FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 9, 2017
The Cigar Media Association is pleased to announce the 3rd Annual Cigar Industry Awards. With the establishment of the Cigar Media Association in 2014, the members involved in the association created a process where they could honor and celebrate the companies and individuals in the cigar industry. This effort is a true collaborative effort among various brands of the cigar media have come together for such a process. Once again the Awards return to recognize the 2016 accomplishments.
As in previous years, we have selected three categories.
Cigar of the Year
Everyone always talks about Cigar of the Year, but we wanted media members come together to decide what cigar is truly Cigar of the Year. To quality was simple, the cigar needed to be released in the 2016 year and nominated by a Cigar Media Association member. Each member was asked to nominate five cigars for this category. Of course, multiple members votes on similar cigars, so it was easy to determine which cigars led the pack. Vitolas were all consolidated into a single line. From there, we took the five cigars with the highest votes and submitted them back to the members where there will be a final vote. The winner of Cigar of the Year will be announced January 21st, 2017
- Davidoff Nicaragua Box Pressed Davidoff Yamasá
- Mi Querida by Dunbarton. Tobacco and Trust
- Padrón 1926 Serie Natural
- RoMa Craft Intemperance Whiskey Rebellion
- Warped Maestro Del Tiempo
Brand of the Year
Brand of the Year, was a category that was created to recognize all brands on the market. This was a category that did not look at a specific cigar and that cigar’s accomplishments that year, but rather looked at a brand as a whole and how well received it was that year and the impact it had. In some ways, this is the big picture award, but at the same time, does not take into account a brand new release. You can look at a company that re-branded itself, a company that re-blended some past releases, or nothing at all. This company could go to that brand that did not have a huge victory, but a lot of subtle ones throughout the year. Like Cigar of the Year, we asked all the members to think of the five brands that the biggest impact on the cigar industry that year. For 2017, we took the four brands with the highest votes and submitted them back to members for a final vote. Like Cigar of the Year, the winner of Brand of the Year will be announced January 21st, 2017.
- AJ Fernandez Cigars
- Davidoff
- RoMa Craft Tobac
- Warped Cigars
Media Member of the Year
This is a category that was created to recognize the media site that delivered terrific content throughout the year. This award is given to the media member who best exemplifies what the Cigar Media Association is about, and provides the industry with a reliable and enjoyable source of content. This is an award given to the member that constantly delivered content to his or her readers throughout the year. All members of the association in good standings were able to qualify for the award, and each member was asked to vote for three members for the award. Once we had the three with the highest votes, we submitted them back for members for a final vote. The Online Media Member of the Year will be announced January 21st, 2017.
Congratulations to all the candidates!