We used to laugh at those cigar ratings that one finds in Cigar Aficionado magazine. Don't get us wrong, it is a great magazine and an even better website, but really can anyone tell the difference between a cigar rated an 86 versus an 85? And what is the real significance of that difference. Would it be worth my while to smoke the 86 and not the 85? CA has the same problem that it's sister publication (The Wine Spectator) has in rating their wines.

But nowadays, the cigars we find on the market today are inconsistent to say the least. The brands we've grown to love have at times disappointed us with raw tobacco. And with the dearth of cigars on the market the past few years, one has to try some of the 'new' brands that have cropped up. Along with this are novice cigar smokers who have been introduced to the wonderful world of cigar smoking and now want to purchase smokes on their own. In each one of these situations, it has become apparent that cigar ratings like those found in CA are becoming more and more prominent in the decision making process of the cigar smoking public.

Reviews can not only guide the smoker from poorly made cigars, but they can illustrate which cigar will match up best with each person's tastes whether it be mild vs powerful, robusto vs churchill, maduro vs colorado etc. They also give insight onto construction, complexity, how it burns and how it draws. All of these things come into play when someone makes a decision on whether to buy a cigar or not.

According to Cigar Lifestyles magazine however, it is naive to think that all reviews are unbiased and knowledgeable. In some cases, it was shown that the tests are slapdash, poorly organized and worse poorly regulated. Specimens deteriorated during shipping and handling. Reviewers were inexperienced and uncertain of the regimen used for testing.  And once again, timing of the review may mislead the reader, for brands that earning glowing praise from reviewers may come from different tobacco crops from what the consumer ultimately purchases.

Cigar Aficionado's managing editor admits that the panel only test one sample of each cigar. Even so, the sheer size of their tests leads one to believe that this would be a difficult task. Every other month, CA routinely rates 90 to 150 different cigars. The editor admits to rarely smoking pas the half way point. Such admitedly limited sampling doesn't yield much of a statistical cross section of an agricultural product which can vary widely between samples.

The real problem Cigar Lifestyles has with CA lies in their description of the cigars. Each cigar merits around 50 words. The descriptions use references like leather, herbs, spice, cinnamon and coffee. With each issue the references became more rococo. Coffee flavors gradually evolved into coffee beans, espresso and coffee with cream. One recent issue divines never-before revelations: dried orange peel, sweet red pepper, oregano, pencil lead even barbecue flavor!! What is even funnier is that the Wine Spectator rates wines in a similar fashion and that some wine tasting terms have now crossed over to describe cigars: black cherry, leather, flint, vegetal, floral, herbal, nutty, dried citrus and more.

SMOKE magazine recently adopted a numerical system much like CA. To SMOKE's credit, they at least attempt to describe specific elements of the cigar: construction, post light construction, flavor, strength, aftertaste, aroma and general comments. This is much more descriptive than the short oregano, wild cherry laden review one finds in CA. Complaints from testers though claim that they get too many smokes delivered at the last minute to give proper attention to the task. A disturbing trend is that the magazine is moving away from cigar industry panelists and toward celebrities (who don't know dick mostly).

On the net, http://www.cigarweekly.com tests cigars on a weekly basis, and uses a novel approach. They have around 2000 readers and each week they select 10 of them at random, send each several samples of one cigar, along with a score sheet and instructions.

The bottom line when it comes to cigars, or anything else that appeals to personal taste is go with what YOU like and not what Marvin Shanken or Ron Perelman likes. Ultimately, you are the one that will have to live with it.

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