Cuban Cigar Brand Tier List!
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- Опубликовано: 17 фев 2021
- Jumping on a (pretty much dead) RUclips trend here just for fun by ranking all the Cuban cigar brands in a tier list!
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I would personally bump Partagas to the S tier, and Montecristo should be an A tier without a doubt.
Love this video. I’ve watched it 3 times over the last 6 months!
Wow that’s so nice man thank you so much! Really really appreciate it!!
Good list! H.Upmann is also one of my favourite brands of all time, but I should say that Hoyo De Monterrey also deserves to be an S. I mean, their Petit Robustos are probably some of the finest cigars I ever smoked! Other than that, I agree with most of your choices.
Very fair! I could definitely see Hoyo as deserving S tier! Glad to hear you agree though man and enjoyed the video!
Hey, recently subscribed, I appreciate your honest reviews and vast knowledge of the cigar world. I Agree with most of your tier selection and am really impressed with your placing of JLP. I find the petit caballeros to be really rich and flavorful and usually get 1.5 to 2hr smoke time out of them, although I do have to mention that every now and again I have to turf one out for being completely unsmokable, but at the price point it doesn't hurt too much, otherwise the vast majority are great and can hold their own against many more costly brands and vitolas.
Thank you man! I completely agree with you. JLPs (like all short fillers) are a bit of a gamble, but you get good ones often enough for it to be very worth it at that low price point!
I agree with most of your tiering, the only big change that I would make is bolivar would be in S catagory. For me, Bolivar are just amazing every time and no question they should be in the top tier. I always keep my humidor stocked with belicosos as a go to good time.
That’s very fair man and I also really love Bolivar. My only gripe is that there aren’t more vitolas! Haha
I must say being a 30 plus year Cigar aficionado and sommelier, you are spot on! Love your knowledge and opinions! I agree with most , but not all. Great video!
Wow, that means a lot man! Thank you so much for the kind words!
Ok I came across your channel just a few days ago with the 800 cigars one. So I had to look for other videos and since I’m in the US, I wanted to hear more about Cuban cigars.
Do you know some good online places to get Cubans?
Thanks for sharing this man! I know it's tough to go out on a limb and share your opinion like this. Those who walk upright, appreciate you. Don't sweat the knuckle draggers. I love your top 3 by the way. I know not many wouldn't agree but I'd have Quai D'Orsay as the top A. My all time faves are Cohiba, Trini, Upmann, QD. I wish there were more videos like this. Cheers bro!
Thank you man, what an awesome comment! I think we have pretty similar tastes by the sounds of it haha your order sounds very good man! Cheers!
So rare for me to agree with these things, but you’ve done a great job. I do think Montecristo and R&J would be slightly higher for me, a few great cigars and lots of good ones.
I really want to like Cuaba but have had a couple of bad ones. Will give them another try
though.
I have less than a dozen Trinidads- my favourites - left and caught between being unlikely to pay their new prices and not wanting to use them, yet not wanting to forget what they taste like either 😂
this video should have more views. smash the like button so others in our community know it exists.
Wow what a kind comment! Thank you so much man!
I appreciate and enjoyed your comments and rankings. Well done 💥👌🏼
Do a tier list on design of bands. That would be very interesting list.
Good idea!
Could you do a cuban tier list based on flavor profile, i know its subjective but i think it could help guide some people to the right cubans.
All the best!
Yeah it’s quite hard as it’s subjective like you say, but I’ll consider it for sure!
@@StogieLads
Thanks brother
Always a pleasure watching your vids
Great video. You were pretty much spot on except I disagree when it comes to punch and Quintero's. Punch Punch is an exceptional stick, and Quintero's has really stepped it up in the flavors profile these past few years. The favoritos are really a gem in the rough and very underated. And from a price point it's become my everyday smoke that still delivers that Cuban taste in a cheap stick .
Yeah! I don’t mind a Quintero but I’ve never had one that really blew me away. I had a Favoritos a couple of years back and it was awful so that’s put me off them now haha but I should probably try another one!
@@StogieLads I will admit they are a little hit and miss as to getting a great one. What I've found with the Favoritos is they need to be aged a little and they definitely taste better if they are dry boxed before smoking. I'm enjoying your Cuban videos keep posting them, very informative.
Really informative and can't disagree with much, and yeah they're just opinions and personal taste so not sure why some folks get their undies in knots. I learned a lot, keep 'em comin'.
Thank you man, so glad to hear you enjoyed it! Cheers!
Excellent!. Great content. Pleas keep em comming. Will share on my FB cigar page. Cheers
Wow thank you so much for that touching comment man! Cheers!!
Good to Casa de Habano in Cancun this winter in Mexico, looking to get something decently affordable (obvi not Cohiba), any ideas? Usually smoke medium to full robustos
yo, thanks for this video, it was really informative, I have searched the best cigar website of my county for your higher tier brands, sadly most of the cigars are not available right now. I found: Bolivar Petit Coronas, Hoyo de Monterrey Epicure No. 1, Partagás Serie P No. 2 and H.Upmann Magnum 54. wich one would you recommend to be my first cigar?
Yeah there’s a huge shortage right now sadly. If you like heavier cigars then the P2 is the easy go. If you like lighter stuff then the Epi 1 for sure. Otherwise the Magnums are sort of light to medium and the Bolivar petit Coronas are nice but simpler cigars than the other options!
@@StogieLads thanks appreciate it
This would be the only channel to subscribe to!
I know 60 % of the review brands and have no issue with his ratings.
The Vegas Robainia Famosos is well priced and delivers every time
Wow thank you so much man! That’s very kind of you to say and comment!
I was just about to type why you are not mentioning H.Upman … and that second it came.😂
You almost sound northern irish, your english is soo good its insane.
Is what I was thinking too 😂
La Gloria Cubana seems to have picked up production and has a lot of cigars now from what I can see on their IG. Any new feedback on those?
Great video, this should be on the public broadcasting system at the very least. You have a very professional talking and presenting vibe about you. Are you a professional presenter?? Ha! ha!
Hahahah I wish! Thank you so much man really appreciate the kind words!
I've legit watched this vid like 4 times now just for lols.
Hahaha thank you man!
Very interesting video. Glad to see JLP rated well. Pound for pound they are a very good smoke. I would include Hoyo and Montecristo in the S list but its all personal taste.
Agreed! Thank you for watching and commenting man!
Amazing Video & info👌🏻
Thank you man! Means a lot!
Ive considered trying my first cigar. I'm actually a average Ciggarette smoker but wanna try something new. Any brands to suggest for a first timer? Id appreciate it! (Like Sweet tasting Tobbaco)
Quai D'Orsay No 50
I just had a Vegas Robaina Familiares for the first time and it's a seriously amazing stick. At least a 92-3.
So you decided to judge them by availability? You put a Great cigar in the D category because it’s not easily available? I would prefer judging them based on how good they are this I could not finish watching this video
Surpised to hear about Punch. Their Punch Punch cigar is highly regarded by Cigar Aficionado but I know the review is more about the brands overall and how they are regarded. San Cristobal is a nice surprise. I’ll have to try them out! Excellent video!
Yeah, just not had any mind-blowing luck with Punch but I have a Punch Punch aging that I'm super excited to try! Thank you so much for the nice comment man!
Of course. This tier format was very educational and entertaining at the same time!
Ramon allones as b? That's pretty tough... love the specially selected.
Hey friend my goodness you are knowledgeable for being so young!
*Long comment warning, pls help answer my 3 QUESTIONS below*
I am just starting out trying to learn on my Cuban cigar Journey... in high school I was the only one who could smoke a cigar with the gentlemen at the golf course and I was the only one who would smoke a cigar at prom😂.. I know how to smoke a cigar, I've just never had anything Cuban, so I am a novice and a little embarrassed..
I may be asking some questions over the next few days.. I'd rather learn from you because your knowledge and humbleness impresses me..
1) what is short filler and why would it be used? (Briefly) ( judging from the way you spoke I can tell it's not very preferable )
2)what are regionals? (Very briefly)
3) (Most important)
So i've smoked a few Hoyo De Monterrey Excaliber i think...
And recognize the name, but I know mine are not Cuban? I also see names like Romeo y Julietta on your list that I have bought before in the US i think? non cuban, can you explain to me how some of the brands can have Cuban's and other cigars from the same brand be new world (or non cuban?) it's confusing me a bit how a brand can be both Cuban and non Cuban if that even make sense?
Hey man! Thank you so much for the kind words and I always love hearing from other young cigar smokers like myself! In terms of your questions I’ll start with the short filler one. Basically, handmade cigars can be made in two ways. Long filler, which is most common in premium cigars, which uses entire tobacco leaves and roll them into a full cigar. This is a more costly method, more difficult to roll method, and a method that allows you to blend the flavors of the cigar more precisely. Short filler uses scraps and chopped up little bits of tobacco as the filler of the cigar instead of whole leaves which makes it a lot cheaper as you can use leftover tobacco or lesser quality tobacco. In terms of the other two questions I’ve actually made two videos on those exact topics luckily enough haha so I’ll link them here! m.ruclips.net/video/pXl2v2LwtIk/видео.html
m.ruclips.net/video/NfuOjzMQohI/видео.html
Keep the comments coming buddy!
Would be cool to see an updated version of this 3 years on as the prices have changed and new vitolas have released!
I stopped smoking Cubans when the price went up.
I'm so glad you stuck Trinidad at the top, they're an amazing brand. That said, i feel Montecristo should be an A rating.
RyJ used to be a favoured brand for me, but lately I think Habanos SA are trading only on the name and quality control has become more of an issue.
That said, they produce some of the most underrated cigars in Cuba.
Smoking a Cohiba Royale while watching this… Good times!
Brilliant! Hope you enjoyed both the cigar and the video!
Your pronunciation of these brand names is immaculate.
Very cool way to present the different brands. You could also go deeper and break down the brands into individual cigars where there would be more in the S tier for sure. For instance, the monte #2 would be a definite S but the rest of the line is probably accurate. To me it seems like Habanos has focused on the larger ring gauges lately and more of those are very high quality whereas most of the smaller ring gauges that used to be excellent are now just mediocre. Monte#4 is a perfect example of a once excellent cigar that would have been in the S tier back in the early 2000's but is now probably low B to high C.
Since Habanos and China started this money grab things have gotten all screwed up. Sad to see especially since the rollers don't make any more money then they used to. 5000 for a box of Cohiba 55th anniversarios. 10 cigars the probably cost them 20 bucks to produce. The rest is pure greed.
Someone I know found a box of cigars in the garage that’s been there for a few years. No humidor. Can they be revived and how long would you think it would take? Non cuban ones. They’re thick too.
Unfortunately, at that point they’re not revivable to the point where they can be brought back to how they originally were. After a couple of months outside humidity, not only do the cigars dry out humidity wise, but the oils in the leaves completely dry out and most of the flavor is lost and can’t ever be brought back. You can rehumidify those cigars and they’ll be able to burn correctly, but the flavor that was once there is unfortunately gone forever.
@@StogieLads thnx. So I have another question. You prefer mild, medium or bold cigars?
@@jeffbradley9201 In general I love and smoke cigars across the whole spectrum, and I think all cigars have their place and certain occasions call for a very full bodied or very light. Most regularly, though, I smoke medium bodied cigars and prefer them for most occasions!
@@StogieLads as far as a humidor is concerned , what is the avg humidity & temperature you should store your cigars in? Mine fluctuates.
@@jeffbradley9201 Between 65-69% is optimal as any less will have them a little too dry and any more risks mold. Boveda is the best solution to make sure it doesn’t fluctuate!
I think I’m going to share this link with my Reddit community
Very kind!
very entertaining video, but i like cuaba, have 4 boxes across the sizes and never, touch wood, had a quality issues, where ive had quality issues recently is romeo et juliette, and the smaller Montecristos
Dips are criminally underappreciated.
I absolutely love the No. 2! It’s such a shame Habanos has butchered the marca down to just one vitola...
Living in the US.. with costs up and availability is obviously a challenge to get. Which brand/cigar would you recommend to begin with? Never had a cuban.
Going to try to get some through cuban lous and see how it goes. Thinking about getting some RJ for consistency sake and some Partagas Capitols. Will update here how that goes but in terms of non-cubans there are many good brands to choose from right now. I have been a big fan recently of Rocky Patel they have a sun-baked collection if you want a fuller flavor. In terms of more medium I've enjoyed RJ reserva real. Generally speaking though the best way to figure it out is going to the local smoke shop and trying some diverse flavors to see what speaks to you. I know in a previous video he downplayed them but some of my favorite (albiet pricey) is the Liga Privada No. 9 from Drew Estate.
Hupmann half corona.
After a long wait, the order has been received. Overall shipping was about a week from being sent out. Boxes arrived vacuum-sealed with a 69 percent humidity packet (I suggest 65 percent for CCs just an FYI). RyJ box was data dec of 2022 so a decent year all things considered (CCs are not normally aged meaning they need to sit 6-12 months to get rid of the ammonium that is still in them) overall a very positive time working with them.
Agreed on H Upmann. Im only a month in to my cigar collecting career, but the H Upmann half coronas are FANTASTIC. The other three I have tried so far - Guantanamera, Vegueros, and El Rey Del Mundo were all meh.
Glad to hear that man! Guantanamera is a brand I stay away from, and Vegueros I rarely smoke, but the El Rey del Mundo Choix Supreme is one of my favorite robusto-ish cigars!
@@StogieLads yah, i got the little guysand they are meh. Straight to the "2032 section of the humidor"! I will try the others on your recommendation!
Bolivar is my darling brand, but I would put it in A tier too, simply because they discontinued the corona gigantes which bother me to no end
For how I see it, h upmann deserves S tier just for the monarchs, that's the most underrated cigar in all of the cuban brands and vitolas for how I see it, some exemplars reach and even go beyond the sir winston.
I would have put hoyo and bolivar into S too, too legendary to ignore, the belicoso, the libertadores, corona royal (bolivar), epicure n2, epicure especial, double coronas, le hoyo de dieux (monterrey) wonderful cigars, each one is an event really, then Partagas as the first A, a bit more rustic, a bit less elegant but absolutely worth it.
Pretty much agree with all the others, montecristo definitely overrated, deserves B.
Love the reasoning behind it man, very solid arguments! I could definitely see putting Bolivar and Hoyo in S!
Trinidad is my #1. Followed by epi#2. Nice vid.
Great choices man! Thank you!
Did you say bolivar recently discontinued their Petite Corona?? I shared this link with my Reddit community
I checked back just now. The Tubos No. 1 was discontinued in 2017 and the No. 3 was discontinued in 2019.
Awesome. One of the guys in the Reddit
community was afraid that it was the Bolivar Petite corona. Love you guys thank you so much for what you contribute to the community.
Of all Cuban cigars I ever smoked the only brand which never disappointed was Montecristo. Also, all Edmundos are fantastic if aged properly. I'd move it to S and drop the stupidly overpriced Cohibas down into B.
Agree with the rest
I know it's silly to argue over a fairly arbitrary tier list, but I feel that if you make one you want at least some push back, so I'll bite :D
You can't put Monte in B along with brands like SCdlH and you can't put Robaina in C along with brands like Vegueros man. Come on now.
If you wanna slap Monte (and you should, what you said about production is true), put them at the end of A. Too much prominence, popularity and magic otherwise. If they get their shit together, they probably belong in S or at the very least in the top half of A.
And Vegas Robaina, well that's just disrespectful. Put Habanos SA in C instead if you wanna make that point, but don't kill the cook for the waiter putting his thumb in the soup. VR is a solid B.
Great info though, you have a pretty impressive overview of the facts. And for the most part, I have no problems with the list and it really was fun too.
Very fair points across the board! I certainly agree that Monte has S potential and that it could easily be put in A, but my personal flavor profile just knocks it down slightly. As with Robaina I also don’t like blaming the brand for bad decisions by Habanos but since all brands are under Habanos I feel like I have to distinguish them or the whole thing becomes pointless haha. Really glad you enjoyed watching overall though man and really appreciate your comments!!
I'm not sure what I would put on the S line. My A line would be Cohiba, Montecristo, Por Larranaga, H Upmann, Vegueros. B line would have Partagas. C line would have JLP.
Interesting! High praise for Vegueros but I tend to agree that it is a very underrated brand. Thanks for the comment!
Only thing I disagree with is sancho above diplomatico. Otherwise, absolutely top notch, sir!
Just realised there is no
H Upmann... in the end on S... awesome
Haha yeah I don't know why wasn't included but I had to give my favorite brand an S-tier!
S brands partagas, Ramon, bolivar, hoya ❤!
It is so dumb that we cannot get these in the states.
I suggest you try the Trinidad Fundadores
You cant believe how good they are
We’ve got some aging!
I thought surely you would put H. Upmann in A, maybe B but at an S was a surprise. I’m definitely not complaining though and I agree with you that H. Upmann’s flavor profile and overall cigars provide as much satisfaction as Cohiba and Trinidad at that level. Very interesting and great reviews man.
Haha yeah I'm just such an Upmann fan personally!
Very good list, lots of knowledge that I agree with, BUT Hoyo needs to be S tier & Cohiba to an A
Montecristo and Piedra at the same level is either too harsh on Montecristo or way too optimistic on Piedra. (I’m smoking a Piedra petit caballeros as I’m writing btw) Laragnaga, again, similar to Piedra is a no no. Piedra is overrated. Ramon Allones in B??? This is probably a Godtier. Romes in the middle? And to top it off Cohiba at the top? It’s like Rolex these days. Average products with outrageous prices and amazing marketing. Upman deserves more in my opinion if you rate them same of Cohiba. Fundadores top, well said.
All in all fun video. Well done.
i agree with most of the list, except with punch. the punch punch is so good that punch does not belong in C
Cohiba is B for me...Partagas S
fact
I think you were a little stingy about the Montecristo but enjoyed the video a lot 👍
Haha yeah I’m not the biggest fan in the world but I like them overall!
@@StogieLads l am a beginner cigar smoker and l find them easy to smoke, obviously l need to widen my selection with the other brands to compare 🤔
Montecristo definitely worth an A :)
if the cohiba company was sold to a different firm and price dropped with maintained quality, would people still buy cohiba?
It’s a very interesting question you pose. I think part of their sales is the fact that they have such a high price and people associate that with quality. On the other hand, more regular smokers might be inclined to try them at a lower price. I truly don’t know the answer to this one!
Ramon mate should be an easy A
I would stop it at tier C.But then again Cuaba would be the only D. Imo
That's very interesting! Not a huge cuban cigar fan I take it?
@@StogieLads hi my friend. I'm a huge fan of Cuban cigars. My favorite is the Magnum H.Upmann. I just have never had a good experience with Cuaba. Maybe it's just bad luck but everytime I have tried one the experience was bad. I went back and re watched the video and I like how detailed you went into explaining why they were placed where they were.
It's criminal where you placed Partagas. The Lusitanias is every bit as iconic as any Cohiba, the D4 is the most sold vitola now in the world and easily top 3 robusto made. Lot's of LE get the Partagas label and when you take into account how good the P2, 8-9-8 and the shorts are it covers just about every size Habanos makes and they are more affordable than Cohiba.
Tbh I completely agree with everything you said hahaha but it was just the personal preference aspect that knocked them down a little for me. I do like Partagas a lot but it’s not my #1 favored flavor profile so that just bumped it down a bit. Thanks for sharing your thoughts man!
Good humble analysis. Great pronounciation aswell. Authentic. None of this abnoxious bollocks that I keep seeing with other cigar youtubers. Top man keep it up!
Bolivar just need age montecristo has to be a minimum open eagle number 2 the legenda Edmundo all brilliant regular production cigars
Ramon too the specially selected alone gets them in the giantantes is better than a Lusitania
شكرأ يا مدير 👌🏻
Sorry though you missed it but i see you included it, my mistake.
no Juan Lopez?
Why no H Upmann?
S.
He explains in the final.
Oh hahaha I see, thank you
Great list especially Monti down don't understand the hype. Robina is going down cuz of the new owner grandson who's a piece of crap it has nothing to do with habanos, which is a shame as the original owner was the complete opposite
19:29
Montecristo it's a B ???????!!!!!!!! oh my god........
Hahaha yeah it's just not my personal absolute favorite flavor profile, although it is a nice marca for sure.
Guantanamera?
Maybe c tier
Guantanamera isn’t produced by Habanos but instead by ICT as they’re completely machine made which is why I didn’t include them here!
@@StogieLads
Oh yea I had no idea.
Thanks again for the video
Great content and a lot of information!
VEGUEROS are "rough", but VEGUEROS Tapados isn't, its very "smooth".
I've had plenty of tapados and like most cuban cigars some are very rough and harsh and some are smooth like you say. I actually reviewed an aged one on the channel here! ruclips.net/video/8uKafl297Xo/видео.html
@@StogieLads Thanks for the link, I just watched it. Agreed on all you said, but I give it a 92 😁
Partagas D4 is the best Cuban of all time... there is no one that has smoked more Cubans than me and been to Cuba several times...
S, A, B, C, D is mixing up ‘quality’ with ‘availabiliy’. That is not helpful for readers. why not putting the brands in a quadrant?
There is no way to objectively rank cigars. They are a consumable product and completely subjective, hence why I ranked them based on factors I value.
Romeo y Julieta?
For me, S: 1.Trinidad 2. Quai D'orsay 3. H. Upmann 4. Cohiba
Very nice choices!
@@StogieLads and even though is not Cuban, the Fuente Opus X 20 year anniversary is one of the best cigars I've tried (the one who the blue band)
@@cesrra Yeah I smoked two different Opus X last year and both were two of the best cigars I've ever tried! Immense quality!
In there a Cuban cigar you can compare it to in taste? I’m just curious 🧐
@@cesrra Tbh there are no non-cubans that are ever comparable to cubans. Just in the same way that a nicaraguan puro isn't comparable to a Dominican puro. The unique flavor of the terroir isn't replicable anywhere else, so there isn't really one that comes very close. I suppose if I had to, I'd say the Opus X Angel's share that I had share some similarities with a well aged Romeo y Julieta Churchill with its woody and creamy notes, but other than that it is in a category of it's own!
Haha SWEDEN? Ingen väg asså. Sub
Cohiba greatly over rated IMO. Prefer an H. Upmann, Ramon Allones or Bolivar any day.
Ok except Fonseca and Jose Piedra should be switched. Otherwise agreed.
H
But you Look like a geek…