A.C.E. Samplers Mike's Top 5

#5 Patina LE 2024 Robusto

It shouldn't be much of a surprise that the best cigar ever released by one of our all time favorite brands makes this list. The Patina LE 2024 is a bomb of flavor. With one of the most incredible Connecticut Broadleaf wrappers we've tried, this is a cigar unlike any other. In many years, this stick would be a top 2 or 3 cigar, but with such an mazing lineup, it settles in at #5.

#4 Jamie Garcia Connecticut Churchill

My father cigars is almost certain to put out something every year that blows our socks off. However, we never expected just how good the Jamie Connecticut Churchill was going to be. The creamy smooth flavors of this cigar are unmatched, with a brilliant note of cedar coming through to the forefront of the experience. The Jamie Connecticut has quickly become a daily smoke for many of us here at the shop, and is more than deserving of the #4 Cigar of the year.

#3 Plasencia 151 Salomon TAA Exclusive

Plasencia may be our brand of the year, with multiple cigars that could've made this list, but when we had the chance to try the 151 TAA exclusive, we thought we had our cigar of the year. Using tobacco as old as 2016, the complexities of this stick are out of this world. It also happens to be one of the best rolled Salomon's on the market, with a flawless burn line all the way through. We found ourselves smoking these cigars far more than any Plasencia from the day they were released. The cigars in these samplers are our last ones!

#2 E.P. Carrillo 15th Anniversary

From the company that gave us the highest rated non-Cuban cigar EVER, the EPC 15 is indescribable in its flavors, creating at experience far beyond what we could've predicted. This cigar is something that many here at the shop have said is the cigar of the year, and we wanted to agree. but at #2 that leaves...

#1 Padron Black PB-97

Mike ranked this cigar as the #1 cigar of 2024. I have it as my favorite cigar of all time. The PB-97 is one of the most rare Padron cigars in the world for a reason. A true powerhouse cigar, the smoking experience is unlike anything you've tried before. Complex notes of dark earth, creamy chocolate, heavy espresso, wet oak, and so many more, this cigar was the clear cut #1 cigar we had this year. It also happens to be one of the most exclusive cigars we have ever featured on a cigar of the year list. A true must have, the PB-97 is an indulgent, luxurious experience that outclassed any cigar we had in 2024!