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What would a new year be without rankings and best-of-the-year lists? Everything from the movies to the music and, yes, the cigars of 2022 have been gauged to determine the very best that the year had to offer. However, as much as we enjoy movies and music, we’re here to talk cigars. So, let’s dive into the top three cigars of 2022 as rated by the tasting panel over at Cigar & Spirits magazine.
Originally released in 2016 to generally positive reviews, the Diamond Crown Black Diamond from J.C. Newman has only improved over the years. The 2022 iteration boasts medium-to-full strength, while still offering enough sweet undertones to make it a standout dessert cigar. Familiar tastes like dark chocolate and cocoa yield to more idiosyncratic flavors in the cigar’s final third. Cigar & Spirits specifically noted touches of walnut and brown sugar. As if that flavor profile isn’t enough, the cigar looks stunning in its rustic Connecticut Havana seed wrapper.
No-nonsense in every sense of the word, this cigar is a full-strength Churchill made entirely of Nicaraguan tobaccos. Of course, that doesn’t mean this stick goes scorched earth on your taste buds. The blenders at Padron know better than that. With the 1964 Anniversary Series, they’ve crafted a serious smoke for the seasoned aficionado. By coupling nutty and spicy flavor with an incredibly clean, satisfying burn, Padron delivered one of the best cigars of 2022.
The band on Alec Bradley Double Broadleaf cigars reads “Experimental Series.” That’s some appropriate labeling, since the Double Broadleaf contains two different binders: a Nicaraguan broadleaf, and a Honduran Connecticut-seed broadleaf. Combine these with another Honduran Connecticut-seed broadleaf for the wrapper and some high-quality filler tobaccos, and you have one bold, peppery cigar.
That’s the top three of ’22 according to Cigar & Spirits—you can also take a look at their list in full. Agree? Disagree? Find the process of ranking things you enjoy to be minimizing and self-defeating? Well, there’s one thing we can all agree on: there’s no time like the present to start researching for the best cigars of 2023.