60) and the significantly larger Nat Cicco Casino Real Churchill ($6.19), which both scored 91 points.
From the Dominican Republic came 173 cigars with an average score of 88.76. Of that number, 55 (31.8 percent) earned 90 points or more. One of the highest scores of the whole year came from the Dominican Republic. The E.P. Carrillo Encore Majestic was a 95-pointer produced at the Tabacalera La Alianza factory and former Cigar of the Year for 2018. From the same factory came the Cuba Aliados by E.P. Carrillo Torpedo, a limited-edition smoke that was made by Perez-Carrillo under contract for Oliva Cigar Co. In 2021, Oliva purchased the sleepy Honduran Cuba Aliados brand and it has certainly gained some new life as this particular vitola earned an impressive 94 points.
As one of the largest producers of cigars in the world, the Dominican Republic is home to many of the most recognizable names in the industry including brands made by General Cigar Co., Davidoff and Arturo Fuente. It is also home to many smaller boutique brands. With an average price of $13.80, cigars could be found for any budget. A total of six Dominican smokes rated last year carried a retail price of $30 or more: the Davidoff Aniversario Double <<R>> ($37.70, 89 points); Fuente Fuente OpusX PerfecXion A ($32.30, 94 points); Davidoff 2022 Limited Edition Gran Toro ($32, 89 points); Paul Garmirian 15th Anniversary Celebration ($30.50, 86 points); and the Debonaire Maduro 33rd Degree (88 points) and Freud Cigars Limited Edition Agape Robusto Extra (90 points), both of which cost $30. On the other end of the spectrum, four cigars earned ratings of 90 points or higher with retail prices of $7.29 or less: the La Gloria Cubana Classic Glorias ($7.29, 92 points), the No. 24 cigar of 2022; La Galera Habano Half Corona ($6.05, 92 points); and both the Rosado and Maduro versions of the El Trovador Corona (90 and 91 points, $6.89) from PDR Cigars.
Eighty-three of the cigars we rated last year came from Honduras with an average score of 88.65. Only 23 of those earned 90 points or higher, which at 27.7 percent makes it the lowest percentage source of 90 pointers out of the Big Four. A quartet of impressive smokes topped the list at 93 points, one of which, the Alec Bradley Black Market Churchill ($10.25), became the No. 6 Cigar of 2022. While that cigar is constructed in Honduras, the only Honduran tobacco is found in the filler. The remaining three high scores, however, were Honduran puros: the imposing Aladino Patton ($20); the Camacho Corojo Figurado made by Davidoff ($9.80); and the Eiroa PCA 2021 50x5 ($16), a robusto from CLE Cigar Co. made for those who attended the 2021 PCA trade show.
Honduras also proved to be the most affordable out of the Big Four with an overall average price of $10.81. Premium cigars at bargain prices could be found from smaller smokes like the Rocky Patel Vintage 1990 Juniors (92 points) which are priced at $4.15 each and come in tins of five, to the Sancho Panza Extra Fuerte Robusto (91 points) for $7.49. Then again, rather pricey smokes can be found from Honduras: the Illusione Epernay Le Voyage, a massive “A” size ($28.80) and the Oscar Valladares 10th Anniversary Salomon ($23) a long and tapering figurado which is made with a candela leaf over the foot in marked contrast to its dark wrapper.
Handmade premium cigars produced in the United States are not a common sight in today’s market, as the cost of both labor and importing tobacco are restrictive compared with other countries.
In 2022, Cigar Aficionado managed to find 12 American-made cigars to smoke in our blind taste-tests. Half of them scored 90 points or higher, making the U.S. the highest-scoring country by average (89.58 points) second only to Cuba. The U.S. is also the second-most expensive country with an average price of $16.12. The top performer was the La Palina Goldie Laguito No. 2 (93 points, $23). Topped with a flagtail cap, this panetela-sized cigar is rolled in Miami at the El Titan de Bronze factory and went on to become the No. 15 Cigar of 2022. The cheapest American-made cigar found in last year’s ratings was the Don Pepin Garcia Original Delicias, a Churchill made at the El Rey de los Habanos factory in Miami. It retails for $9.55 and earned 88 points.
In addition, we rated four cigars from Costa Rica and one apiece from Mexico and the Bahamas. With such small sample sizes, statistical analysis here would carry little meaning.
Cigars come in all sorts of shapes and sizes, which can sometimes impact the performance. Our staff at Cigar Aficionado has a set of specific parameters that place the countless combinations of measurements into 11 distinct categories. Cigars that don’t quite fit under any category are consolidated into a 12th category we call miscellaneous.
After analysis, it was found that all categories averaged within two points of one another, with the “A” size as the top performer. Measuring 8 1/2 inches or longer and with a ring gauge of 47 or higher, this is a size that has become something of a rarity in today’s cigar market as a large portion of time has to be dedicated to smoking an “A.” In fact, due to scarcity, 2022 was the first year since 2014 that an issue of Cigar Aficionado even had the behemoths grace its pages. The results speak for themselves with the 12 “A” cigars rated in 2022 earning the highest average score at an even 90 points. The standout was the PerfecXion A from Arturo Fuente’s much-lauded but elusive Fuente Fuente OpusX brand (94 points). Six others scored 90 points or more.
When put in a lineup, figurados are easily the most visually distinctive category as they are made with either a tapered body or pointy head (or both). Some feel that the conical shape of the head tends to noticeably concentrate the flavors, which may be true, as figurados were the second-highest performing size at an average score of 89.71 with a total of 98 cigars rated, 58 of which scored 90 points or higher.
After that, thinner ring gauges took the lead with panetelas and petit coronas each achieving nearly matching average scores of 89.53 and 89.47 points, respectively, with identical sample sizes of 17 cigars tasted. Then came the miscellaneous category. Most were shorter than a typical robusto or grande, with a few similar to Churchills, toros or petit coronas. All 37 of these disparately sized cigars averaged 89.41.
The two most popular sizes, robustos and toros, had the largest sample sizes in this past year with 106 and 141 cigars rated, respectively. They scored within a fraction of a point of each other with averages of 89.40 for robustos and 89.26 for toros. Only 20 coronas were tested by Cigar Aficionado and they were not far behind with an average score of 89.05.
Longer sizes like Churchills (83 rated, 88.94 average), lonsdales (17 rated, 88.82 average) and double coronas (12 rated, 88.67 average) came next. These three are becoming less and less common in favor of shorter, thicker grandes (also known as gordos). Once considered something of a novelty, grandes can range from 60, 70 or even a whopping 80 ring gauge, and have become a mainstay in the industry. In previous years, retailers have attributed the size’s popularity to the perception of value—consumers tend to think they’re getting more for their money with bigger ring gauges. In 2022 there were 68 grandes rated and at 88.49 it was the lowest average-scoring size but still scored roughly half a point from the other three aforementioned sizes.
The days of global lockdown seem to be behind us, but the aftereffects can still be felt in the increased demand. Many of the logistics and supply chain problems that were faced by cigarmakers are starting to settle and the industry continues to appear robust. With increased production and rising inflation, one would think that quality might inevitably suffer, but that does not seem to be the case as a wide assortment of quality cigars were found from every country in all shapes and sizes, no matter the budget. As we wait to see what is to come next, all we can do is live every day one puff at a time.
