Cigar Ratings: How Accurate Are They?

[Sam The Man]

Another topic regarding tastes encountered during cigar evaluation/ratings made me think about this question.....

I've heard that many of the older "cigar aficionados" or long-term cigar smokers have stopped heeding reviews completely due to the reviewers' inaccuracy and unbelievable descriptions of a cigars flavor(s).

I've also heard that many cigar aficionados no longer subscribe to the magazine, Cigar Aficionado, etc., any more also.

Questions:

(1) How much do you trust the cigar magazine ratings?

I take them with a grain of salt. Do they smoke more than one of each cigar? I have had some of their 90+ cigars and they WERE fantastic, and I've had some that were so-so. It's amazing that cigar manufacturers will continue to promote their brand as having a 93 rating, when the cigar got that rating back in 1995. It seems kind of misleading to me.

(2) How much does a magazine's cigar ratings/descriptions influence you in whether to try or purchase a cigar?

I, personally, find that forums such as Cigar Pass, etc. are much more informative. I still pay attention to the reviews though.

(3) Do you still subscribe to Cigar Aficionado?

I still do! I began my subscription with issue #1, so it is hard to stop subscribing. It's amazing that the magazine used to have CIGAR in bold face print and now they almost seem to be embarassed that the word "Cigar" is even on the cover. The cigar reviews, which used to be featured prominently in the front, are now stuck in the very back of the magazine. It seems like they are trying to become "Robb Report."

That being said, I still like the magazine for the wide range of subjects and generally interesting articles.

If they would add centerfolds, ala Playboy, then their subscriptions might double. They used to have some of this in the old days until someone objected...oh well. Maybe it had something to do with Monica Lewinsky....LMAO!

What do you think?

 

[SamGuss]

(1) How much do you trust the cigar magazine ratings?

When I first started smoking them I trusted them a lot. Now I look at them curiosly and to see how my tastes compares. I also look through them not for the ratings but for the reviews themselves to see if something interesting comes up. Lately though I have simply been trusting those with better tastes than myself

(2) How much does a magazine's cigar ratings/descriptions influence you in whether to try or purchase a cigar?

It doesn't. Price versus MSRP (if known) or desire (more common) is what influences my buying habits.

(3) Do you still subscribe to Cigar Aficionado?

I haven't subscribed to CA and truth be told when I pick up copies it's from a cigar shop that has tons of old copies and those are what I pick up. Matter of fact I was just reading the other day how the Don Carlos was released on the East Coast while the Opus X were released on the West Coast LOL. I pick them up to enhance my knowledge a little, but more so for the reviews (as described above) and the articles. Kinda like you pick Playboy up for the articles you know? Only the centerfolds this last issue were robusto's and Claudia - mmm mmmm mmm :love:

Sam

 

[FatherTiresius]

(1) How much do you trust the cigar magazine ratings?

Up to a point I guess. I don't pay attention so much to the exact number because I believe that there is a lot of statistical 'noise' in those numbers (however, see below). But I do read the reviews and try to find cigars that have characteristics that I find appealing.

My viewpoint is somewhere short of the cynical attitude that the biggest advertisers get the best reviews. I'll believe that when somebody shows me some statisical correlation. But I take the reviews with a grain of salt as well, Sam. There are too many variables that can influence the taste of a cigar. Also, how do you know that the cigar they're reviewing is the same one you bought yesterday at the cigar shop? Could be from a different year, different factory, slightly different blend, whatever.

Case in point: CI nearly peed down their leg when they tasted the Onyx Reserve Mini Beli...gave it a 94. No non-Habana has gotten a higher score. But when CA reviewed the 'same' cigar 6 months later, it got 85 or 86 iirc. Respectable, but far short of the CI review.

(2) How much does a magazine's cigar ratings/descriptions influence you in whether to try or purchase a cigar?

It depends. If a cigar gets a very high rating (above 90) I will definately put that cigar on my "need to try" list. If one gets an extremely low rating, I will tend to avoid it in the absence of any other information. This is where online forums (CP, ASC, CF, CW, etc.) come into play. If tons of people on CP rave about the El Cabra Corona Especial but it gets a 74 in CA, I'll still want to try it. I trust you guys more than somebody I don't know at all.

(3) Do you still subscribe to Cigar Aficionado?

Never have, but I do pick up the odd issue now and then. I do subscribe to CI, but I don't know if I'll keep my subscription after it expires. Me and a friend went halvsies on a subscription, but even at $35, it seems high for what you get: a 12 page newsletter once a month. My problem with CA is that the cigar content has gotten slimmer and slimmer over the years until it accounts for less than a quarter of the content. I do subscribe to Wine Spectator (CA's sister pub) and enjoy it very much, both for the reviews and the wine news. I've found that the reviewers' tastes match my own pretty much so that if they recommend a wine, I'm pretty sure there'll be something in it that I can appreciate. I have never reached that level of comfort with the CA review staff. For one thing, they really like Nics and I just don't care for most of them. Most of CA's non-cigar content is interesting, but unless you're pulling in a salary with 5 zeros, a lot of it is out of reach. It's a lifestyle publication that includes some cigar content. It used to be the other way around.

 

[McPatrickClan]

(1) How much do you trust the cigar magazine ratings?

(2) How much does a magazine's cigar ratings/descriptions influence you in whether to try or purchase a cigar?

(3) Do you still subscribe to Cigar Aficionado?

I trust the ratings the same as you do. I read them, wonder if it was because they were riding Fidel's jock or due to excessive ad space being bought and then usually try the cigar. I find that they rarely miss badly, though it has been known to happen.

I am really a novice by most expert terms and so I lean heavily on the magazines. They introduce me to new brands, sizes, etc. that I would have otherwise missed.

I just started my membership with C.A. and do so to read about cigars every so often. I have found though, that the sports articles are poorly written and sometimes erroneous. I generally skip those. I stick to S.I. for Golf Plus & NFL information and the www.freep.com website for my Detroit sports information.

 

[Horse]

(1) How much do you trust the cigar magazine ratings? Used to when I started, then realized it was all personal taste. One person's Dog Rockets are anothers favorites.

(2) How much does a magazine's cigar ratings/descriptions influence you in whether to try or purchase a cigar? See Above.

(3) Do you still subscribe to Cigar Aficionado? Never have.

 

[TheBeast]

(1) I don't
(2) It doesn't
(3) I do

While I do subcribe to CA, it is only because of the advertisements. Not many many magazines cater to such an elite group of people. Where else would I get my current information about Gulf Stream personal aircrafts? After all, don't we all own private jets here at CP?LMAO

 

[FatherTiresius]

Beast, I just put mine in for an annual, and they said the a/c system is all jacked up. Something about clogged intakes...they're gonna have to replace the ductwork and everything. Said it looked like somebody had been smoking in there. :lookup: Problem is, I've got to be in Monte Carlo next week and it's not gonna be ready in time. So I was wondering if I could borrow yours for a couple of weeks. Thanks buddy!!

 

[Allofus123]

Well I just placed an order for one of those personal submarines in the current issue (p.54)....... They're working on how to remove cigar smoke while underwater! :sign:

 

[Shadow]

How much do you trust cigar magazine ratings?

cA I don't at all. Smoke magazine, I do to some extent. I know several BOTL that have done the reviews and I trust their opinions.

How much does the rating influences me?

None at all. Again with Smoke Magazine I read the reviews and then make up my own mind. It could get a low rating from them, but if I like the manufacturer's product or the type of tobacco used in the cigar I'll give it a try.

Do you subscribe to cA?

I did until they changed their format, after the second issue in the new format, I cancelled my subscription. I do subscribe to Smoke Magazine.

 

[Barak]

I have very little experience either with smoking cigars or with Cigar Aficionado; but you guys make it sound a lot like Guns & Ammo, Shooting Times, Rifle Shooter, and other glossy gun magazines of my acquaintance.

They're decent sources for mid-level industry news if you're not already plugged closely into the industry, and they have lots of pretty color pictures to look at (which can be quite helpful if you're curious about something you'll never buy). There's probably also an amusing or informative column or two that you read every time the magazine comes.

But they never give a big advertiser a bad review, and they never give anybody a really bad review.

Plus, I'll bet it takes a certain suspension of disbelief to read CA, the same way it does G&A. I'm not sure exactly what it is in CA (perhaps stuff like "hints of chocolate?"), but in G&A (and friends) it's the "gun writer's yard." A gun writer's yard is between six and eight inches long--as in, "Suddenly I walked unexpectedly out of the underbrush, and before my eyes was a beautiful fourteen-point bull elk, standing on the open hillside a scant 600yd away. I threw the rifle to my shoulder and squeezed off a quick shot. He took two steps and went down." Uh, yeah--right. Nobody's going to count 14 points in a flash at 600yd, and nobody can snap-shoot an elk-sized target offhand from 600yd--at least, not in normal-people yards. A fairly experienced elk hunter might be able to do that at a range of about 100 normal-people yards; therefore, 600 gun-writer yards is 100 normal-people yards, which puts a gun-writer yard at six inches.

When it comes to gun reviews, I'm much more interested in what real people have to say on boards like this. I expect cigar reviews are similar--except that cigar performance probably tends to be much more subjective than gun performance, since you can objectively measure things like bullet weight, range, and group size.