Cigar Aficionado's top 10 for '14

[The Poet]

Originally Posted by mcgoospot

These ratings are a joke. A review of their magazines through their first four issues last year showed the following:

a) 3 cigars rated 94-All Cuban: Punch Serie D'Oro #2, Hoyo Epi Especial and RyJ Churchill
b) 4 cigars rated 93- 2 Cuban (Upmann #2 and Party Lusi Gran reserva)
c) 14 ciigars rated 92- 5 Cuban

So out of the top 7 rated cigars 5 were CC's and out of the top 21 10 were CC's yet only ONE (maybe 2) make the top ten? Advertising $$$ baby...

You may have a point. You may also be arguing in circles. If you contend that these Top Ten ratings are a joke, you undermine your position that the previous ratings are valid. Who is to say which rating was the right one?

Not me, certainly.

[mcgoospot]

Originally Posted by The Poet

You may have a point. You may also be arguing in circles. If you contend that these Top Ten ratings are a joke, you undermine your position that the previous ratings are valid. Who is to say which rating was the right one?

Not me, certainly.

I get your point. There is no reason whatsoever to inflate the scores of CC's since there are no advertising $$ to be gained from their sale. The last five years Cuba has produced, by cA's own rating system, 54% of all cigars rated 91, 65% of all cigars rated 92 and 85% of all cigars rated 93 or above yet in not one of those years has cA given Cuba more than three spots in their top 25 ratings for the year. Statistics don't lie. There can be no logical reason why CC's CONSTANTLY score higher in the bi-monthly reviews yet seem to "tank" when it comes to the top25 other than the fact that the Top25 issue is cA's top selling issue due to people in the US wanting tobuy the year's best stuff. Thus advertising $$$ are rewarded.

[shilala]

Originally Posted by mcgoospot

There is no reason whatsoever to inflate the scores of CC's since there are no advertising $$ to be gained from their sale.

Of course there is.
You rate the cc's way up there and then compare a Rocky Patel dogrocket in the same breath, and it conveys the idea that Rocky Patel is capable of making a cigar that is worthy of your money, because it's as good or better than some arbitrary cc.
Rocky buys more ads because you made him a ton of money, and everyone is happy.

The fact that a Rocky Patel anything is anywhere near a top 10 best list of is reason enough to validate that the ratings are manufactured.
This is a guy who takes pride in dragging his tobacco through dye and molasses.
I rest my face.