Top Rated Cigars - 90+ Ratings

At Cigars International, we display cigar ratings that are published by Cigar Aficionado magazine. When they rate cigars, they remove the bands and smoke them blind so that all scores are objective. All cigars are scored on a 100-point scale, 100 being the highest possible score. Cigars are scored based on four categories: appearance, smoking characteristics (how a cigar draws and how it burns), flavor, and overall impression.

The highest possible Cigar Aficionado rating for a cigar is 100, which has never happened for a current production cigar. Generally, any cigar rated 90 points or higher is considered very good by the critics. Cigar Aficionado releases a Top 25 Cigars of the Year list every year, and the best cigars of the year usually score between 92 and 95 points. 

The highest rated cigar ever was a Cuban Hoyo de Monterrey Double Corona in 1992 with a 99-rating. In more recent years, a 98-rating is the highest we’ve seen. In 2020, E.P. Carrillo Pledge was the number one best cigar of the year with a 98-point rating. In 2021 Padron 1964 Anniversary Series was the top cigar with a 97-rating. 

Most cigar reviewers grade cigars on a point-based system up to 100 points that considers appearance, construction, and flavor. Generally, most people view a score of 90 or higher to put a cigar in the top tier of rankings, which is why we only advertise scores of 90 or better published by Cigar Aficionado magazine. But just because a cigar doesn’t have an advertised rating doesn’t mean it’s not good. Many cigars that score in the 80’s are great cigars that most people would enjoy. There are also qualifying metrics for which cigars can even be rated by the critics. Sometimes very good cigars never go through the rating system at all.