Stogie Commentary: Perfect Fives of 2010
11 May 2011
When Patrick A awarded a five-stogie rating to the Avo Limited Edition 2011 Diademas, a reader wondered what other cigars had garnered such a great grade.
So, I thought it was time to round up the top-rated cigars from 2010. You can catch up on previous years here and here. Going through the Stogie Guys Review Archive, I found four fives in 2010.
The limited-edition Davidoff Colorado Claro Short Perfecto was reviewed by Patrick S, who found it subtle and full of flavor. “In so many cigars, saltiness is a sign of a lack of balance—but here that flavor contributes to what makes it such a distinct and enjoyable smoke,†he wrote.
He also gave Pepin Garcia’s El Centurion, another limited edition, high praise along with the high rating, calling it the blender’s masterpiece: “It’s a deliciously complex cigar that is well-rounded and balanced from start to finish.†(Probably makes you wish, as I do, they were still around.)
A three-year-old Padilla was the one cigar I gave five stogies last year. I found it much better than I recalled those I smoked fresh and noted that one of my colleagues gave the ’68 but three and a half stogies when he reviewed it a few years earlier. I haven’t smoked another aged Padilla ’68 yet, so I can’t add to what I wrote then, when I praised the cigar’s balance and complexity.
Boutique, Virginia-based cigar maker Paul Garmirian has often earned high ratings at StogieGuys.com. His Symphony was no exception. Patrick A was impressed and said it was “unquestionably worthy†of five stogies. “Its harmonious flavor calls to mind a complex, balanced composition that leaves the audience calling for an encore performance,†he wrote. The Symphony, too, is a limited edition.
There you have it. These are, in the definition of five out of five stogies, “tasty, complex cigars are truly an occasion. We recommend you give these babies your full and undivided attention.†For a list of all our five stogie-rated cigar, check out our archive here.
photo credit: Stogie Guys
Patrick Ashby
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Thank you gentlemen for the recap and the effort for retrieving these reviews. It is very much appreciated.
I will be back in NYC in June and will make my usual stop at the Davidoff shop and I'll see if I can find one of the Colorado Claro Short Perfectos.
If they don't have this special cigar, then what else would you suggest for someone who prefers a mild to medium cigar from the Davidoff collection?
EdMac – Wish I could help you, but I haven't smoked enough Davidoffs to offer much of a suggestion. I do know that the Davidoffs I've smoked have been terrific, including the bargain Private Stock line (http://www.stogieguys.com/2011/03/03292011-stogie-reviews-private-stock-no-1.html)
Thanks for the link George.
I will check out their private stock too.
I've always liked Davidoff's Grand Cru series. In fact, I may be mistaken, but I think the first cigar that ever received a 5-stogie rating here was the Grand Cru No. 3.
http://www.stogieguys.com/2006/08/stogie-reviews-…
Thanks Patrick.
I will be buying one of these when I get back to Davidoff's shop on Madison Avenue. I am sure it is more expensive since you reviewed it but it sounds like a "treat" cigar while I am away from home. Davidoff has an arrangement with a local cigar bar that doesn't charge a "cutting fee". Any suggestions for an "adult beverage" to pair this with? I am just beginning to drink rum scotch and bourbon so nothing to "strong".
Thanks again.