How We Review & Rate Cigars

Zino Davidoff once said, “The best cigar is the one you like.” He couldn’t have been more accurate with that statement. People often ask us, “What’s the best cigar?” And Zino’s simple quote says it all. Everybody’s taste and expectations are different and that’s the beauty of smoking cigars and why we like to offer our opinion to you. It is also the reason there are so many choices of cigars on the market today. Our goal at Fire Up That Cigar is to assist cigar enthusiasts with the purchasing and enjoyment of premium hand-made cigars. Now, all cigar reviews are subjective and vary to people’s tastes, expectation and standards. There is simply no way to have a completely unbiased review because of that fact alone. Nobody’s word, not even our word is the final say of a cigar. It is merely an opinion; nothing more, nothing less.

Our Cigar Reviews will describe our experiences in a format that is concise and to the point without overbearing you with needless detail that I often see with too many of today’s Cigar Review sites. On the contrary, we will provide you with more detail than the larger print publications which we feel do not give enough information to assist the cigar enthusiast.

The following will break down our review process and explain our format in more detail.

Cigar Facts
This category is pretty straight forward. The type of and origin of the wrapper, the origin of the binder and filler, where the cigar is made, the size and the price are all covered here. Some people ask why does it matter what the cigar is made of or where it is from, isn’t a cigar a cigar? First the wrapper type is the most important because the majority of the flavors come from the wrapper leaf. Some even estimate that 60% of the flavor comes from the wrapper on a cigar. Is it a Corojo wrapper, Criollio, Connecticut Broadleaf? Most avid cigar enthusiasts can taste the difference between all the wrapper types. The country that the tobacco is grown in is also very important and some avid cigar smokers can even tell the difference between a Corojo leaf grown in Nicaragua and a Corojo leaf grown in Honduras. Even the different regions in a country can produce different tasting tobacco because of the soil it is grown in.

Appearance & Construction
This category I will comment on how the cigar looks and if it looks like it is a well constructed cigar. To me, the way the cigar looks has little to no bearing on whether I will like the cigar or not but it can add to the overall enjoyment if it is well made and looks great. I have had ugly cigars smoke like champs and I have had good looking cigars smoke like turds so this category is not that important to the overall rating of a cigar.

Smoking Characteristics
Smoking characteristics will often refer to the draw of the cigar, the burn and the ash of the cigar. The draw of the cigar is very important because if the cigar draws too loose it can burn too hot and negatively affect the flavor of your cigar. And if the cigar draws to tight, well you might not even be getting any smoke. The burn line isn’t overly important but can negatively affect your experience if your cigar keeps requiring relights or touch-ups. The touch-ups don’t bother me that much; you have a lighter, use it. The ash is more of a novelty thing; like my buddies over at Nice Tight Ash say, “Nothing Beats a Nice Tight Ash.”

Flavor
This category is by far the most important aspect of the cigar and is the largest contributor to the rating of a cigar. If the cigar tastes like crap I will not enjoy the cigar. When necessary I will break the cigar into thirds. Sometimes however, the cigar remains generally the same and is more of a rotation between the same flavors. I will usually point that out in reviews but I don’t think it is necessary to document every minute and minor flavor rotation. Meaning if a cigar has coffee notes on one puff, wood notes on the next and them back to coffee, frankly you would not read the reviews if they were that detailed. Also, there will be some times when I say the cigar taste like something. This doesn’t mean it taste like that; it just reminds me of something. For example, just because I say the cigar taste like leather, doesn’t mean that I chew on leather, it just reminds me of leather. As stated in the intro this is to help you with what you might taste. It’s not to say that if you don’t taste a certain flavor that your palate is broken somehow because everyone’s tastes are different. Cigars won’t taste the same to everybody because everyone’s palate is diverse. The reviews are merely a guide to help get you along.

The last thing I comment in the flavor department is the body of a cigar. The body of the cigar is a highly debated issue. Some think body refers to the strength of the cigar, others think body is the intensity of flavors. Here is how I classify the body of a cigar. The body of the cigar refers to the feeling in your mouth. Is it intense, heavy or full? Is it light and mild? I classify strength as the feeling you get from the cigar or the nicotine kick. I usually use two categories for the strength of a cigar; average or strong/full. Did the nicotine kick you? I’ll be the first to admit, I am not a good judge of nicotine. Rarely does the nicotine of the cigar kick me. But when it does you will know.

Final Thoughts
Here is where I tell you if I enjoyed the cigar or not. Like I said before, cigar reviews are all subjective. Another man’s junk is another man’s treasure and that is important to know that. Just because I say a cigar is good may not mean that you think the same. By this point in the review we should have given you enough information in the categories above so that you should be able to make your decision if the cigar is one you would like to try or not. The ‘final thoughts is merely my evaluation of the entire cigar as a whole and I will tell you if I like it or not. Usually if the cigar is something I can see a specific type of cigar enthusiast smoking I will usually call your name here. Also in the ‘final thoughts’ I will tell you if the cigar has good balance. Good balance in a cigar to me is if the flavors meld well together and if the flavors are harmonious. Balance also refers to whether or not the cigar hits all the sensations on your palate such as, sweet, salty, sour or bitter. If one flavor dominates the cigar I consider the cigar to be unbalanced and one dimensional. Complexity is another entity of cigars that is important. Complexity in a cigar is if there is a multitude of flavors. If a cigar is not complex I may say something that it was one dimensional. I consider the flavor department and the ‘final thoughts’ section to be the most important aspect of the cigar reviews; hence I will put more resources into these sections.

Cigar Rating
A complex numbering system isn’t really our style here at Fire Up That Cigar. What’s the difference between a 89’ and a 90’ rated cigar? We don’t get it either. We offer a simple rating system that is easy to remember and is to the point.

Below Average: These cigars are not good cigars and cigars you would never see yourself smoking again.

Average: Cigars with an ‘Average’ rating are cigars that you may or may not want to smoke again. Maybe you would buy them as a “yard gar,” or when your full attention cannot be dedicated to the cigar.

Good: Cigars with a ‘Good’ rating are cigars that you liked but wouldn’t smoke on a regular basis but may want to have on hand to smoke. You may buy a five pack to have on hand or if the cigar is a good value, you may smoke these as an everyday cigar.

Great: These are cigars that you really like and you would smoke them on a regular basis. These cigars are box-worthy and would be put into your regular smoking rotation if there is value to you.

Excellent: The best of the best. Your all-time favorite cigars!