Keeping a journal or cigar dossier is a great way to keep track of what cigars you’ve tried, like and dislike – especially for beginners.  I remember when I really got into cigars keeping track of everything I lit up became an obsession.  I felt the need to carefully remove the band, glue it in my dossier, give it a score, neatly write down how it smoked and what I liked – or didn’t like about it.  Not that I couldn’t remember what I tried, it was almost more of a way for me to say, “See, I’ve tried everything! Look at this!”  Such a pro move, I know, but I was such a newbie.

Just getting into the hobby, I wanted to try everything, see everything and experience everything I could.  I loved the art of the bands and it was a great way to save and preserve them.  Back then there was no internet to search and look up cigars to fulfill my obsession.  There were only so many books and magazines available to learn from and see what was out there besides going into a retail tobacconist’s humidor.

The best knowledge, especially when it comes to matters of the palate, is to try things for yourself.

My cigar dossier was a way to track my cigar journey.  Even though I would just throw some numbered rating on a cigar and write down, as best I could, how it smoked and what it tasted like – I was still learning and gaining experience by trying as many different cigars as I could get my hands on.  Really, that’s the best way to learn what you like, learn what you want to avoid and even find new favorites after smoking cigars for years.

Cigar Reviews and Ratings:

There are no rules to rating or reviewing cigars.  At first I would pay attention to what a good cigar was supposed to be by what I read.  I would try cigars that were highly rated and I would try to figure out why they were so good.  I’d see if I could get the same tasting notes and come to the same conclusion.  That was more frustrating than anything, especially when the cigars didn’t match up to the reviews and ratings when I tried them.  I would just think to myself that I just wasn’t experienced enough because I’m not getting the same thing out of the cigar or I wouldn’t think it was as great as I was told it was.

I remember getting Cuban cigars at Habanos S.A. during travels before I knew pretty much anything about cigars.  These were always the highest rated – the “world’s best.”  Half of the time I couldn’t even draw out of them or they just wouldn’t burn right – it was more work than enjoyable.  I just couldn’t figure out why they were supposed to be the best of the best. I just figured my palate wasn’t developed but over time it would get there and I would have some sort of breakthrough or “ah ha!” moment.  Well, that never happened.  Time did teach my plate the most important thing:

Taste is subjective.

After a while I realized that no one will be impressed by what you are smoking or even how much you know.  It really is a personal journey and the whole point is to find things you like. Afterall, you’re the only one tasting it.

How to rate and Review:

As mentioned above there are no rules to rating or reviewing your own cigars.

Construction of a cigar is probably the most important aspect and a little more objective.  If a cigar doesn’t burn right, or the tobacco doesn’t have the proper combustion, it won’t smoke or taste like it was intended. There should be no burn issues, tunneling, canoeing, too fast or be drastically uneven.  It just makes a cigar unenjoyable and turns it into work.

When you taste a cigar, the flavors you get are what you get.  Yes, it tastes like tobacco, but there are characteristics that are reminiscent to things that you are familiar with.  If someone has never tried white pepper – then they won’t be able to detect white pepper in the flavor.  If someone tastes leather and no one else does, they still aren’t wrong.  You will find that ratings and reviews by different people can be drastically different.  It comes down to personal preference.

You like what you like – bottom line.

Some people/magazines/blogs, for example, will never highly rate a cigar with an uncut foot, a cigar with blemishes or a pigtail cap because it doesn’t match aesthetically to what they believe a cigar should be. It definitely doesn’t it make taste worse because of it.  People have different reasons for rating cigars what they do.

If you are into journaling or keeping a cigar dossier of your own journey and experiences, write what you know and taste – don’t try to find the same notes as anything else you read, experience the cigar for what it is to you.  I still get a kick out of looking back at my old journals and dossiers, they are like time capsules.  It’s pretty cool to see the bands and brands that were out back then, to see what’s still around to day – and to even see cigars that I still enjoy to this day.