Ah.. the wonderful world of cigar reviews and descriptions.  Sometimes reading cigar reviews can be as colorful as the personalities behind them.  It’s not uncommon to hear people say that they didn’t get any of the same notes from a cigar as the review they read.  When someone writes a cigar review – the notes that they perceive in the favor are just things that they are reminded of.  It’s as simple as that.

Personally, I love to go into a cigar blindly, not knowing anything of the blend itself.  That way there are no preconceived ideas of what should be expected out of a cigar.  When most of the world is telling you a cigar is awesome you may already already think it is – or should be… before you even light it up.

When people read reviews, they shouldn’t take every flavor note to heart.

I remember when I just started getting into cigars, I’d read reviews of the highest rated cigars and try to figure out why it was so rated so highly.  If I didn’t like it, I figured eventually I would and my tastes were just undeveloped.  I looked at flavor notes like a guide to what I should expect.  I’d get so distracted trying to look for the descriptors of what I read instead of just enjoying it and learning for myself.

There are some things such as textures, for example, the strength, the spiciness or sweetness of the tobaccos used in a blend that can be a guide.  Even still, those aren’t set in stone and personal tolerances and taste will come into play.

Find reviews from people who have similar tastes as you.

With so many cigar “media” outlets today it’s easy to see how different the reviews and ratings are.  Eventually you’ll find an outlet with people reviewing cigars that you may have similar tastes to.  If trying cigars based off of ratings and reviews is your thing – then finding reviews made by similar palates is the only way to go.

There have been a lot of great conversations in the cigar world about flavor profiles and different tastes that you can get out of a cigar.  Not long ago we discussed it in an issue of Cigar Press, but it’s an important topic to stress especially for those who are just getting into the hobby.  It can be confusing when you read ratings and reviews from magazines and websites where they say specific flavor notes, for example: vanilla, cedar, oak, leather, chocolate, red pepper, black pepper, white pepper or whatever other adjectives you can think of.

Flavor is about what you are familiar with – NOT what you should try to find.

If a review says the cigar has hay, earth, cherry and cinnamon, those are just indicators of what the person who is writing that review was able to pick up in the smoke from personal experience, not what you are expected to taste. For me, grassy may be the smell of hay and for you it could be fresh cut grass.  I may get cedar and you may get oak. I may get black pepper you may get something completely different like cinnamon, but we can probably both agree on spices in that particular case.

If you don’t find the same flavor notes from a review, don’t be discouraged.   Listen to the cigar as you enjoy it to see what it offers and what you get out of it.  But the most important thing to remember is to enjoy it.  You’re the only one who can taste your cigar, so make it your own.  A cigar is only as good as the person smoking it thinks it is – and they flavor one gets out of it are only important to the person tasting it.