Independent Cigar Rating System (ICRS) - Modified for CigarLive

[Ceedee]

Originally Posted by architeuthis

Stop smoking Herfdogs and yer palate will develop all by itself... <G>

Stop sending me the herfdogs and maybe I will get a chance

CD

[Stogie]

I just made some modifications to the review software so it reminds members to use this systema as a guide.

[ilovecl-cl]

Great idea Stogie, I will have to use this next time I smoke one!

[koapoorpeople]

Stogie, Killer!
Colin, Nice job.

[Irish Hawk]

it reminds me of a beer tasting work sheet WTG Colin in covering the bases quick and easy

[Da Klugs]

Empirical methods of cigar reviews are interesting. Bottom line for me comes down to factors which in many cases have only a bit to do with the cigar. Some of the best cigars I have smoked were rather pedestrian. But at that moment they were as good as any cigar could taste.

To me, the three C's come into play when it comes to cigar appreciation.

Cigar - Hey it's the issue. Some are great, most are average, a few suck and a very few are epic. Most reviews you read are on "average cigars". They end up with personal preferences which rank them higher than other average cigars for a given reviewer. You smoke a Don Candido 500 in a crappy mood during an IRS audit and it might be an "eh" cigar.

Circumstance - Special cigars for special occasions or conversely occasions making a particular cigar special. Some of my best cigar memories come from this C.

Company - Many times an overlap with circumstance but not always. Sharing the passion with fellow lovers of the leaf is the best. Smoking a cigar gifted to me by and hopefully with someone I respect always enhances my enjoyment of the stick.

My point being, for me the review and numerical ranking of most cigars is very affected by the other 2 c's. Jessica Alba properly motivated between my knees while smoking a Cremosa might make it the best cigar ever.

[lobsterkmd]

Thanks Colin! This is really awesome and helpful for a new cigar smoker like myself! I look forward to using this!

[g8trbone]

I really like the PDF and it makes a sheet if you want to keep a binder.

I'm going to be the geek and ask if there is anyway to get it in a format that we can use and save on our own computers? I took the initial post and edited it a little bit in Word so I can keep a running log on the computer but really like setup of the PDF.

Just a geeky request!

[alanf]

Originally Posted by g8trbone

I really like the PDF and it makes a sheet if you want to keep a binder.

I'm going to be the geek and ask if there is anyway to get it in a format that we can use and save on our own computers? I took the initial post and edited it a little bit in Word so I can keep a running log on the computer but really like setup of the PDF.

Just a geeky request!

I'm not sure if this is what you are asking, but if you right-click on the link, you can then select SAVE TARGET AS and save the PDF to disk. Also, once the PDF is loaded into your browser, the Adobe Plug-In is active. You should have a SAVE A COPY button, that will save the PDF to disk. At least this is all true with a Internet Explorer.

[mrgatorman]

Originally Posted by architeuthis

Stop smoking Herfdogs and yer palate will develop all by itself... <G>

Words of wisdom from the squidmeister...Learn it, love it, live it.

[g8trbone]

Originally Posted by alanf

I'm not sure if this is what you are asking, but if you right-click on the link, you can then select SAVE TARGET AS and save the PDF to disk. Also, once the PDF is loaded into your browser, the Adobe Plug-In is active. You should have a SAVE A COPY button, that will save the PDF to disk. At least this is all true with a Internet Explorer.

That does work in order to save the file itself, but you cannot make notes or anything unless you have Adobe Acrobat.

I was just curious if a version that could be edited is or could be made available. Again, just a geek hoping for something to keep on the computer instead of printing things out and keeping another binder of stuff. Plus, it is nice not to kill a tree everytime I want to rate a cigar.

[Shelby07]

Search for PDF editors. Sometimes you can get a trial version that puts a watermark on the documents you edit, but that shouldn't matter to you.

Good luck.

[CgarDan-cl]

The systemis quite interesting. Iwould have some words of advice though. Don't push yourself too answer all the questions if the answers don't come to you naturally. Enjoy the cigar and think about the questions that youcould not answer you will form some sort of opinion or get some ideas after you are done with the smoke. Next time you smoke one for review you will naturally focus on those things. The idea is to develop these senses naturally rather than just finding some description to fit in the box.

Another thing to keep in mind that some of the categories you are rating you will have direct impact on depending on how you smoke the cigar and how it was stored, and also the conditions that you smoke in ( too humid, windy, dry cold air , etc ) For example a Lancero that you might take hard long pulls on to figure out all the flavors will actually start burning hot and harsh ruining the experince.

My biggest advice is smoke the cigar for enjoyment. Start of slow perhaps just try to focus on one or 2 categories at most. And fill in later what ever else you think you know the answers to. As you smoke more that way these 2 categories will start coming naturally. At that point add a 3rd one. When that one comes naturally as well ad another and so on. In a half a year you will be doing ratings better than most experts that right for cigar publications. REMEMBER TO TAKE YOUR TIME AND EJOY ENJOY ENJOY THE CIGAR !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[tekeeladude-cl]

Originally Posted by CgarDan

The systemis quite interesting. Iwould have some words of advice though. Don't push yourself too answer all the questions if the answers don't come to you naturally. Enjoy the cigar and think about the questions that youcould not answer you will form some sort of opinion or get some ideas after you are done with the smoke. Next time you smoke one for review you will naturally focus on those things. The idea is to develop these senses naturally rather than just finding some description to fit in the box.

Another thing to keep in mind that some of the categories you are rating you will have direct impact on depending on how you smoke the cigar and how it was stored, and also the conditions that you smoke in ( too humid, windy, dry cold air , etc ) For example a Lancero that you might take hard long pulls on to figure out all the flavors will actually start burning hot and harsh ruining the experince.

My biggest advice is smoke the cigar for enjoyment. Start of slow perhaps just try to focus on one or 2 categories at most. And fill in later what ever else you think you know the answers to. As you smoke more that way these 2 categories will start coming naturally. At that point add a 3rd one. When that one comes naturally as well ad another and so on. In a half a year you will be doing ratings better than most experts that right for cigar publications. REMEMBER TO TAKE YOUR TIME AND EJOY ENJOY ENJOY THE CIGAR !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Great advice Dan!

[JSC]

Thanks alot Colin, this looks to be a very useful sheet and I will definatly try it out.