I picked up two of these just on the “Best of 2008″ ad next to the box and they were 5$. Figured it would be worth the money. It was an easy smoke and something I could just smoke but not worry about ditching if needed(I’m in the military) because they aren’t too expensive. It was a good smoke and I haven’t gone out of my way to order cigars online since I found my love for the Java. So I can say that for the money its one of the most enjoyable cigars I’ve smoked in a while.

I can shed some light on this being in contention for the “best of”… I have been collecting wine for the last few years and don’t consider myself an avid cigar smoker. You touched it briefly, the economy affected the magazines. They picked the cigar so they could claim a “best of” that the anyman can afford. The wine industry has been doing in lately. I can’t say that it hurts because it actually breeds competition and will some-what affect the market. A 200$ bottle of wine four years ago is now being sold at 150$ at no cut in quality.

Gone are the days of people having more dispensable income on things of leisure. So hopefully we’ll see good sales for a good cigar worth a handful of dollars and more companies will drop the cost down a notch or two.

I have noticed that there is a “Best of Bargain 2009″ this year and I don’t know if there was such a category when this cigar was given the #1?