What is the best cigar in the world?

Answer:

The best cigar in the world is a matter of personal taste but the cigars most commonly mentioned as best in the world are likely Cohiba and Montecristo from Cuba and Padron from Nicaragua. Oliva from Nicaragua also make fine cigars in my opinion (their Serie V rated #4 on Cigar Aficionado's best cigars of 2007).
Once upon a time, Cuban cigars were unquestionably the finest available. However, most cigar makers are in business to make money, and when Castro took over the island and nationalized the cigar industry, the best cigar makers fled Cuba with their seeds in tow. As a result, many of the finest cigars are now made outside of Cuba.
Today, many of the famous Cuban brands are also made in the Dominican Republic and Nicaragua and sold to the US market (Cuban cigars are illegal in the U.S. and the "knock-off" brands sold in the U.S. violate Cuban trademark law and are illegal in Cuba and many foreign counties.
A true Cuban Cohiba is considered one of the finest cigars in the world and will run you around fifty bucks a stick (yes, that "Cuban" you bought while on your cruise for ten bucks was a fake). The Dominican "Red Dot" version sold in the U.S. is also a very fine cigar, and is a good buy at around twelve bucks a stick. But the extremely rare, Dominican "puro" Fuente Opus X is perhaps the best cigar in the world. Very hard to find, they run around a thousand dollars a box. Good luck finding a box, though. You may find a cigar shop that will have a few singles to sell you.

great article here: http://cigaradvisor.blogspot.com/2009/04/why-i-dont-buy-cuban-cigars.html