Connoisseurs Corner | Cigar Aficionado

Connoisseur’s Corner: Hoyo de Monterrey Exclusivo

This big cigar comes from an intriguing box of 50: half of the cigars are traditional, box-pressed Hoyo Double Coronas, while the other half are Exclusivos, the same size as the Double Corona but presented in the round, and with a different band. The Exclusivos are flavorful …

Connoisseur’s Corner: Don Candido Dunhill Selección No. 500

One of the most delicious cigars I’ve ever smoked. At 6 1/2 inches by 48 ring, it’s nearly a Churchill, and the largest size in the long gone Don Candido brand. The draw remains flawless and the beautiful brown wrapper is still silky after all these years. It’s a very creamy …

Connoisseur’s Corner: Partagás Corona Inmensas Extra Maduro

Back in the pre-Castro days of Havana, cigars would often be marked with the designation “maduro.” It’s a practice that fell out of favor after the revolution. This dark, long cigar is a throwback from the early 1950s, and despite its age, it’s vibrant from the first puff, with …

Connoisseur’s Corner: Romeo y Julieta Fabuloso (1985)

It’s surprising how little this “A”-sized cigar tastes like cedar, seeing how it spent so many years in a cedar box. Instead, this is a nutty, fruity smoke, with light hints of peach tea that transition to more festive, concentrated notes of dried apricot and fig paste. There’s …

Connoisseur’s Corner: Punch Super Selection No. 1

Even though this long corona has been sitting in a 50-count cabinet for 24 years, the dark, gleaming wrapper hasn’t lost any of its oils. Each puff delivers dense smoke that’s both sweet and savory with a palate of mocha, caramel and graham cracker atop salty notes of leather, …

Connoisseur’s Corner: Pre-Castro Romeo y Julietas

This cabinet of 50 pre-Castro cigars has unusual packaging, and the smaller cigars inside come packed in foil. The smokes are dark brown, and roughish in texture, a nod to the sun-grown wrappers with which they are made, and they measure a little more than five inches in length, …

Connoisseur’s Corner: The First Cigar of the Year

This Padrón was the first Cigar of the Year ever bestowed by this magazine, and came from one of the original painted boxes. Fourteen years later, the cigar is still full of life, nuance and character. Every puff has subtle, yet delicious notes of nutmeg and chestnuts with hints …

Connoisseur’s Corner: A Flawless Hoyo de Monterrey

When you think of superb, big cigars, this one immediately comes to mind, for Hoyo Double Coronas are a benchmark for that Cuban size, which also goes by the name prominente. The wrapper on this large cigar—it measures 7 5/8 inches long, with a 49 ring gauge—is the texture of …

Connoisseur’s Corner: A Churchill For Sir Winston

This Churchill-sized cigar is named for Sir Winston Churchill himself. At seven inches long by 47 ring, it’s the same size as a Romeo y Julieta Churchill, but far harder to find. Its packaging is distinctive, with a dark green box. The smoke itself, medium-brown in color and 23 …

Connoisseur’s Corner: A 98-Point Montecristo

Monte 5s are the lesser-known, smaller siblings of the ubiquitous Montecristo No. 4s. This well-aged example comes from a box of 25, which looks similar to modern-day boxes, but a closer look shows the far thicker lid, older Cuban tax seal and the absence of the “Habanos” …