:-)

I also really enjoy hi def pictures of cigars getting torched.

Taste is very tricky, I think it's difficult to get the true "taste" of a cigar from just doing or reading one review. Rote memorization is where it's at.

At the same time though, you can get a basic understanding of whether or not you should try the smoke. Most people can agree on whether a cigar is "smooth" or "harsh" or if the draw is too tight or too loose. It's when you start venturing into the cigar's strength and flavor profile that things get murky.
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I'm a newbie as well. I agree with the minority (is it a majority yet?) YOUR taste is what's important. That being said, if I see 50 negative reviews of something, I generally avoid it. If I see 50 positive reviews of something, I try a 5'er. I'm not rich. I really see no point in buying a "blind box." Bundle reviews I find handy just to see what is quality and what is not.
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I agree with the others. You can't go by reviews alone. However, they do help. When you've been in the Asylum for long enough, you start to notice members who have similar tastes to you, then you can give their reviews some attention. I use reviews myself to help me with purchases; if there is some kind of consensus on a cigar for or against it, it affects my purchase. If all the descriptions of the cigar are things I look for, I add it to my list. But I don't see a rave review by icehog or skywalker or landhoney or OLS and immediately go to buy a box of that cigar.
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Who the heck are they? :-):-)
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Well, +1 to everything above!

Taste is physically subjective. Each person will get a slightly (and sometimes drastic) different taste experience from a cigar. Finding a reviewer with similar physical tastes to your own is key. It's trial and error. Find reviews of a certain cigar you are familiar with and then you can use that as a barometer for that person's other reviews.

This is exactly why I never give a rating of any kind - it's 100% meaningless to anyone but me, at that moment. I simply report what I experience and it's up to the viewer to make their own decisions from there. In fact the only time I give a negative review is for purely construction issues.
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Not sure - just a few bums I see hangin' around now and then :-)
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Hard to go by my reviews anyway because most of sh!t I smoke comes from plexi-glass topped boxes. :-)
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We are Spinal Tap!:-) We are most definitely not bums. :-):-)
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I think by now you get the idea. Reviews are just that, reviews. Like movie reviews everyone has their own opinion. "Experts" are most self proclaimed. Try as many different cigars and form your own opinions. It really doesnt matter what you taste, you either like it or you dont. You will notice that different blends, countries of origin and tobacco types have different flavor profiles. Take the time to research when you find something that you like. Try to find other cigars with similar characteristics(origin, wrapper, maker, blender) Also, size matters. Different sizes of the same cigar may taste different to you. Dont give up on a cigar because you dont like the Robusto. And dont be afraid to revisit a cigar in 6 months or a year. You may find your palate has changed and that you now like that smoke.

One of the fun parts of this obsession is the journey of discovery. Try as many different cigars as you can. Keep a journal or notes if that helps you. :-)
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Don't listen to any of these other clowns. I am a real bona fide EXPERT. I will tell you, with complete confidence and accuracy, precisely whether or not something floats my boat, each and every time, without fail. How many of these other guys can say that?!

And get this: I've taken the GENUINE OFFICIAL HIGHER-AUTHORITY EXPERT'S PLEDGE OF SERVICETM

"I solemnly swear that for each and every sample you send me, I will do my utmost best to provide you, in turn, one genuine and authentic verdict on the question of whether I'm likely to ask you for any more of them."

Welcome to the big leagues, son.
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Well, although most of you are repeating a similar idea (smoke whatever you can & like it!) I appecciate all folks providing input. :-)

I'm looking forward to hanging around here a bit and smoking some good ones!

Thanks fellas.

M
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When i first joined the forums, I did this exact thing. What I found was that although I did have some similar tastes to a handful of different individuals, others enjoyed sticks that I though were absolutely horrendous, and that's when I started to venture into my own humidor instead of buying sticks I saw in reviews.

But, of course, reviews are VERY fun to read and really do help one find amazing cigars.
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Yeah, but their reviews average- what- eight words long? Wouldn't want to have too much cigar-related content cluttering up a cigar magazine, now would we?
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anytime I'm at someone's house who has a CA subscription I flip straight to the "connoisseurs corner" or whatever the sh*t it's called where they smoke and review vintage Cubans. That one page is the most entertaining section in the whole mag if you ask me.
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+1 That's pretty much the only interesting thing to read besides the corny paid into regular reviews.
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Me too. I am a cigar blog guy, with reviews. To me, taste is completely subjective. What I get out of a cigar might not be what you get, and vice-versa. Even though I have my own blog, I still read all the other ones I can, just for some comparison, and for my own enjoyment. The best advice I can give, is smoke, smoke and smoke some more, let your palette mature, and eventually you will figure out what you like in a cigar, and what you don't like. I don't know about the other sites out there, but I just do my reviews for fun, and really, its kinda like my own personal journal of cigars I've smoked, with the bonus that other people might read it.
Scott
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Just as an example - I recently did the Exile Wired, and so did another guy. He got 'mild coffee and sweet', I got 'tobacco, leather and pepper/spice' - same cigars!
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:-)

kwagga is the only true Legend - and he's long gone. :-)
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If a particular cigar is on the market, it's because people like it and buy it.
Posted via Mobile Device
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With you guys on this. :-)

If I like a cigar, after I've smoked it I will find those that seem to have similar tastes as me to see what they thought of a cigar. Never know when someone can pick out tastes that you didn't realize were there.
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