No. 18 Cigar of the Year 2025 – Gold Star

United Cigars reached far into their playbook with the Gold Star project, resurrecting a cigar that had initially debuted in 1995. In doing so, they staggered the project into two phases: a limited blend for 2024 and a tweaked recipe for 2025’s regular-production release. Both versions were crafted by the Ventura family and their facilities in the Dominican Republic, with 2025’s version expanding from one to three sizes (as well as a slightly different look between the two). The Gold Star is rolled using an Ecuadorian Habano 2000 intermedio wrapper from the country’s Quevedo region, an Indonesian Sumatra binder, and fillers of Dominican ligeros, Criollo ’98, Corojo ’98, and Connecticut Broadleaf. Along with a full-year’s age prior to release, the blend was tweaked to include higher percentages of both ligero and Broadleaf, amplifying the cigar’s body and strength. With a medium intensity, the cigar centers on flavor and complexity, showing off components of light caramel, cabinet spice, natural sweetness, and piney nutmeg. Additionally, the cut tobaccos help amp up the experience in terms of sensation, delivering a tingling jolt of nicotine across the tongue that keeps your attention firmly on the smoke at hand from start to finish.

Gold Star Breakdown

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