Ever smoked a classic maduro and thought to yourself “I wonder what this cigar experience would be like if this sucker packed a punch”? Well Eiroa finally has an answer for that. Following up last year’s CBT release Eiroa created a Maduro version which was unlike any maduro cigars I have ever had. It’s big, it’s bold, it’s powerful and fires on all cylinders front the second you light up, to the second you put it down. You can check out my full review here.

#9. Tatuaje – Tattoo

Tatuaje always seems to find their way into our top 10 lists and with good reason. Most of Pete Johnson’s creations fit my flavor profile and their experiences are always impressive. This year Pete decided to create a great cigar, and a very low cost. While many manufacturers have attempted this, Pete actually created something incredible that can hold it’s own in comparison to some of the more expensive blends out there. The Tattoo leads forward with sweetness, rich flavors, and a medium body resulting in a great experience while not breaking the bank. You can check out the full review here.

#8. Quesada – 40th Anniversary Corona Clasica

Quesada is a company that over the last few years have really rebranded themselves by making some incredibly cigars. Adding to that list is the 40th Anniversary Corona Clasica. Not to be confused with the standard 40th Anniversary, the Corona Clasica sports it’s very own blend. The cigar offers up some amazing flavors with a relatively mild strength profile. I’m not big on Connecticut shade cigars, but when they are done right they can create some killer experiences and this cigar shows just how great that wrapper can be. You can read my full review here.

#7. Padron Family Reserve 50 Years Maduro

Padron’s Family Reserve 50 Years Maduro has been a long time in the making. Each time a new Family Reserve hits the marking it’s almost immediately branded into the minds of people who create “Top cigars of XXXX” lists such as these, and the 50 years is no exception. While the Natural version didn’t really do it for me, the maduro delivered on all accounts. Amazing, bold flavor profile with medium/full strength and amazing construction. My only complaint would be the price, which isn’t really a complaint as I still gladly pay for them as the experience delivered is well worth it. You can check out my full review here.

#6. Joya de Nicaragua – Joya Red

Joya De Nicaragua doesn’t release many new blends, so upon release the Joya Red took the cigar world by storm. Joya de Nicaragua has always been known for its strong Nicaraguan roots, and absolutely solid cigars. The Joya Red falls right into this category. While it remains a medium strength cigar the Red offers some great bold flavors, with an extremely easy experience making it the perfect “anytime of the day” cigar. Joya de Nicaragua kept the costs very low on this blend while making production high resulting in tons of availability at a great price. You can check out my full review here.

#5. Fratello – Boxer

It took me a while to finally chase down Fratello cigars. They aren’t easy to come by in these parts, but once I had one there was no stopping me from grabbing all that I could carry. While making it’s introduction into the cigar world last year, the Fratello released a new box-pressed torpedo format this year. What I love the most about the cigar is it’s bold, sweet, balanced flavors without the huge strength punch. I just wish these were a bit easier to come by. You can check out my full review of the corona version here.

#4. La Palina – Goldie Laguito Especial

Yup, it’s another Goldie and its on another list. There isn’t much to say about this cigar that hasn’t been said already. With the Goldie you expect the most precise, flawless construction ever encountered followed with an incredibly smooth and balanced flavor experience that falls in the medium/full range. The only thing keeping this cigar out of the top 3 is the price tag and availability. It’s quite pricey, and very limited, but I’d gladly pay the coin time and time again. You can check out my full review here.

#3. The Crowned Heads – Jericho Hill

The Crowned Heads do it again. Honestly, this company has been smashing home runs each and every time they have been at bat. One thing that I love about these guys is they don’t waste anytime savoring the moment each time a new cigar releases. This year, as soon as a release started to get press there was another blend flying right out. Not only do The Crowned Heads make great cigars, but they do it with such passion and their great attitudes are contagious. The Jericho Hill was one of the first releases they made in conjunction with My Father Cigars. It carries some deep, sweet, enjoyable flavors with a milder body, great price tag, and easy availability. You can check out my full review here.

#2. Espinosa Premium Cigars – Laranja

Espinosa cigars is no stranger to our top 10 lists at Casas Fumando, and this year is no exception. Riding incredible press that surrounded this cigar during it’s debut at this year’s IPCPR show, the Laranja was a cigar that lived up to it’s hype. Sporting extremely bold flavors over a heightened strength profile the Laranja isn’t for the faint of heart. Those looking for a true bold experience done right look no further. You can check out my full review here.

#1. Illusione – Fume D’Amour

My #1 was an easy one this year and probably one of the best cigars I have had in a very long time. Illusione’s Fume D’Amour is the perfect mixture of complexity, creaminess, balance, strength and flavor. The Fume D’Amour is a great addition to an already amazing portfolio. To top that off Dion not only made this cigar very affordable, but added it to his regular production so it’s widely available and will be for a long time. You can read the full review here.

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The Good Stuff:

Omar De Frias, the Fratello Brand owner, grew up in the Dominican Republic. The Fratello was materialized when he wanted to create a cigar that got back to his Dominican roots. De Frias worked for years to perfect his matriculate blend until he reached sheer perfection. The blend features a Nicaraguan Habano wrapper, Ecuadorian Sumatra Binder, and a mixed of Nicaraguan and Peruvian fillers. The Fratello was originally offered in four sizes: Corona (5.5 x 46), Robusto (5.5 x 52), Toro (6.25 x 54) and the Timecacle (6 x 60), but they released a new box-pressed torpedo format earlier this year call the Boxer (6.25 x 52). The cigars come in boxes of 20 and range between $7.20 and $9.00 a cigar. I purchased a handful of these over from the good guys at 2 Guys Smoke Shop. They should have plenty in stock if you’d like to get your hands on a few, or a lot. Keep up with Fratello on their website, Facebook and Twitter.

Size: 5.5 x 46
Wrapper: Nicaraguan Habano
Binder: Ecuadorian Sumatra
Filler: Nicaragua and Peru
Body: Full
Strength: Medium/Full
Price: $7.20
Pairing: Brooklyn Black Chocolate Stout (Imperial Stout 10% ABV)

Prelight:

We’ll start with the band, how cool is this thing? It’s basically a red, white, and black angled banner made to look like a double diagonal banner band (say that three times fast). The top portion says “FRAT” while the bottom portion says “ELLO” obviously spelling out “Fratello” while there is a smaller black portion where the two banners meet which modestly says “Fratello Cigars”. What I love about this design is the throwback style to the old 50’s era artwork. For those gamers out there it’s very Bioshockesque. The cigar’s wrapper is deep brown with orange tints and lots of webbing and darker brown areas scattered throughout the body. The cigar is polished off with a beautiful round double cap. The body on the Fratello only carries a few medium sized veins while the entire cigar is well-packed and firm as hell. The wrapper on the cigar feels a bit thin and delicate so I won’t press my luck squeezing this cigar too much.

The wrapper on the Fratello gives off a whole ton of deep cedar aromas while the foot of the cigar is much more spicier with some great tobacco scents and a bit of black pepper. The cap cut very easily, in fact, be careful with this one as it cuts like butter and if you put too much pressure you may crush it. The cold draw produces some nice cedar, chocolate, and lots of mixed spices.

First Third:

The Fratello stats off with a whole mess of black pepper and spice. I was expecting it to be there, just not as prominent as it was. As the pepper fades out I am left with this badass mixture of plum, chocolate, musk, and cedar. It’s an incredible start to the cigar. The draw is perfect with each puff putting out a good amount of rather thin smoke. the burn line is a bit wavy, but nothing too concerning as it leaves behind a trail of brilliant white, and light gray tightly compacted ash which held on for well over an inch despite the wind trying to knock it off.

Second Third:

The Fratello continues to rock in the flavor department. The spice is just about gone and the plum and chocolate have really taken the show with the backing flavors of cedar, musk, and some floral hints mixed in there. The retrohale tells a much different story as it’s completely full of strong spice and cedar. I wasn’t expecting my nasal passage to get bombarded by spice, but they did. The burn line is still a bit wavy, but not concerning as I close out the second third with a ton of flavor, and almost nothing in the nicotine department.

Final Third:

The flavor is still just absolutely incredible in the Fratello as I venture into the final third. The plum and cedar are killing it while the spice has been resurrected backing the flavor profile along with the musk, sweetness, and floral notes. This is an incredible tasting experience. Along with the body ramping up, the strength has wondered into the medium/full area as well as I am starting to feel a bit of a kick from this little cigar. The burn line has been slightly wavy the whole experience but I never once had to reach for my lighter. The final inch experience absolutely no harshness, nor really any heat and I took this baby down as far as I could before my fingers caught on fire.

Overview:

If it wasn’t already obvious i fell in love with the Fratello from the first time I smoked one. The bold experience, great construction, price and availably all hit a sweet spot with me. Without giving too much away, I’d be shocked if this didn’t make it in my top 10 list this year. While the flavors were a bit complex, I think this is a great cigar for those novices who are looking for a great, premium, full-bodied cigar while seasoned cigar smokers would absolutely love the flavors in this thing. This is box-worthy for sure, and then some. Get a couple.

Pairing:

One of my favorite annual releases is Brooklyn’s Black Chocolate Stout. From the Brooklyn Brewery in New York, this 10% ABV Imperial stout leads forward with a whole ton of dark chocolate. It almost tastes like a dark chocolate bar, but the good kind. Lots of sweetness and a bit of spice with a heavy mouthfeel before finishing off very sweet with a whole lot of chocolate and some slight berry. The pairing was incredible as both the beer and the cigar matched up seamlessly. There were times where the sweetness in the beer really helped move the bold flavors in the cigar while the cigar added a whole mess of spice to the beer drinking experience.

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