Twenty twenty-four marks The Dojo’s 13th year-end cigar rankings, kicking off in 2012 with a Top 10 list that was geared for the “Joe Sixpack” hobbyist. The lists have evolved quite a bit over the past decade-plus, now featuring our picks for the Top 20 Cigars of the Year, as well as five Exceptional Awards. Below you will find the schedule for when each pick will be revealed, along with the guidelines explaining how the picks were made.
COTY 2024 Awards Schedule
| Date | Reveal | |
|---|---|---|
| 12·30·24 | #20 | |
| #19 | ||
| #18 | ||
| 12·31·24 | #17 | |
| #16 | ||
| 1·1·25 | #15 | |
| #14 | ||
| 1·2·25 | #13 | #12 |
| 1·3·25 | #11 | |
| #10 | ||
| 1·6·25 | #9 | |
| #8 | ||
| 1·7·25 | #7 | |
| #6 | ||
| 1·8·25 | #5 | |
| #4 | ||
| 1·9·25 | #3 | #2 |
| 1·10·25 | #1 | |
Following the final reveal on Jan. 10th, 2025, we will go over the full list (as well as the Exceptional Awards announcements) with added commentary on a special edition of Smoke Night LIVE.
Top 20 COTY List
- Sold in the USA
- Released in 2024
To curate the 2024 Cigars of the Year list, the Cigar Dojo team—comprising four staff members, including contributing reviewers—creates individual rankings of their top 20 cigars of the year, following the criteria listed above. Points are assigned based on ranking, with the No. 1 cigar earning 20 points, the No. 2 cigar 19 points, and so on. To maintain fairness, cigars must receive votes from at least two panel members to qualify, preventing any single vote from disproportionately influencing the results. Once the points are compiled, the list is finalized by Cigar Dojo’s founders, Eric and Jordan Guttormson, ensuring the selections align with the brand’s culture and values established in 2012.
COTY 2024 Exceptional Awards Schedule
| Date | Reveal | |
|---|---|---|
| 1·10·25 | Under the Radar | |
| Value | ||
| Packaging | ||
| Person | ||
| Brand | ||
All five Exceptional Awards will be announced during our Smoke Night LIVE reveal show, taking place on Jan. 10th, 2025 at 9pm Eastern.
Exceptional Awards List
- Sold in the USA
- Released/Occurred in 2024
The Exceptional Awards list is unique, highlighting a wide range of cigar styles, including our picks for the best value cigar, under-the-radar cigar, and more. Because of this, each award contains slightly different guidelines, with each category collectively meeting the two guidelines listed above. Additionally:
- Under the Radar: top cigar that we feel is somewhat unnoticed by the average enthusiast.
- Value: the best cigar priced in the $8.99-and-under range.
- Packaging: the best and most creative packaging doesn’t necessarily mean the most elaborate or gaudy. It’s about packaging that suits the project, is creative or innovative, and is undeniably eye-catching.
- Person: picked subjectively based on the cigar personality that made the biggest relative impact throughout 2024.
- Brand: Cigar Dojo staff members vote on the cigar brand that they felt saw the biggest gains, made influential changes, and generally captured the attention of the cigar world throughout 2024.
COTY Plaques
All 25 Cigar of the Year winners are given a plaque, showing off the cigar along with a few stats to give a quick impression of each blend. The guidelines behind these stats are as follows:
- Country: the country where the cigar is rolled.
- Body: our subjective take on the cigar’s body on a scale of 1–5.
- Price: the median price (MSRP) across a cigar’s entire line is evaluated and averaged to the nearest dollar. Median prices that fall between $0 and $11 are considered affordable (one price symbol); prices ranging from $12 to $19 are considered average (two price symbols); prices $20 and above are considered expensive (three price symbols). There is a similar price scale on Dojoverse.com, which was updated in 2024 to stay in line with rising inflation. We try to keep our year-end list in sync with the Dojoverse system, and these price ranges now reflect those changes.
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