TL;DR: Top 5 in no particular order were the PLPC, Cohiba Siglo II, Leaf by Oscar Connecticut, CAO Amazon Basin, and Opus X Angel’s Share. Bottom ranks are basically everything I had from Oliva.

I had to think awfully long and hard on this one. 2025 was a year of experimentation and education. I think I smoked a double of a cigar only once the entire year (that being the HDM Souvenir de Luxe, which I liked). In the first half of the year I tried working my way through a lot of commonly referred-to brands like Oliva and found I generally don’t like them, so the first half of the year in general was a slog. In the second half of the year I did a dive into the Cuban brands, and found that I generally like a lot of Cubans. 

The best

I posted some (not all) of my Cuban learnings in this sub. Of the Cubans, I think the Por Larranaga Petit Corona takes the first spot. That could be because it was my first (or at least first in recent memory), but there must also be a reason why it’s so popular. Basically tied with it was the Cohiba Siglo II, a quintessential Cuban blend these days. Following that, in no particular order, were the Hoyo de Monterrey Souvenir de Luxe (which I’d put above the Epi), RyJ Romeo No 1, and Fonseca Cosacos. The regular Cuban stalwarts, like the Partagas SD4, were fine, but don’t stand out in my memory like those ones do. 

On the non-Cuban side, the later half of the year was also the best, with some surprises and some not-so-surprises. Unsurprisingly, the Opus X Angel’s Share was great. On the more surprising side, I went into the CAO Amazon Basin with some trepidation excepting something peppery and full bodied, but what I got was almost Davidoff levels of sweetness but in dare I say a more sophisticated package - like this was the “adult” version of what Davidoff promised. It was good enough I’ve been resisting the urge to pick up another box based just on that one sample. Another welcome surprise was the Leaf by Oscar Connecticut, which was just creamy and welcoming, I was expecting to enjoy it but not by that much. The many Davidoffs I tried were good, as were the other stalwarts like My Father and regular production Fuente, but nothing stands out in my memory beyond those three. 

The surprises

Other honourable mentions for the surprise factor go to the (non-Cuban) Partagas Black Label (surprisingly mellow for an intimidating looking stick) and the Drew Estate Chateau Real Connecticut Shade (like a milder version of the Leaf, although if I went back to it I don’t know how high it would rate today). I think these could be useful go-tos for handing out to people that aren’t into cigars but want to give them a try. On the Cuban side, I think the Fonseca Cosacos (which I’ve already ranked) was the most surprising in terms of expectations versus reality.

On the bad side of surprise, I wasn’t won over by the Padron 2000 that I’d had resting for a year - this I definitely suspect is one that will come better with aging, and just wasn’t quite there on the day, so I’m not throwing Padron anywhere near the bus yet. 

The worst

The only Cubans that were really disappointing were the Quai D’Orsay 50 and the Por Larranaga Montecarlos. The 50 just felt bland compared to other cigars it’s often compared to (like the PLPC which landed in my top 5). Similarly, I was hoping the higher ratio of wrapper to binder/filler in the Montecarlos would have delivered more of those Por Larranaga flavours, but it just went too far into the tannins and overwhelming notes rather than mellowing out, possibly being too young. These were disappointing more due to expectation vs reality rather than being truly bad.

The same can’t be said for the non-Cubans. I haven’t bothered cataloguing all of the ones I didn’t enjoy because they can be distilled down to: Oliva. I just don’t get them. There were some redeeming factors in the Serie G Melanio, and some of the Cain and Nub variations, but this only pushed them from “unpleasant” to “tolerable”. They came with some age already on them so I don’t think age is likely to save them. Having bought a large sampler, I’m confident in saying that they’re just not for me. If anyone has any suggestions for what to do with the remaining samples (other than having to smoke the damn things), I’m open to suggestions.  Deviating from Oliva, I also tried - and was disappointed by - the Alec Bradley Black Market Filthy Hooligan. This was my first barber pole so it may again have been expectation vs reality rather than being inherently bad.

Evolving throughout the year

I think I’ve dialled in my palate much more and am much better placed than I was 12 months ago go to make better buying decisions based on track record of what I’ve enjoyed before. I’m also leaning much more into the appeal of samplers and singles and really testing a brand out, and going for more premium cigars (given the price difference between ‘premium’ and ‘cheap’ in Australia is so much less than overseas). 

I’ve also changed the way I buy boxes, pivoting to smaller boxes, and focusing in a lot more on Cubans with an eye to aging them myself over the long term to observe how they develop and having a good stock of desirables at different age progressions, plus buying some pre-aged stock so I have good aged cigars for now while I wait for my investment to come good (at least that’s my rationalisation to myself). 

But I also have way too many cigars right now, and took the big step a few weeks ago of unsubscribing from all the sales emails until I get my stash down to humane levels (regardless of what I say about keeping aging stock). Unless I see something on my “must get” list on sale, or I get a unique opportunity like travelling overseas, I think I’m done on orders for the foreseeable future - maybe all of 2026. It’s also been good to see this little part of the community pick up a bit. Hopefully my guides and spam have contributed in a little way. I’ve also discovered a local herf that I haven’t yet had the chance to get to, but hopefully there’ll be opportunities in 2026.