This cigar rating page has been specifically designed to offer
the consumer (you and me), an easy and realistic view of each
cigar as rated by our peers. This section carefully takes into
consideration the visual appearance of the cigar itself, the
cigar box, the cigar band, how the cigars are wrapped and
packaged, the ease of cutting the cigar as well as the quality
of the cap's construction and scores the results on a weighted
scale from 0 to 10. The Appearance and Presentation catagory
rates the initial impression of the cigar.
This weighted scoring system attempts to place the average, ok cigar
around a score of 5 in each main catagory. The three-dimensional
pie chart above illustrates the breakdown of each rating question
and it's relative weight in determining this section's calculated
score.
To better understand WHY each of these items are weighted as they are,
I will attempt to explain how I derived at the importance and weighting
for each item.
The Wrapper:
I believe that the primary and first determining factor of each cigar's
appearance rating is obviously what the cigar "looks" like... and that
is determined by the cigar's wrapper appearance and qualities. When
rating a cigar here, the rating system does not decide for you what the
better wrapper is... instead, you will decide for yourself how much you
like the wrapper's appearance, texture, and oilyness. This way, the
scoring of the wrapper is not biased on one particular opinion.
Construction:
The cigar should be firm, both when holding it in your hand and in your
mouth. This rating system considers that the firmer the cigar, the
better. Do not confuse
"firmness" with the difficulty of draw... a quality cigar will be
constructed to be BOTH firm AND have the proper draw. The firmness of
the cigar will also help dictate how the cigar itself holds up to
prolonged smoking, especially if you are not "sipping" the cigar the
entire time.
Packaging:
I would never suggest basing your entire opinion of a cigar on it's "cover",
but a fancy box, band, or unique means of packaging does add to the overall
first impression of the cigar. Therefor, there is some weight assigned to
this item. I have had some unbelievable "sleeper" cigars that had very plain
and undefining bands. While it may be a good smoke, there will be a slight
deduction for poor presentation. This is a perfect example why ratings are
not valuable without explanation and SEPARATION of catagories.
Cap:
This describes the quality and condition of the small piece of tobacco
attached to the head of the cigar. This cap is fairly important in that
part of its job is to keep the tobacco in the cigar, and out of your mouth.
It also helps prevent the end from unraveling. If the cap was poorly attached,
and starts to peel, it is uncomfortable in your mouth, causes you to take
some time and effort to correct this, or to actually peel the cap off
completely. A bad cap would require a slight deduction.
Cutting:
Another important aspect of your initial opinion of the cigar is
the ability to cleanly clip, or cut, off the head of the cigar you are
about to light. All premium cigars
require you to cut the cap in some fashion to enable airflow through
the cigar. While it is not normally common to put so much emphesis on
this initial cutting, I believe that an easy cut is the beginning
of the entire cigar's enjoyment experience, and if a proper cut is not made
initially, the enjoyment of the cigar during its entire duration
will be less enjoyable. Therefor, the ease of making your prefered
cut is extremely important to the cigar's rating.
OVERALL APPEARANCE