What's important when rating a cigar...

[stormin]

When I am smoking a cigar I often reflect that reviewers tend to place too much importance of certain aspects that really don't matter that much to me.
I agree that appearance is important, but only up until the time I light the cigar, then it becomes irrelevant. So I would place the importance of appearance as low on the totem. Consider that much of the visual appeal of a cigar prior to light comes from the band and the band contributes nothing to the smoking experience.
Three things are most important to me; draw, volume of smoke and flavor. I smoked a Partagas 898V the other day. It had a poor draw. It wasn't plugged, just didn't draw very well. I thought it would open up as I smoked, it didn't. The poor draw led to a low volume of smoke. When it was all said and done I wouldn't have rated it very high at all. Today I smoked a SLR A. Excellent draw, tons of smoke, awesome flavor = 10/10. About a third of the way through the smoke the middle of the cigar expanded considerably causing the wrapper to crack and split. I think that even the binder leaf split slightly. It didn't make any difference in any of my 3 main criteria, so for me I wouldn't reduce my rating at all for this defect. Some of the best Cubans I have smoked have burned horribly unevenly and some of the worst have burned perfectly.

Any thoughts on this?

[Teninx]

Poor draw or burn will spoil an otherwise fine cigar for me. A plugged cigar is a complete washout. Only one instance of these defects won't stop me from trying another cigar of that brand, but several strikes and it's out.

[Diselfitter]

Stormin... I agree with you here.

For me, when I read a review. I like to know the volume of smoke the strength, and the flavor, and finally the age.

On whether a cigar draws well or is plugged is of interest, some things may have contributed to it, on a bad box or a bad cigar from that box, over humidification.. could cause some problems as well.

I am not much of a fan of numbers for the rating, I find that a cigar can be a great tasting cigar, but because of veins or ugly constructing can lower the the overall score.
Also say if the rater is not big into spiciness.. this could lower the score. Or if he likes that it would add to the score. So just looking at the numbers and purchasing cigars based on high scores could leave one with cigars that may not be of their liking...I know scores can be fun to put in a review. But really they have little or no value to me.

As far as the description of the cigar, the clipping of the cap, the prelite aroma(Unless it is ammonia), the lighting ceremony, the ash color, and length,.. it is all window dressing, and makes for a nice read.

I do like to know what someone was drinking while reviewing the cigar, that can and will affect the review... Like having Lemonade, or a scotch, or a wine, or was it just bottled water, all those can add or detract from the flavors.

So usually when I review, I like to give the year of the cigar,
Sometimes the size, But I generally assume, if I say Siglo III... people already know the size.
The smoke flavor, Notes, the burn,
I like to know how the cigar evolved during the smoking experience.. Some cigars change throughout, other are pretty consistent during the experience.

Anyway... Those are my thoughts on reviews.
I hardly ever busts ones balls on a review, I figure people have their writing style, and who am I to push the way I write on to others.
But if it has the things in it that I consider necessary, that is how I will judge the cigar on whether I should at least try it or not.

To end this, there are some reviews that read like soft ****.. .LOL..

And there are others that are lacking any real information any have no value at all.. other than a personal journal on what he may or may not like.

Example would be " The Cigar burned even through out, had nice flavors, with lots of smoke" worth a try but not a favorite....

Honestly... I get nothing from that.. If I never had that cigar I would be hard pressed to purchase it based on that review.


Well there is my 2 cents

Deez

[Jechelman]

Personally what I am most interested in from a review is a description of the flavor, draw, volume of smoke and whether there were any problems such as frequent touch-ups or re-lights. I'm basically looking for a flavorful cigar which is not harsh, has an easy draw and lots of smoke. What drink it is paired with is also good info. The rest is basically window dressing, many times fun to read, but still secondary to the basic description of flavor, etc.

[dyj48]

Well, as a noob, Stormin, I'm wondering how the volume of smoke relates to the quality of the cigar. Is there a difference in flavor if the volume is slightly less or more?

I generally get into the flavor of the smoke which imparts the taste and of course, the draw which certainly is much easier to gauge. Sometimes I like to note how well it burns, but that generally doesn't have anything to do with the taste of the cigar. But the burn may be linked be linked to the heat of the smoke which sometimes could be hotter or more neutral which I find more favorable.

[stormin]

Originally Posted by dyj48

Well, as a noob, Stormin, I'm wondering how the volume of smoke relates to the quality of the cigar. Is there a difference in flavor if the volume is slightly less or more?

I don't know, that's a good question. Could just be me, but I have never gotten the Cuban "tang" from any cigar that had a poor draw and low volume of smoke. I am in no way even close to being an expert, but for what my personal experience is worth, I would have to say yes, the volume of smoke definitely affects the flavor. Ironically, I think poor draw leads to a hotter burn for me. When I get a poor draw I tend to puff away like a locomotive to try to get a decent amount of smoke. The 898V I referred to in the first post is a large cigar and I smoked it in under 45 minutes. The very next day I smoked a Parti short with an excellent draw. Same burn time, half the size. Tons of Cuban twang,by the way that was missing from the 898.

[caskwith]

If you read any of my reviews then i do comment on the appearance but its not the important bit, thats flavour, thats the bit i care about, even burn problems are not really a big problem aslong as the flavour is good. the only reason i talk about these things are because i think they do contribute to the overall cigar experience.

i also do not like number systems, numbers mean nothing to mean, i like to hear about flavours and aromas, thats what counts.

[Texan_To_The_End]

Originally Posted by stormin

Any thoughts on this?

I've been told at one time or another that my reviews contain irrelevant information, or stuff that isn't important. But when I'm writing a review, I like to cover as much as possible, in case the information is important to somebody. Reviews aren't written for myself, as I can tell if I like it or not, but I write reviews to give other people the information. And who knows what's important to somebody else? Hence I include it all. And I try to put everything in a consistent format so each review has the same types of information.

[Ermo]

All of the above are good points. I think they are the reason why Cigar Aficianados' scores can be misleading. They put a lot of emphasis on the look, quality of construction, and burn. Also, their ratings are very partial with the overall impression score counting for 35%. Here is how they rate a cigar (total 100 points):

Appearance and construction: 15 points
Flavor: 25 points
Smoking characteristics (draw and burn): 25 points
Overall Impression: 35 points

All cigars start at 100 and points are deducted for veins in wrapper, bad draw, burn, flavor, etc..

That is how I rate my cigars, and my tastes are evident in my scores. A perfect maduro will always score lower than an equivalent perfect EMS wrapper because I do not prefer a maduro's flavor. No, I'm not crazy...

[stormin]

Originally Posted by Texan_To_The_End

I've been told at one time or another that my reviews contain irrelevant information, or stuff that isn't important. But when I'm writing a review, I like to cover as much as possible, in case the information is important to somebody. Reviews aren't written for myself, as I can tell if I like it or not, but I write reviews to give other people the information. And who knows what's important to somebody else? Hence I include it all. And I try to put everything in a consistent format so each review has the same types of information.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not criticizing anyone's reviews. I actually really enjoy reading them. My beef is when a numerical value is assigned to rate a cigar and that value is inflated or deflated due to aspects which are not that important to me. Personally, other then the enjoyment of reading them, i think a review should be taken with a grain of salt. They are a good starting point for perhaps trying a single, but only by smoking one will you determine if it is actually to your liking. The only caveat to that is if you know the reviewer's tastes. If you become familiar with a certain reviewer and find that he/she has similar tastes to your own, then you would place more weight on their opinion. I don't mind jumping into a purchase of Cubans cold because even if I don't like them I can trade them or sell them in no time flat, but that's not the case with NC's.

[Texan_To_The_End]

Originally Posted by stormin

Don't get me wrong, I'm not criticizing anyone's reviews. I actually really enjoy reading them. My beef is when a numerical value is assigned to rate a cigar and that value is inflated or deflated due to aspects which are not that important to me. Personally, other then the enjoyment of reading them, i think a review should be taken with a grain of salt. They are a good starting point for perhaps trying a single, but only by smoking one will you determine if it is actually to your liking. The only caveat to that is if you know the reviewer's tastes. If you become familiar with a certain reviewer and find that he/she has similar tastes to your own, then you would place more weight on their opinion. I don't mind jumping into a purchase of Cubans cold because even if I don't like them I can trade them or sell them in no time flat, but that's not the case with NC's.

Exactly. If you find a reviewer who has similar tastes as you have, when they write a positive review of something you haven't tried, it can usually be a safe bet that's it's worth a try...

[qwerty1500]

First, I think we ought to come up with our own CS rating system. I trust you guys more than those big mag guys anyway.

Second, it's all about flavor.

Third, flavor seems so dependent on so many other factors ... like burn and draw (aka construction and rh) and rolling experience (that's why I buy so many beli's ... best rollers). You can take a perfectly good blend and ruin it in so many ways. Yes, I discount for split wrappers ... exploded cigars ... etc. They distract from my enjoyment. Much prefer an even smoking cigar that needs no tough-ups and I love a smooth cherry (maybe an appearance factor).

Fourth, appearance (includes smell) ... not that important ... sort of the icing on the cake. For example, I love how those little veins in an Ecuador Sumatra wrapper turn almost white while you smoke them or how oily the wrapper looks just below the burn line. And, yesssss, I love tha barnyard smell of those 6 year old BBFs.