Whats up with those ratings?

[Addiction]

So I was reading a CA review that actually contained these words "tastes of rubbery cardboard" as well as "shoddy construction with uneven burns" and that stick scored an 81. How is that possible? I mean do you get 75 points just for putting tobacco in a binder and another 5 if you can get a wrapper around it?

[boonedoggle]

Originally Posted by Addiction

So I was reading a CA review that actually contained these words "tastes of rubbery cardboard" as well as "shoddy construction with uneven burns" and that stick scored an 81. How is that possible? I mean do you get 75 points just for putting tobacco in a binder and another 5 if you can get a wrapper around it?

also, how would one know exactly what rubbery cardboard tastes like?

[trogdor | the burninator]

i'm sure they start with 75 if they push ads through CA and they get extra points from there depending on how they compare to whale crap.

[Addiction]

Originally Posted by boonedoggle

also, how would one know exactly what rubbery cardboard tastes like?

I've seen the same people say "pinches of nutmeg and thyme with bursts of dried cherries" so clearly his palette is not simply refined, its a five star chef!

[DriftyGypsy]

Originally Posted by trogdor | the burninator

i'm sure they start with 75 if they push ads through CA and they get extra points from there depending on how they compare to whale crap.

I bet the rating is in direct proportion to the advertising money spent.

[boonedoggle]

Originally Posted by Addiction

I've seen the same people say "pinches of nutmeg and thyme with bursts of dried cherries" so clearly his palette is not simply refined, its a five star chef!

yeah, but the whole idea of tasting particular flavors in your mouth is to compare it to something someone might eat...thusly, they must eat various type of cardboard at CA, including the rubbery, soft, and mushy variations!

[jmcrawf1]

Originally Posted by boonedoggle

also, how would one know exactly what rubbery cardboard tastes like?

i guess the only way to find out is to roll it up and smoke it!!!

[rumballs]

i think their ratings are on a scale from 80 to 95

[trogdor | the burninator]

Originally Posted by mmblz

i think their ratings are on a scale from 80 to 95

you might have a point there. i'm not an avid reader, but i doubt they ever score a cigar all too low. might be asking for a lawsuit, bad relations, or something.

[jpa0741]

Mmmmmmm, rubbery cardboard.

[clampdown]

They open a thesaurus and blidnly choose words.

[jkim05]

i think i'm probably well in the minority here and not that i actually read or follow CA's reviews at all, which i don't, but I think you can taste some of the things the CA reviewers taste that they get criticized for here. I'm discovering more and more lately that I can taste things that most of my friends can't. I've also been to wine tastings with experienced wine tasters who can distinguish and recognize flavors in the wine that I'm not familiar with, but once identified I can taste also. So i wouldn't put it past the reviewers to have experienced what they say they did.

Also, because pretty much all of what we say we taste is actually just aroma, and that our recognition of flavors is affected by our past experiences, I could see how someone could taste rubber in a cigar. Now about how they could still give it an 81...all I can think of is that they like the taste of rubbery cardboard?

I'm also not as cynical as you guys when it comes to cigar reviews and ad space...though I could always be wrong, though I do think their rating system is probably set up so that there are minimum values for certain categories or that some factors play a larger role in the scoring than we think. idk. just my two cents.

[bazookajoe]

This has nothing to do with the part of this thread about rating systems, but it is the funniest cigar review I've read...

http://www.clubstogie.com/vb/showpost.php?p=75753

[jpa0741]

Originally Posted by bazookajoe

This has nothing to do with the part of this thread about rating systems, but it is the funniest cigar review I've read...

http://www.clubstogie.com/vb/showpost.php?p=75753

[jloutlaw]

I don't know CAs scale, but an 81 is about as low as I've seen. Take the write up into consideration and I don't think anyone is running out to buy one based on this review. I enjoy reading their reviews, but have more confidence in Top25cigar ratings.