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With over 3000
cigar smokers voting, the Best Of 2005 Cigar
Awards are complete.
It seems things were a bit
lopsided this year. We should have
re-named these the "Padron Family" Awards
ceremony. A testament to the work they do,
they were well represented in our awards.
Of course there are some great surprises as
well.
Many of the races were very
close, and if for some reason you don't agree
with the results, try and remember, you
nominated the finalists, and you voted on the
nominations. |
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BEST EVERYDAY
LINE OF CIGARS |
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| BEST
FULL BODIED LINE OF CIGARS |
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| BEST
MEDIUM BODIED LINE OF CIGARS |
| El Rey Del Mundo
(Hon.) |
 (14.06%) |
The trifecta is complete. Three categories,
three Padron winners. A two horse race here, with Padron
Anniversary 1964 outlasting the Hemingway line from Arturo
Fuente. |
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| Carlos Torano
Exodus |
 (9.38%) |
| Oliva
Masterblends |
 (4.46%) |
| Padron Anniversary
1964 |
 (30.80%) |
| Arturo Fuente
Hemingway |
(22.99%) |
| Trinidad (Cuba) |
(7.81%) |
| CAO Criollo |
(10.49%) |
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| BEST
LIGHT BODIED LINE OF CIGARS |
| Casa Torano |
(27.01%) |
Our first surprise, and a pleasant one at that.
The Torano's make a great cigar, and here they receive some overdue
recognition. The original "house brand" released as Casa
Torano beat out Davidoff with over 27% of the vote. |
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| Macanudo Gold |
(16.96%) |
| Perdomo La Tradicion
Champagne |
(10.04%) |
| K. Hansotia
Symphony |
(5.36%) |
| Avo Legacy |
(10.71%) |
| Puros Indios |
(9.15%) |
| Davidoff |
(20.76%) |
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| BEST
CIGAR UNDER $5.00. (MSRP) |
| 5 Vegas Torpedo |
(8.48%) |
A crushing victory for the Padron 3000.
This is the first category that looked at specific cigars instead of
"lines" of cigars. The Padron 3000 established itself as a
staple in many folks humidors. |
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| Gran Habano Corojo
No.5 |
(10.04%) |
| El Rey Del Mundo Robusto
Largo |
(19.64%) |
| Montesino
Diplomatico |
(4.46%) |
| Padron 3000 |
(30.58%) |
| Excalibur by HdM No. 1
Maduro |
(8.48%) |
| Arturo Fuente Flor Fina
858 Maduro |
(18.30%) |
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| BEST
CIGAR UNDER $10.00 (MSRP) |
| Series X Boomer |
(2.68%) |
How many ways can you say congratulations.
Another amazing performance by Padron. This time the Padron 1964
Anniversary Principe nabs the award. Close race for second. |
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| Ashton Puro Sol Belicoso
No. 2 |
(6.47%) |
| Joya de Nicaragua Antano
1970 Gran Consul |
(7.59%) |
| Padron Anniversary 1964
Principe |
(31.70%) |
| CAO Brazilia
Samba |
(18.08%) |
| La Gloria Cubana Serie R
No. 5 |
(15.18%) |
| Arturo Fuente Don Carlos
No. 4 |
(18.30%) |
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| BEST
LIMITED RELEASE LINE OF CIGARS |
| Cien Anos |
(4.46%) |
If a Padron goes against a Padron, who wins? The
Padron 1964 Anniversary series barely beat out it's brother
from 1926. |
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| 5 Vegas
Limitada |
(4.69%) |
| Ashton Virgin Sun
Grown |
(11.61%) |
| Opus X |
(17.41%) |
| Cohiba (Cuba)
Sublimes |
(12.05%) |
| Padron Anniversary
1964 |
(25.45%) |
| Padron Anniversary
1926 |
(24.33%) |
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| BEST
FLAVORED LINE OF CIGARS |
| CAO Moontrance |
(34.82%) |
A dominant performance by C.A.O. in the flavored cigar
arena. C.A.O. Moontrance won, but add in the Eileen's
Dream, and they garnered almost 50% of the votes. |
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| CAO Eileen's
Dream |
(13.62%) |
| Mayorga Coffee
Infused |
(17.86%) |
| Havana Honeys |
(16.96%) |
| Drew Estate Mixed
Element |
(16.74%) |
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| FRIENDLIEST
CIGAR CITY |
| Miami, Florida |
(40.63%) |
The home of cigars in the US holds up its end of the
bargain. Miami, Florida barely edges out Las Vegas,
Nevada. |
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| Chicago,
Illinois |
(10.04%) |
| Las Vegas,
Nevada |
(37.95%) |
| Dallas, Texas |
(6.47%) |
| Detroit,
Michigan |
(4.91%) |
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| LEAST
FRIENDLY CIGAR CITY |
| San Francisco,
California |
(25.89%) |
Is it really any surprise that a California city won
this award? Why not San Francisco? Then again,
New York was a very close second. All losers in our book. |
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| New York, New
York |
(24.78%) |
| Seattle,
Washington |
(10.49%) |
| Los Angeles,
California |
(17.86%) |
| Boston,
Massachusetts |
(8.48%) |
| Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania |
(3.57%) |
| Minneapolis,
Minnesota |
(8.93%) |
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| MOST
OVER-HYPED LINE OF CIGARS |
| Zino Platinum |
(23.88%) |
Opus X, an obvious great cigar, but also a
marketing machine. So is the thought of the readers.
Opus has won this award every year we have run the contest. |
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| Padron Anniversary
1964 |
(2.68%) |
| CAO Brazilia |
(4.46%) |
| Cohiba (Cuba) |
(19.20%) |
| Davidoff |
(11.16%) |
| Opus X |
(29.02%) |
| Rocky Patel
Vintage |
(9.60%) |
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| BEST
INTERNET RETAILER |
| Famous Smoke
Shop |
(14.29%) |
In a surprise, Cigars International takes the
award of Best Internet Retailer over heavyweights JR Cigar and
Famous Smoke Shop. |
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| Duke City
Cigars |
(3.13%) |
| Cigar Bid |
(15.40%) |
| JR Cigar |
(25.67%) |
| Cigars
International |
(29.69%) |
| Cigar.com |
(11.83%) |
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| BEST
OVERALL LINE OF CIGARS |
| Bolivar (Cuba) |
(8.26%) |
No surprise here. Padron 1964 Anniversary
takes the Top Cigar Line award. Padron was more than 10 points
ahead of any of the other competitors. |
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| Ashton Virgin Sun
Grown |
(9.38%) |
| Padron Anniversary
1964 |
(24.78%) |
| Arturo Fuente
Hemingway |
(13.39%) |
| Arturo Fuente Don
Carlos |
(7.59%) |
| Partagas (Cuba) |
(12.95%) |
| Carlos Torano
Signature |
(10.04%) |
| Padron Anniversary
1926 |
(13.62%) |
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| HIGHEST
QUALITY MANUFACTURER OF CIGARS |
| Carlos Torano |
(10.71%) |
The highest quality manufacturer goes to Padron
as well. Difficult to argue with when you have sampled the
construction of all the Padron lines. A deserved close second
to Arturo Fuente. |
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| Arturo Fuente |
(26.12%) |
| Padron |
(30.36%) |
| Vegas Robaina
(Cuba) |
(5.13%) |
| Tabacalera
Perdomo |
(2.90%) |
| CAO |
(14.73%) |
| Cohiba (Cuba) |
(10.04%) |
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| BEST
NEW LINE OF CIGARS |
| Graycliff
Chateau |
(13.84%) |
New line of cigars was a battle between Rocky Patel
and the folks at C.A.O. Edge by Rocky Patel ended up
taking the award by a distinctive margin. The quality put out
by Rocky Patel continues. |
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| Edge by Rocky
Patel |
(36.61%) |
| CAO CX2 |
(23.66%) |
| Camacho Coyolar
Puro |
(9.60%) |
| REO by United
Tobacco |
(2.90%) |
| Carlos Torano
Virtuoso |
(13.39%) |
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BEST OVERALL CUBAN
CIGAR |
| Partagas Serie D NO.
4 |
(17.19%) |
An old favorite, and quite frankly a surprise to us.
The Montecristo No. 2 won this race with Cohiba Siglo VI and
Partagas Serie D No. 4 in third. We thought, based upon the
nominations, that Partagas would crush here. |
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| Bolivar Belicoso
Fino |
(10.49%) |
| Trinidad Robusto
Extra |
(6.92%) |
| Partagas Short |
(6.70%) |
| El Rey Del Mundo Choix
Supreme |
(6.47%) |
| Cohiba Siglo VI |
(22.54%) |
| Montecristo No.
2 |
(29.69%) |
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BEST OVERALL
NON-CUBAN CIGAR |
| Arturo Fuente Hemingway
Short Story |
(10.94%) |
No surprises here. The trend continues with
Padron 1964 Anniversary Exclusivo Maduro winning first place. |
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| Padron Anniversary 1964
Exclusivo Maduro |
(24.11%) |
| Opus X Perfecion
A |
(10.71%) |
| Arturo Fuente Anejo No.
50 |
(11.61%) |
| Cusano Xclusivo Preferido
Grande |
(1.79%) |
| Graycliff
Pirate |
(2.46%) |
| CAO Criollo
Bomba |
(10.27%) |
| Padron Anniverary 1926
No. 1 Maduro |
(18.30%) |
| El Rey del Mundo Robusto
Larga |
(9.82%) |
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BEST
SMALL OR "BOUTIQUE" BRAND OF CIGARS |
| Bucanero |
(6.92%) |
Gurhka won this category with Graycliff coming
in second. It's likely that Gurhka will outgrow this category
for 2006. |
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| Gran Habano |
(14.96%) |
| Graycliff |
(21.21%) |
| Tatuaje |
(12.72%) |
| Gurhka |
(31.47%) |
| La Tradicion
Cubana |
(8.26%) |
| Butera |
(4.46%) |
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BEST HUMIDIFICATION
DEVICE |
| Cigar Oasis |
(43.53%) |
A hands down winner was the Cigar Oasis.
Yes we mixed active and passive devices, but when you look at the
results it's easy to see what people turn to to keep their cigars
humidified. |
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| Bovida
Humipouch |
(8.48%) |
| Accumonitor |
(8.48%) |
| Heartfelt Beads |
(17.63%) |
| Habitat Monitor |
(7.14%) |
| Paradigm |
(14.73%) |
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