What's most important when rating a cigar?

[itsme_timd]

With the CA ratings recently past I've been talking with a lot of people about magazine ratings, online ratings, reviews, etc. All of the systems have pros and cons (well not all of them - some just suck) but I was curious what everyone else thinks.

Looking at the factors below, what order would you put them in when rating a cigar? To take it a step further - how would you rate each of those factors as a percentage (X of 100) of the overall score?

Just curious to see how the average cigar smoker would do this.

- Flavor
- Construction
- Appearance
- Burn
- Price

[acarr]

Flavor

[pnoon]

With the CA ratings recently past I've been talking with a lot of people about magazine ratings, online ratings, reviews, etc. All of the systems have pros and cons (well not all of them - some just suck) but I was curious what everyone else thinks.

Looking at the factors below, what order would you put them in when rating a cigar? To take it a step further - how would you rate each of those factors as a percentage (X of 100) of the overall score?

Just curious to see how the average cigar smoker would do this.

- Flavor
- Construction
- Appearance
- Burn
- Price
For me, price relates to value and has nothing to do with the cigar itself. I would also put Burn as part of construction (storage conditions can have an effect on burn).

For me, 75% flavor. 20% construction. Appearance 5%. I don't care very much about appearance. One of my favorite smokes, H. Upmann Naturales, are ugly buggers but are a divine smoke.

My :2 YMMV.

[itsme_timd]

For me, price relates to value and has nothing to do with the cigar itself. I would also put Burn as part of construction (storage conditions can have an effect on burn).

For me, 75% flavor. 20% construction. Appearance 5%. I don't care very much about appearance. One of my favorite smokes, H. Upmann Naturales, are ugly buggers but are a divine smoke.

My :2 YMMV.

I was curious to see how much appearance played in. When we're looking at cigars in the store or pics on the internet it's easy to let appearance make us drool, but some cigars I really enjoy look like they may have been rolled by monkeys. :D

Price and value are the same IMO. At some cigars may be a great value at $10.00 and others are overpriced at $5.00.

Thanks for the input!

[Kreth]

It's all about flavor. If a cigar tastes great, I will happily deal with burn issues.
Price to me is only an issue in that if a cigar is too expensive for my budget, I won't buy it. There's way too many good, cheap smokes out there.
Posted via Mobile Device

[pnoon]

I was curious to see how much appearance played in. When we're looking at cigars in the store or pics on the internet it's easy to let appearance make us drool, but some cigars I really enjoy look like they may have been rolled by monkeys. :D

Price and value are the same IMO. At some cigars may be a great value at $10.00 and others are overpriced at $5.00.

Thanks for the input!
I agree Tim. But when "rating" a cigar, I don't consider price. Different retailers charge different prices. It's not a constant and the cigar does not change if I paid $5, $8, or $50 for it.

[Ashcan Bill]

Personally I'd rate construction first. If it's tight, plugged, whatever, any enjoyment I might get is gone. A so so cigar that smokes well does me a lot more good than a flavor powerhouse I can't smoke. I agree with Peter that burn is a facet of construction.

Then comes flavor. Good flavor is the deciding factor as to what I buy.

Cost comes next. Not affordability so much as value for the money.

Appearance I could care less about. I'm not trying to impress anyone, and a rough looking cigar doesn't bother me at all.

[RightAJ]

It's all about flavor. If a cigar tastes great, I will happily deal with burn issues.
Price to me is only an issue in that if a cigar is too expensive for my budget, I won't buy it. There's way too many good, cheap smokes out there.
Posted via Mobile Device

My thoughts exactly

I like the 75/20/5 system too pnoon.

I don't smoke cigars cause they burn nicely, I smoke cigars because they TASTE good :ss

aj

[pnoon]

But Bill makes a good point that if a cigar is not constructed well (burn, plugged, etc.) any enjoyment from flavor is greatly reduced or eliminated.

A couple of years ago, I was gifted an 83 Cohiba Lancero by a very generous BOTL. When I fired that puppy up, I could tell I had a real flavor treat ahead of me. Lo and behold, the stick was plugged. I worked and worked on it to try and loosen it up - to no avail. I had to pitch it. :sad

[icehog3]

But Bill makes a good point that if a cigar is not constructed well (burn, plugged, etc.) any enjoyment from flavor is greatly reduced or eliminated.



On the other hand, who cares if a cigar is perfectly constructed if it tastes like ass? ;)

[akumushi]

Flavor, flavor, flavor. Did I mention flavor? Only when the construction is absolutely deplorable, like when the cigar unravels or is a tent pole, will those factor in, but then, I usually don't even bother rating those cigars until I can find a specimen that does smoke well. Appearance means nothing to me, as some of the best cigars I'm smoked have been butt ugly.

[MedicCook]

When I read the reviews I usually ignore the number rating system people use. I am more interested in the description of the cigar and the experience the reviewer had.

[Kreth]

When I read the reviews I usually ignore the number rating system people use. I am more interested in the description of the cigar and the experience the reviewer had.
:tpd: A review that says something like "Flavor: 8.9/10" is pretty worthless IMO, unless the reviewer also describes the flavors.
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[MedicCook]

:tpd: A review that says something like "Flavor: 8.9/10" is pretty worthless IMO, unless the reviewer also describes the flavors.
Posted via Mobile Device

Still waiting on that review of the Havana Night Club. :r

[Kreth]

Still waiting on that review of the Havana Night Club. :r
I'm pretty sure it would be lower than 8.9. :r
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[sikk50]

I don't weight burn much, God gave us lighters for a reason andi don't mind using them (to an extent).

[Addiction]

I think in terms of flavor, apperence, value, construction and then overall experience which is just some **** I made up lol. The ones that matter the most, if I had rto rank them are Flavor, Construction and Value.

[kelmac07]

Without a doubt...FLAVOR!!

[CigarNut]

On the other hand, who cares if a cigar is perfectly constructed if it tastes like ass? ;)

But Bill makes a good point that if a cigar is not constructed well (burn, plugged, etc.) any enjoyment from flavor is greatly reduced or eliminated.

This is why rating a cigar is tough -- great flavor and poor construction OR great construction and poor flavor both make for a bad cigar.

Flavor and construction are very tightly coupled when reviewing a cigar, but I would put flavor first as you can ususally do something about a plugged cigar or a pealing wrapper.

(BTW, Tom -- how do you know what ass tastes like???)

[rlmedic]

I have to put draw up there with flavor....if its like sucking a golf ball through the garden hose it could have the best flavor in the world but I will not want to smoke it

[Giant & 49er Fan]

First of all, great topic Tim!

A recent study poll from the IPCPR asked 400 cigar smokers what influences them when purchasing a cigar. It surprises me to find out that still 50% say it's the reccomendation from the tobacconist. All the magazine and internet ratings were polled at 8% if I remember correctly.

Here is my order for rating...
1) Burn: without a good burn/draw... flavor is usually thrown out the window
2) Construction: a cigar is an artform to me. if it's underfilled or poor quality then flavor is again thrown out the window
3) Flavor: this is a no brainer
4) Price: i have to consider how much someone is asking for the cigar as "I" always find myself compairing the smoke to what else I could be smoking, as good, for less $$$
5) Appearance: who cares if it rates high on everything else. some wrappers are just better looking than others.

[Giant & 49er Fan]

After posting my order, I thought to myself that 1-3 must go hand in hand. I can't put them in order. To me they are equally as important.

[poker]

What's most important when rating a cigar?

Being honest

[Giant & 49er Fan]

Being honest

Great point! :tu

[captain53]

Unlike most I don't find a lot of use in Flavor determined by another person as we all sense taste differently and I find about 99% of the time my perception of flavor is way off from the review.

I am interested in the following items::)

Burn - I hate bad burning cigars worse than anything
Draw - Important to be at least pretty good or better
Construction - Don't like falling apart and don't like veins
Flavor - Little Value
Price - just for a reference point, if they are $25+ I am not likely to buy one just to try unless I find a special. Also MSRP has become a joke anyway - Ghurka & Graycliff for example.

[icehog3]

This is why rating a cigar is tough -- great flavor and poor construction OR great construction and poor flavor both make for a bad cigar.

Flavor and construction are very tightly coupled when reviewing a cigar, but I would put flavor first as you can ususally do something about a plugged cigar or a pealing wrapper.

Valid points, Michael. :tu

(BTW, Tom -- how do you know what ass tastes like???)

Sorry. I should have said female ass. ;) :r

[srduggins]

Another issue is the # of cigars smoked to determine the rating. With so many variables, I find assigning a number rating to a cigar fairly meaningless. My experience with a cigar varies with the condition of my palate, atmospheric conditions, what I am drinking with it, who I'm with, not to mention variability in the cigars themselves. If somebody really likes a cigar, I'll really want to try it.

The purpose of rating #s is to establish which cigars are better than others and try to give some kind of quantitative measure to how much better/worse they are. Which brings to mind kind of a side topic, which would be ranking. Which cigars are better than others? You could go strictly from which cigar scored higher, but when I think back on the best cigars I have smoked, it seems a lot of my pleasure comes from the experience. Who I was with, what happened while smoking it, where did the cigar come from, special occasions, etc. So I am hard pressed to be completely objective.

Bottome line for me, I have a 0 or 1 scale. 1 meaning I will buy this cigar again.

[hotreds]

taste

[Scottw]

Flavor, construction, price, appearance in order for me with Flavor getting the majority of the importance. It could be the most beautifully constructed, visually stimulating, pricepoint friendly stick but if it tastes like a turd, I'm passin'.

[bilkay]

Flavor's the bottom line for me.

But I agree that a tight draw or plugged cigar is the pits.

However, I don't experience too many tight draw issues with the cigars I regularly smoke. Probably the storage conditions.

[nozero]

It's all about flavor. If a cigar tastes great, I will happily deal with burn issues.
Price to me is only an issue in that if a cigar is too expensive for my budget, I won't buy it. There's way too many good, cheap smokes out there.
Posted via Mobile Device

Agreed!
:tu
:2

[Ashcan Bill]

One thing that just struck me while reading through the responses.

Those that smoke primarily NC cigars may give flavor the nod as being more important because they're less used to dealing with construction issues. It's rare to find a NC cigar that doesn't draw well, making it less of a concern.

Those that smoke more CC cigars may give construction a higher priority, simply because it's more common to find draw issues in CC cigars.

At least that's been my experience.

And I certainly can't argue with the Admiral's ass tasting expertise. :D

[issues]

The ones that matter the most, if I had to rank them are Flavor, Construction and Value.

I would agree with that exact order.

Although if a cigar is too expensive, the chance of me ever trying it is minimal...

So I would probably break it down to 60%F/25%C/15%V.

[Brooks W]

1. Flavor
2. Flavor
3. Flavor
4. Flavor
5. Construction (Draw)

It is all about flavor with me...

Quote from my site (about how I rate cigars):


"The way I rate cigars is simple.

It is all about the taste.

While appearance, smoke quality, ash color and other physical aspects of a cigar are important (and I will comment on them, sometimes to distraction), I judge cigars by flavor, and flavor only. As far as I am concerned, while the other factors are something to comment on, I have seen butt ass ugly sticks smoke like a dream, and I have seen some of the most gorgeous looking sticks on the planet taste like a dog turd left out in the sun.

Having said that, the Draw and Burn of a cigar are definitely something that is going to effect a review, since the draw of a cigar will effect the TASTE of the cigar (ie, if it is not drawing well, you are not getting all of the flavors that could be present in the smoke)...

~brooks

[BC-Axeman]

1. Taste
2. Flavor profile
3. Smoking experience (stays lit, no tar, doesn't unravel or split, holds ash, etc.)

A cigar will take a ratings hit if it is just "good" but the price is high.
It will get a boost if it is just "good" but the price is low.

Hit all three high and I will most likely buy a box if it's less than $200.

[wayner123]

- Flavor
- Construction
- Appearance
- Burn
- Price

I would have to say for me it's all about flavor. I do like Brooks W's way of putting it on the other issues:

Having said that, the Draw and Burn of a cigar are definitely something that is going to effect a review, since the draw of a cigar will effect the TASTE of the cigar

The construction alone doesn't mean squat to me, unless it affects the flavor. Same go with burn and appearance. If the flavor suffers from having to keep relighting it, then in my mind the flavor has suffered not the burn.

Price is a factor only if I intend to buy more than say a box or two. I can usually justify price on great tasting stick.

[Bubba - NJ]

My top factors are - enjoyment and relaxation . If I'm to worried about flavor and burn it just seems to not be as good . I've gotten past the want of every cigar to knock my socks off and when it does happen , all the better the enjoyment . Not that flavor doesn't matter to me , it does and is part of the experience . Smoke what you like and smoke as much as you want . I've been duped by some of the magazine ratings so what I look for in reviews is what flavors the smoker is commenting about that I like . :tu

[BC-Axeman]

1. Taste
2. Flavor profile
3. Smoking experience (stays lit, no tar, doesn't unravel or split, holds ash, etc.)

Since the O.P. asked about rating not judging I would have to add that I would put these on a - N + type of scale. So for importance Flavor profile would be last as a negative in taste or smoking experience would make me not want to smoke one again, possibly, but a boring cigar may be OK still.

[itsme_timd]

Thanks for all the input here! It's very interesting to read everyone's point of view on this.

I posted this on several forums and one thing is clear from the responses... BOTL are as divided over how to rate a cigar as they are over the cigars themselves. :)

Most everyone ranks flavor at the top of the list. it was interesting to see people were very divided over the importance of price for a cigar with some saying it was unimportant and others said it was extremely important.

We sure are an opinionated bunch! :ss

[massphatness]

Like they say in Boston, "Flavah!"
Posted via Mobile Device

[marge796]

I'm going to follow the pack here and say that the flavor & burn/construction characteristics of a cigar are the most important factors to me. IMHO if a cigar isn't constructed properly then its a dog turd from there on out.


:2


Chris.....

[okieRob]

This thread has been an interesting read. Sometimes I think ratings are evil. I've been disappointed by over hyped cigars one to many times I suppose.

If I had to put a list out in order it would probably go like this:
flavor at 70%
price & construction tie at about 15% each.

[mmblz]

flavor 100%

construction is important - i hate a tight cigar - however, i find that a tight draw actually makes the flavor worse - so it doesn't have to be a category in and of its self, as the flavor is directly correlated. That is, I've had tight cigars where I could catch a glimmer of awesome flavor, and knew that it would taste good if only it would draw - but until (if) I can get it to draw it just doesn't taste good. I've never had a cigar that was tight enough to hardly allow any smoke, yet the tiny bit of smoke that did make it through tasted just as good as an unplugged cigar... Just never works that way IMHO.

Price is important when I go to buy, but doesn't change what the cigar is or is not.

[akumushi]

flavor 100%

construction is important - i hate a tight cigar - however, i find that a tight draw actually makes the flavor worse - so it doesn't have to be a category in and of its self, as the flavor is directly correlated. That is, I've had tight cigars where I could catch a glimmer of awesome flavor, and knew that it would taste good if only it would draw - but until (if) I can get it to draw it just doesn't taste good. I've never had a cigar that was tight enough to hardly allow any smoke, yet the tiny bit of smoke that did make it through tasted just as good as an unplugged cigar... Just never works that way IMHO.

Price is important when I go to buy, but doesn't change what the cigar is or is not.

Absolutely! The effect poor construction has on flavor is such that I've found that if I rate solely on flavor, the construction is already included in the rating.
I don't include price in a rating at all, because finances between smokers vary so much. What is prohibitively expensive to me might be an appropriate special occassion cigar for you, or what is a reasonably priced go-to smoke for me might be too expensive for you. The idea of "value" varies so much from smoker to smoker that to include that in the score is to make the rating effectively worthless, IMO. Just look at all the anger about Casa Magna winning cigar of the year last year at cA. They made the mistake of thinking you can use price point to rate a cigar. I say rate the cigar on its own merits, and let other people decide whether or not it's worth that price tag :2