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drwatson

Lifer
Aug 3, 2010
1,721
5
toledo
Every so often I like to look at tobacco reviews, see whats good or not. One thing I have noticed that really chaps me, is the negative reviews people give for no reason. Work with me here for a second. How may have seen a review for an aromatic that starts out "LET FIRST SAY I'M NOT A FAN OF AROMATICS". Well if someone isnt a fan of them and they are trashing a certain tobacco, how accurate is that review? Should they even be reviewing it? And this can go for any type, I have also seen it with english blends! I dont think this is fair for the newer smoker that is really looking at what others might say. I personally am nnot a fan of blends that have a liquor base to them. If i try one and don't like (as what usually happens) I don't go and trash it in a review, as I know that I could not be non judgemental. There are some people that I have spoken with that sometimes just look at how many stars it has without reading further. My advise to them is READ, see why people are saying things. I was in the market for a new sweeper a few months ago, and looked at some online reviews. The one that I was intrested in had two 1 stars reviews. I read them, and one person said that they loved the sweeper, but hated the color! The other said that swept up great, but had to screw the handle on! REALLY!!!! I know that was off of the tobacco for a second, but wanted to get the point across. Sorry for a rant, but that has been bugging me today. Makes me glad there isnt a pipe style review page out there (that I know of anyway).

 

waymon

Lurker
Feb 11, 2013
24
0
I also find some of the reviews worthless. But isn't a review supposed to be that a review? I mean if all the reviews contained nothing but rave then they too would be worthless. We need the negative reviews also. We need to know what is good and bad about the blends. I don't care for aromatics but I have smoked and reviewed some. Some of my reviews were ok, and some were not so ok.

 

cleidophoros

Starting to Get Obsessed
Dec 12, 2012
118
0
Should people only review their favorite tobaccos? I am also not a fan of aromatics but I had to smoke a few for a while; am I not entitled to review them?

 

drwatson

Lifer
Aug 3, 2010
1,721
5
toledo
No thats not the point! Review anything you want, however if you are not going to be honest and judge it based on the merits of the tobacco, then maybe you shouldn't be reviewing? Can a person who hates shrimp, really tell me how good that all you can eat seafood buffet in Myrtle Beach is??

 

cleidophoros

Starting to Get Obsessed
Dec 12, 2012
118
0
What is the point then? Certainly looks like it;

Well if someone isnt a fan of them and they are trashing a certain tobacco, how accurate is that review? Should they even be reviewing it?

"I am not a fan of aromatics so this tobacco sucks and I rate it 1 star."

"I am not a fan of aromatics, this tobacco burns hot, bites and tastes awful so I rate it 1 star."
I think I can review anything I want, yes.

 

05venturer

Lifer
Nov 25, 2012
1,622
2
Amery,WI
No thats not the point! Review anything you want, however if you are not going to be honest and judge it based on the merits of the tobacco, then maybe you shouldn't be reviewing? Can a person who hates shrimp, really tell me how good that all you can eat seafood buffet in Myrtle Beach is??
couldn't agree more watson.
As for the shrimp at Myrle Beach after I ate them I broke out in hives and my throat nearly swelled completely shut after consuming 50 of them. I realize that I have an allergy to shrimp but still give them 2 thumbs down way down. :crazy:

 

rmbittner

Lifer
Dec 12, 2012
2,759
1,994
I see such statements as a way to tell readers, "You may need to take the following with a grain of salt." I think that's good to know. I've reviewed a few blends outside my comfort zone, but I still think I have a good palate, and I feel comfortable saying I can distinguish a good blend from one that fails, regardless of the category. I ask myself, does this blend do what it claims to do? How does it compare to other similar blends I've tried? Was the leaf of a good quality? I'm actually of the opinion that the broader your knowledge of tobaccos, the better able you are to review anything new that crosses your path. But if I'm less knowledgable about a particular style, I think I owe it to readers to let them know about that.

 

morton

Part of the Furniture Now
May 3, 2012
648
2
Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada
I brew beer for a living. I need to be able to taste and rate (judge) beers which may not be in either my favorite zone or my comfort zone but I still try to rate them objectively. If the people who rate tobaccos are doing the same, I have no trouble with them trashing a certain tobacco as long as they are doing it objectively. If the person is trashing it because it is a Balkan/Aro/Virginia etc and they just don't like Balkan/aro/virginia tobacco, then that isn't right. Trash (or love) a tobacco on its own merits not because of what it is. Just don't get me started on wheat beers..... :D

 
Apr 26, 2012
3,352
5,160
Washington State
I get what the OP is saying. Its one thing to review a product you don't like, but judge it on its own merit and not because you have a general dislike for the product or vendor. When I look at reviews on Amazon for particular items, many times the low reviews have nothing to do with the product itself, but the poor service they received from the vendor which has nothing to do with the product at all. If you're going to do a review then be fair to the product and don't take any other bias into the review.

 
Aug 1, 2012
4,587
5,131
I understand the frustration and honestly I think it's an issue of respect. I respect the blender enough not to give a critical review for his/her tobaccos unless I am familiar with the style and have enough background knowledge to give a meaningful review. I don't trash FVF, even though I don't like it, because I know I'm not really good with VA or flake tobaccos yet, give me a few years.
I'm still new to the tobacco world but I can relate it to music. People will give a song/album terrible reviews even when (because) they know they hate the genre or band. It wastes others' time and can hurt a good product with pointless negativity. Most can tell that type of review just by reading it but it still doesn't make it the right thing to do. I have wondered if it gives some sort of feeling of power or if there is some other motivation.
Just some thoughts.

 
Aug 1, 2012
4,587
5,131
Oh yeah, and it makes me wonder how much the reviewers are actually thinking. If you knew you don't like the style...why the h*** did you waste your money on it?

 

Perique

Lifer
Sep 20, 2011
4,098
3,884
www.tobaccoreviews.com
Interesting. I've always had the opposite concern: that my reviews were all over the page. For example, I'm a VaPer and VaBur smoker, mostly. Also some VAs and hybrids. But I have rated some aros above some VAs because I try to rate the blend in context. ie- a great Aro is, to me, inferior to a good VaPer. But I've rated some Aros above some VaPers or VAs because they are best in class among their class. In other words, I try to rate objectively within the genre or context of the blend. Does that make sense? But the result is that I may prefer a tobacco I rated 2 stars over one that I rated 3 stars.

 

rcstan

Lifer
Mar 7, 2012
1,466
8
Sunset Beach NC
I couldn't agree more with the OP. Personally if I don't care for a blend I do not give it a review, period, unless it is utter crap, quality-wise, and even then I do not use the strong harsh language one encounters on TR, especially in the negative reviews of let's say, Lakelands, which happen to be among my favorite styles of blends. On the same note, I find Cornell and Diehl Englishes not suited to my taste, after trying 8 blends in that category, but I neither knock them down on the Internet, neither do I go on a buying spree of more.

 
Jul 15, 2011
2,363
31
My reviews are always pretty straight forward: What it looks like, what it smells like, what it tastes like, its burn qualities, and whether or not I like it and why I dont like it. You could make this same argument with music, food, clothing, etc. You just have to review a product for what it is, and tobacco is no different than anything else. Me, I love Virginias, I love Burleys, I love Aromatics, I love English, I just generally love a little bit of everything. An ideal review would be one where any preconceived notions or biased opinions would go out the window long before the review, but that is almost never the case and in almost always ruins a review.

 

aristokles

Can't Leave
Jan 18, 2011
399
0
drwatson has nailed a pet peeve of my own.
Now I just check a reviewer's profile for their past reviews irrespective of what they say of their habits. After a while one learns whose opinions one might give some weight, or not. I no longer review blends out of my depth or preference unless I am positively impressed, which is rare but not unheard of. (Don't ya' just hate dangling participles?)
As to Luxury Tobacco Reviews: nice format, it only needs more blends listed, (IMO); or at least that was the impression I got last I visited. Big K might fix that now (wink).

 

krizzose

Lifer
Feb 13, 2013
3,104
18,037
Michigan
Very interesting topics, and I like Sothron's answer about rating within a genre, makes sense.
Negative reviews are useful, especially when the reviewer generally likes that particular style of tobacco.
There's one reviewer on TR who has taken the trouble to review many of a certain manufacturer's blends (he despises them all) by simply referencing a three sentence review he made of one of that manufacturer's blends. That guy is obviously a self-absorbed douche bag.
Maybe we should start www.tobaccoreviewsreviews.com.

 
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