20 Years on. Has much changed?

[El Presidente]

https://www.cigaraficionado.com/top25/2004

I don't know why it came to me on Sunday afternoon, but I thought it might be interesting to review CA's top 20 of 20 years ago and see which manufacturers were kicking arse and which of those manufacturers have since been resigned to the dustbin of history. 

To my surprise, not so much as changed 2004 to 2024 in terms of industry heavy hitters 

 

Cigar Aficionado Top 25 2004.

 

 

 

 

Padrón Serie 1926 40th Anniversary

The Padrón 1964 Anniversary Series is a tough act to follow—the brand repeatedly leads the tastings in CIGAR AFICIONADO magazine. So when the Padrón family set out to celebrate its 40th anniversary, we were skeptical about the prospects …

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#2

Aurora 100 Años Belicoso

#3

Cohiba Siglo VI

#4

Arturo Fuente Don Carlos No. 2

#5

Montecristo Platinum Series Mini Belicoso Tube

#6

La Gloria Cubana Reserva Figurado Selectos de Lujos

#7

Ashton Virgin Sun Grown Spellbound

#8

Montecristo No. 2

#9

Davidoff Millennium Blend Series Robusto

#10

Trinidad Robusto

#11

Litto Gomez Diez Chisel Puro

#12

San Cristobal de la Habana El Morro

#13

Fuente Fuente OpusX PerfecXion No. 5

#14

Vegas de Fonseca Sobrinos

#15

H. Upmann Magnum 46

#16

La Aroma de Cuba Corona

#17

C.A.O. L'Anniversaire 1968-1998 Cameroon Robusto

#18

Joya de Nicaragua Celebración Churchill

#19

Sancho Panza Extra Fuerte Madrid

#20

Camacho Special Limited Reserve Rothschild Maduro

#21

Ashton Heritage Puro Sol Belicoso No. 2

#22

Rocky Patel Vintage 1990 Robusto

#23

Padrón 6000 Maduro

#24

H. Upmann Vintage Cameroon Belicoso

#25

Tatuaje Cabinet Especiales

[Chibearsv]

There’s certainly a lot more CCs on this list than we see nowadays. 

[99call]

Love seeing the Mag 46 rocking the no bands, no bullshit look

[raggie]

Pretty neat to see the band changes over time.

Also, an NC Monte over the #2? How interesting!

[MrFolgers]

2 hours ago, Chibearsv said:

There’s certainly a lot more CCs on this list than we see nowadays. 

Hey, if you can't trust a publication to rate a cigar after only 15 minutes, who can you trust?!?!?!?