Year-end wrap-up time...2010 has been great for the Tiki Bar Online. We published well over 100 full cigar reviews between myself and Keith, along with a bunch of "Cigar Extra" short, unrated reviews. We wrote about distillery and brewery tours, drank some premium spirits, talked movies, music, news, and even a little politics. We met famous cigar personalities and interviewed some of them, got sponsored by a B&M and a major manufacturer. Along the way our traffic has increased 10-fold or more from where it was last December at this time. In all the hustling we did in the past twelve months, it was easy to forget some of the great cigars that burnt their way to ashes in our ashtrays during that time. I was surprised by a few of the ones I ended up rating a 10 out of 10. I was also surprised by some that I did not give that rating.
I'll be taking the time the week after Christmas to list my top 10 smokes of 2010 and name my "Cigar of the Year" (because Cigar Aficionado can't have all the fun!). Today I am reviewing the cigars that I rated with 10/10 when I smoked and reviewed them this year...along the way I may have a few notes about them.
Perfect 10s
Fuente Anejo #46 - This was my first Anejo and after smoking the Shark, is still by far my favorite size.
LFD Salomon - I have only been able to afford to smoke 2 of these, but they are absolutely out of this world...I discovered one more in my humi last week (I forgot about it!) so I'll have to break it out for a special occasion.
Perdomo ESV 1991 Maduro - So sorry this one is out of production, but I've got about 10 left!
LFD Double Press - So glad this one is a regular production stick...and reasonably priced, too.
Aurora 100 Anos - Two words: Crack Stick!
L'esprit de la Verite 2008 (Tatuaje) - Great first entry in this series from Pete Johnson...wish I could afford a trunk full of them.
Casa Fernandez Aganorsa Leaf - The first Casa Fernandez I truly fell in love with. Great cigar, great price.
Tatuaje Anarchy - I was dubious about the whole "one store only" thing, but this cigar absolutely rocks.
Honorable Mentions:
Guillermo Leon Signature - I reviewed the Belicoso and gave it a 9.5/10. After that I smoked through a 5-pack of the Gran Corona, along with several Coronas...in either of those sizes, it undoubtedly would have been given a 10
La Aurora 107, Corona - With all the hullabaloo about the Lancero 107..the "Twitter Cigar"...the Corona tends to get overlooked a lot, but if you do overlook it, it's your loss.
Tatuaje Petite Cazadores - My new favorite small cigar...great smoke for those times when you have half and hour or less
CAO La Traviata Animado and Ninfa - Because I had reviewed the LT in 2009 (and it got a 10) I did not do a full review of the new sizes, but either of these would have easily earned a 10. I did end up buying a box and a half of Animados and went through at least 3 tins of the Ninfa before the year was out.
Room 101, 213 vitola - I did not smoke the 213 until late 2010, and while I did not give it a 10, it has earned a regular spot in my humidor...love the way the spice builds in this cigar!
While compiling this list, I was shocked at how many "10"s I had awarded...I'm thinking I need to be tougher on sticks in 2011. :) Maybe not, though...all these cigars listed above hit a certain place for me, at least on that day that I smoked the review stick. Some of them I came back to time and time again. Some I have not had the chance to revisit yet, either because of price, availability, or just time to smoke them (reviewing cigars means you don't always get to smoke what you want to smoke...tough job, I know).
Next Monday, the feature article here on the Tiki Bar will be my 10 favorite cigars of 2010, in no particular order. Most of them will come from the list of cigars that earned 10 out of 10 points above...most, but not all, which I guess could be surprising. What happened was that a few cigars that did not score 10 initially because favorites of mine later or in some other vitola.
If you have any comment or observation about the above list or what cigars really rocked your world in 2010, please feel free to leave a comment below.
David I like your list. I myself havent found to many cigars I give a ten out of ten but there has been some. Again goes back to individual palate. Keep up the great work you guys do.
ReplyDeleteGreat list! Some fantastic smokes in there!
ReplyDelete