....and the Cigar Afficianado #1 for 2012 is...

[omowasu]

Originally Posted by T.G

The list isn't formed from all the cigars out there, just all the cigars that they tested that year, typically new stuff, or new sizes in existing lines. Past that, it's just multi-round blind or double-blind (not sure which they use offhand) tasting & elimination.

Agreed, I received a CA 20th Anniversary issue which had an article all about their blind tasting and rating process, and it all appears to be legitimate. For the past few years, it does not appear to be driven directly by ad revenue (Davidoff example is good).

That said, I often wonder why Habanos have relatively poor showings in the Top 25. Yes, there are a few here and there, but by and large they are a third rung. Thankfully there are two in this years top 10. I think this may be the effect of both the USA market of Cigar Aficionado as well as the smoking of relatively young Habanos.

Their Connoisseur's Corner cigar section has much, much more qualitative ratings for aged Habanos and other aged varieties.