POLL CLOSED! FINALE - FOH Top 5 Tastiest Cigars of 2019

[MasterYotti]

Hello fellow FOHers!

Thank you all for your participation in the initial phase of this study! This poll contains all the finalists for a head-to-head battle for the FOH Top 5 Tastiest Cigars of 2019! During this study, we are looking to gather the tastiest regular production Cuban cigars that your palate has loved experiencing from 2019! I ask that you take the bias out of your votes for each marca, and judge only by your taste buds. Don’t factor in the price, smoke quality, or even consistency (all aspects aside). Taste is a very subjective attribute of cigars and we are all drawn toward our personal preferences. We all have our own sides of the spectrum, from chocolate to leather and pepper to brioche. I ask each member to imagine, if you were only able to pick 5 cigars of 2019, what would your top choices be? All Top 3 picks for each individual marca poll results have been added to the final poll, as well as every marca that is made up of 3 or less cigars. The goal of this ranking system is to find what the general consensus of FOH is for the 5 tastiest Cuban stogies of 2019! I am curious to see where we all trend, solely based on the topic of taste. We might have more in common than we all thought, in this beautiful and vast world of Cuban cigars! We would love to see comments below explaining what you love about the Top 5 cigars you voted for!

May the best cigars WIN!

[MasterYotti]

Big thank you to @JohnS and @MoeFOH for all of your much appreciated help with the study! ?

[JohnS]

So, if I had a choice of cigars with 2017 and 2018 box codes, my choices would be different (i.e. I definitely would have considered UEB 18 Montecristo No.4's, LGR 17 & 18 Por Larranaga Montecarlos and MSU Jun 17 La Gloria Cubana Medaille d'Or No.4).

In the end, when looking at my hottest 5 cigars with 2019 Box Codes, I went with (in no particular order) Bolivar Belicoso Finos, Cohiba Esplendidos, Hoyo de Monterrey Double Coronas, Romeo y Julieta Churchills and Trinidad Fundadores.

[Goodfortune]

11 minutes ago, JohnS said:

 I went with (in no particular order) Bolivar Belicoso Finos, Cohiba Esplendidos, Hoyo de Monterrey Double Coronas, Romeo y Julieta Churchills and Trinidad Fundadores.

I too chose Cohiba Esplendidos, HdMDC and Trinidad Fundadores. CoRo and Partagas Lusi were my other 2

[MasterYotti]

Great choices! ? What flavors do you find that you are most drawn to in your selections?

[JohnS]

1 hour ago, MasterYotti said:

Great choices! ? What flavors do you find that you are most drawn to in your selections?

The one main flavour (or combination of flavours) that appeals to me in these cigars of late are:-

• Bolivar Belicoso Finos - maltiness
• Cohiba Esplendidos - milk coffee and citrus
• Hoyo de Monterrey Double Coronas - powdered cocoa and biscuit
• Romeo y Julieta Churchills - berry fruits
• Trinidad Fundadores - butter and cookie dough

[barry12321]

@JohnS would you recommend anything else out there with milk chocolate and citrus notes like the Esplendidos that are easier to come by?

[JohnS]

10 minutes ago, barry12321 said:

@JohnS would you recommend anything else out there with milk chocolate and citrus notes like the Esplendidos that are easier to come by?

Ooh, if you mean milk coffee and citrus the Cohiba Robustos would come to mind, but if you mean milk chocolate and citrus 'twang', a quality Montecristo option like the Montecristo Especiales No.2 or Linea 1935 series (Leyenda, Maltes, Dumas - although I've found these definitely 'hit-and-miss').

[Puros Y Vino]

Hmm.  Not a "flex" by any stretch of the imagination, but I have no 2019 box codes (minus LGC Invictos).  2017 are my youngest regular production stock with the odd 2018 tossed in.

[Connoisseur Kim]

Partagas Lusitania from Kenfession Comp sampler - Cigar of The Year 2020 to me ?!

[MasterYotti]

What flavors do most members get from a Partagas Lusitania?

[FatPete]

I don't usually smoke cigars less than 12 months from box date, but from the 3 I have, the Esplendido was disappointing, the Churchills outstanding and the BRC good, so the Churchills got my vote

[TTP21]

No Hoyo Rio Seco?  I believe it was top 3 in the Marca poll. 

[JohnS]

1 hour ago, TTP21 said:

No Hoyo Rio Seco?  I believe it was top 3 in the Marca poll. 

Oh, we definitely hear you! The final poll faced a technicality in that it was limited to a maximum of 40 final options (to work effectively) and it needed to have vitolas across a number of marcas. Cutting the last two or three was especially difficult.

[TTP21]

Just now, JohnS said:

Oh, we definitely hear you! The final poll faced a technicality in that it was limited to a maximum of 40 final options (to work effectively) and it needed to have vitolas across a number of marcas. Cutting the last two or three was especially difficult.

Makes sense!  My experience with 19 stock is still relatively limited, but the Rio Seco have been spectacular!

[JohnS]

5 minutes ago, TTP21 said:

Makes sense!  My experience with 19 stock is still relatively limited, but the Rio Seco have been spectacular!

Yes, same here. I can't get enough of them right now! ? ?

[BoliDan]

JFC that was a harder choice than Abraham had to make in the old Testament

[DaBoot]

BBF, Bolivar petite corona were amazing and consistent. Partagas D4 had all the spice and no edges, and my dark horse was the Trinidad Reyes!!! Probably the top 2 cigars of the year for me were these. So much flavor!  
a lot of my 2019 boxes are still untouched, but these I’ve had have been incredible ??

[CampDelta369]

I have not had many 2019 stock to date so my picks were limited. For example the MC#4 and MC#5 2018 are excellent on all levels but have not had any newer box codes. So in my small sampling of 2019:

The last RYJ Churchill was stunning. The Partagas Lusitanias are excellent. The Esplendidos are rich and approachable which i have not found in other young Cohibas. The surprises for me are the JL No.1 and Trinidad Reyes. They were absolute flavor bombs with NO edges and so young. Although the JL No.1 is a strong one.

 

[MasterYotti]

On 5/31/2020 at 4:13 AM, CampDelta369 said:

I have not had many 2019 stock to date so my picks were limited. For example the MC#4 and MC#5 2018 are excellent on all levels but have not had any newer box codes. So in my small sampling of 2019:

The last RYJ Churchill was stunning. The Partagas Lusitanias are excellent. The Esplendidos are rich and approachable which i have not found in other young Cohibas. The surprises for me are the JL No.1 and Trinidad Reyes. They were absolute flavor bombs with NO edges and so young. Although the JL No.1 is a strong one.

 

I have noticed this as well with my Trinidad Reyes! So flavourful! 

We just surpassed 100 votes and it is a close race to the Top! Thank you to everyone who has taken the time to vote!

If you haven't voted, we would love to hear what you think! ?

[MasterYotti]

44 minutes ago, juri said:

I’d love to see a second vote to help narrow it down with only the top 10 as options to vote on

Great idea! 

[MasterYotti]

We are up to 125 votes currently, with 7 cigars ahead of the rest of the pack! I wanted to let everyone know that this poll will be closing in 7 days from now (June 10th). Please sure to get your votes in, it will greatly help the study.

 

[WineAcrobat]

I'm like a few others in this thread. Don't have any 19's in my humi yet so not putting in any votes. Excited to see the outcome though. (and happy to hear good things about 2019 Trinidad) 

[JohnS]

With 1 day left we've had 179 members vote (thank you!). The current leaders are:

1. Bolivar Belicosos Finos           45 votes
2. Partagas Lusitanias                44 votes
3. H.Upmann Sir Winston            41 votes       
4. Trinidad Fundadores              40 votes
5. Cohiba Esplendidos                39 votes
6. Cohiba Robustos                    36 votes
7. Romeo y Julieta Churchills      36 votes
8. Partagas Serie D No.4            30 votes
9. Juan Lopez Seleccion No.2     27 votes
10. H.Upmann Connossieur A       25 votes

There's still time to influence the result of the Top 5 tastiest cigars of 2019 so feel free to vote if you have not done so!

Edit: Updated Wednesday 10th of June.

[MasterYotti]

18 hours ago, juri said:

surprised D4 is that far back, id also take both fund and coro over esplendidos ......honestly why id like to see one more vote, you have 4 cigars separated by 1 vote for 5th

What do other members, who voted, think about one last poll after the closure of this one? I am open to doing this if other members believe it will merit a further refined result to the study! The entire goal is for us to see what “cream of the crop” has risen through the ranks of our communal taste buds from 2019! ? Also, please @JohnS and @MoeFOH let me know what you think on this! Since there is a relatively clear distinction right at about 10 cigars, I could see how this may create additional value to the FOH family.