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2023 Cigar of the Year Countdown (Coop’s List) #11: Mi Querida Black SakaKhan by Dunbarton Tobacco & Trust

The #11 2023 Cigar of the Year is the Mi Querida Black SakaKhan by Dunbarton Tobacco & Trust. At the 2022 Premium Cigar Association Trade Show, Dunbarton Tobacco & Trust would launch its third line under its Mi Querida brand, the Mi Querida Black. The cigar was initially released in one size called SakaKhan, which was a nickname given to Dunbarton Tobacco & Trust founder Steve Saka during his days in the Navy. The Mi Querida Black SakaKhan wasn’t exactly a new cigar. It had been released at the end of 2021 as a part of JR Cigar’s 50th-anniversary series when it was simply called the Dunbarton Tobacco & Trust Limited Edition EM Maduro.

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2023 Cigar of the Year Countdown (Coop’s List) #12: Aging Room Quattro Nicaragua Sonata Vibrato (Audio)

The #12 2023 Cigar of the Year is the Aging Room Quattro Nicaragua Sonata Vibrato.

While it’s distributed by Altadis U.S.A., Aging Room is a brand owned by Altadis’ Director of Product Capability, Rafael Nodal. Aging Room, and particularly the original Aging Room Quattro line, has seen tremendous success. In 2019, the Aging Room Quattro Nicaragua garnered critical acclaim, including a Top 20 Cigar on Cigar Coop and a Cigar of the Year from Cigar Aficionado. This past year, Nodal introduced a new line, an offshoot of the Quattro Nicaragua line known as the Aging Room Quattro Nicaragua Sonata. Like many Aging Room Cigars, the Aging Room Quattro Nicaragua Sonata is inspired by Nodal’s love of music. A Sonata is a classic music composition for an instrumental soloist, often accompanied by piano. After the success of the original Aging Room Nicaragua Quattro, Nodal decided he wanted to compose his own interpretation of a sonata, but in the form of a cigar.

Full Details: https://wp.me/p6h1n1-rc6

2023 Cigar of the Year Countdown (Coop’s List) #12: Aging Room Quattro Nicaragua Sonata Vibrato

The #12 2023 Cigar of the Year is the Aging Room Quattro Nicaragua Sonata Vibrato.

While it’s distributed by Altadis U.S.A., Aging Room is a brand owned by Altadis’ Director of Product Capability, Rafael Nodal. Aging Room, and particularly the original Aging Room Quattro line, has seen tremendous success. In 2019, the Aging Room Quattro Nicaragua garnered critical acclaim, including a Top 20 Cigar on Cigar Coop and a Cigar of the Year from Cigar Aficionado. This past year, Nodal introduced a new line, an offshoot of the Quattro Nicaragua line known as the Aging Room Quattro Nicaragua Sonata. Like many Aging Room Cigars, the Aging Room Quattro Nicaragua Sonata is inspired by Nodal’s love of music. A Sonata is a classic music composition for an instrumental soloist, often accompanied by piano. After the success of the original Aging Room Nicaragua Quattro, Nodal decided he wanted to compose his own interpretation of a sonata, but in the form of a cigar.

Full Details: https://wp.me/p6h1n1-rc6

2023 Cigar of the Year Countdown (Coop’s List) #13: Micallef Black Toro (Audio)

The #13 2023 Cigar of the Year is the Micallef Black Toro. If there is one cigar company that has made the best use of its Ambassador group, it would have to be Micallef Cigars. The Micallef Ambassadors group is an integral part of providing input to its products. One piece of feedback that Micallef heard frequently from its Ambassadors group is that it needed a cigar that was fuller in terms of strength and body compared to most of the medium strength and body cigars that existed in the portfolio. For the Micallef Black, Micallef incorporated this feedback and developed a blend to on the fuller side. Micallef Black had a soft launch just prior to the 2023 Premium Cigar Association Trade Show and had a full launch at the Trade Show itself. It's the Toro size of the Micallef Black that landed a spot on this year's countdown.

Full Details: https://wp.me/p6h1n1-rbP

2023 Cigar of the Year Countdown (Coop’s List) #13: Micallef Black Toro

The #13 2023 Cigar of the Year is the Micallef Black Toro. If there is one cigar company that has made the best use of its Ambassador group, it would have to be Micallef Cigars. The Micallef Ambassadors group is an integral part of providing input to its products. One piece of feedback that Micallef heard frequently from its Ambassadors group is that it needed a cigar that was fuller in terms of strength and body compared to most of the medium strength and body cigars that existed in the portfolio. For the Micallef Black, Micallef incorporated this feedback and developed a blend to on the fuller side. Micallef Black had a soft launch just prior to the 2023 Premium Cigar Association Trade Show and had a full launch at the Trade Show itself. It's the Toro size of the Micallef Black that landed a spot on this year's countdown.

Full Details: https://wp.me/p6h1n1-rbP

 

2023 Cigar of the Year Countdown (Coop’s List) #14: HVC Selección No. 1 Natural Poderosos (Audio)

The #14 2023 Cigar of the Year is the HVC Selección No. 1 Natural Poderosos. Back in 2022, HVC Cigars released a Maduro offering known as the HVC Selección No. 1 Maduro. While HVC Cigars has been a company in business for over a decade, the No. 1 is significant. This is because, in 2022, HVC Cigars moved into its own factory, Fabrica de Tabacos HVC S.A. Before that, many of HVC Cigars’ blends had been coming out of the Aganorsa factory. The Selección No. 1 gets its name because it was the first cigar from that factory. In 2023, HVC Cigars added another blend under the HVC Selección No. 1 line known as the HVC Selección No. 1 Natural. It's the Natural offering that lands on this year's Countdown.

Full Details: https://wp.me/p6h1n1-rb9

2023 Cigar of the Year Countdown (Coop’s List) #14: HVC Selección No. 1 Natural Poderosos

The #14 2023 Cigar of the Year is the HVC Selección No. 1 Natural Poderosos. Back in 2022, HVC Cigars released a Maduro offering known as the HVC Selección No. 1 Maduro. While HVC Cigars has been a company in business for over a decade, the No. 1 is significant. This is because, in 2022, HVC Cigars moved into its own factory, Fabrica de Tabacos HVC S.A. Before that, many of HVC Cigars’ blends had been coming out of the Aganorsa factory. The Selección No. 1 gets its name because it was the first cigar from that factory. In 2023, HVC Cigars added another blend under the HVC Selección No. 1 line known as the HVC Selección No. 1 Natural. It's the Natural offering that lands on this year's Countdown.

Full Details: https://wp.me/p6h1n1-rb9

 

2023 Cigar of the Year Countdown (Coop’s List) #15: E.P. Carrillo INCH Nicaragua No. 60 (Audio)

The #15 2023 Cigar of the Year is the E.P. Carrillo INCH Nicaragua No. 60. In 2012, E.P. Carrillo launched a line focused on large ring gauge cigars known as the INCH Series. Large ring gauge cigars are nothing new to Ernesto Perez-Carrillo as he was considered a pioneer in this area while he was with La Gloria Cubana. Released in a Maduro and a Natural (Sumatra), it quickly became one of E.P. Carrillo’s most successful lines. In 2022, a new regular production addition to the INCH line, the INCH Nicaragua, was added.

As the name indicates, INCH Nicaragua is not only a 100% Nicaraguan cigar, but it's a cigar that's made in Nicaragua - and it's made at the Plasencia factory in Nicaragua. This marked the first time E.P. Carrillo worked in a factory outside its Tabacalera La Alianza facility. Since then, E.P. Carrillo has done the Allegiance at the Oliva factory (which landed on the Countdown at #22) and Short Run 2023 out of Oscar Valladares' factory.

Full Details: https://wp.me/p6h1n1-raO

2023 Cigar of the Year Countdown (Coop’s List) #15: E.P. Carrillo INCH Nicaragua No. 60

The #15 2023 Cigar of the Year is the E.P. Carrillo INCH Nicaragua No. 60. In 2012, E.P. Carrillo launched a line focused on large ring gauge cigars known as the INCH Series. Large ring gauge cigars are nothing new to Ernesto Perez-Carrillo as he was considered a pioneer in this area while he was with La Gloria Cubana. Released in a Maduro and a Natural (Sumatra), it quickly became one of E.P. Carrillo’s most successful lines. In 2022, a new regular production addition to the INCH line, the INCH Nicaragua, was added.

As the name indicates, INCH Nicaragua is not only a 100% Nicaraguan cigar, but it's a cigar that's made in Nicaragua - and it's made at the Plasencia factory in Nicaragua. This marked the first time E.P. Carrillo worked in a factory outside its Tabacalera La Alianza facility. Since then, E.P. Carrillo has done the Allegiance at the Oliva factory (which landed on the Countdown at #22) and Short Run 2023 out of Oscar Valladares' factory.

Full Details: https://wp.me/p6h1n1-raO

2023 Cigar of the Year Countdown (Coop’s List) #16: 601 La Bomba Warhead VIII by Espinosa Cigars (Audio)

The #16 2023 Cigar of the Year is the 601 La Bomba Warhead VIII by Espinosa Cigars.

One of the most popular annual limited edition series of cigars to hit the market over the past decade has been the 601 La Bomba Warhead Series. This series has a great track record of success, landing seven different times. Warhead is an extension of the original 601 La Bomba line, but it replaces the Nicaraguan Habano wrapper with a Broadleaf wrapper. As the name Warhead suggests, it is intended to be a stronger and bolder cigar. Each installment of the Warhead has featured a different size with a tweaked blend adjusted to that size as well as a different set of artwork. Warhead made its debut in 2013 and, with a couple of exceptions, has maintained an annual release schedule. The eighth installment came out in 2022 – appropriately titled Warhead VIII. This introduced a 6 x 60 box-pressed vitola into the series.

Full Details: https://wp.me/p6h1n1-rao