Cigar Aficionado’s Top 25 of 2013 – #6-10

Cigar Aficionado has released the first part of this year’s highly anticipated Top 25 list. Here are the selections for spots #6-10:

#6 – Arturo Fuente Don Carlos No. 2

The 94-rated Don Carlos No. 2 is comprised of a toothy Cameroon wrapper around filler and binder leaves from some of the Fuente Family’s most extensively aged tobacco reserves. The result is an incredibly smooth smoke loaded with subtle flavor notes that reward the apt connoisseur.

This new offering from Curivari Cigars International is a Nicaraguan puro featuring tobaccos from the Jalapa, Esteli, and Condega growing regions. The BV560 was rated a 94 thanks to its delicious creamy medium-bodied flavor profile, laced with lingering notes of roasted peanuts and rich graham cracker finish.

#8 – Herrera Esteli Piramide Fino

Crafted by the same skilled team responsible for Liga Privada cigars, Drew Estates’ Herrera Esteli unites Nicaraguan and Honduran fillers beneath an Ecuadorian Habano wrapper for a poignant smoke offering smooth, rich flavors of cedar, oak, cream and spice. The Piramide Fino joins the 94 club as the perfect vitola to convey the Herrera’s Cuban-esque profile.

The first “big-ring” smoke to make this year’s list, the Gurkha 125th Anniversary XO is a well-balanced 6×60 boasting elegant notes of cedar, leather, and citrus. The 125th Anniversary is the first Gurkha cigar to ever make CA’s Top 25 and is now the highest-rated Gurkha ever with a score of 94.

#10 – Ashton VSG Spellbound

No stranger to the Top 25, Ashton VSG has made the cut once again, this time in its lengthiest incarnation, the 7 1/2 x 54 Spellbound. This year’s induction cites hearty flavor with a robust nuttiness, and balance provided by notes of sweet caramel as fodder for the Spellbound’s high 94 rating.

Be sure to check back tomorrow for the second installment of this year’s list.