AB Fine & Rare 2013 bx10

Rolled once again at the superb Raices Cubanas factory in Danlí, Honduras, this year's version of Fine & Rare is actually the second issue of the line's debut blend called HJ10-i, released in 2011.

The 2013 Fine & Rare is, like the original, a parejo measuring 6 inches by 52 ring gauge, consisting of a Honduran wrapper from the Trojes region, dual Honduran and Nicaraguan binders and a filler blend of Nicaraguan and Honduran leaf.

While the size and blend of the 2013 is the same as the 2011 version, Sam Phillips, vice president of marketing for Alec Bradley, said this year's Fine & Rare has been aged for 14 months. The 2011 Fine & Rare scored 90 points in a blind tasting in the March 6, 2012 issue of Cigar Insider.

Fine & Rare will once again come packaged in ornately detailed wooden boxes that contain 10 cigars, with each stick resting in its own slot. Only 2,000 boxes are being produced. In year's past, the slots holding the cigars were at a slight angle, but Phillips said the company changed to a flat setup to avoid damage to the smokes.