Why No Cigar Review Sites Like Tobaccoreviews.com?

[andrew]

Pipes are like learning an instrument. There are lots of variables and lots of instruments. So, we have lots to talk about. You can smoke FVF in several different pipes with several different packing methods, different cadences, and moods to give you an unlimited different experiences. Then add in the superstitions people have developed about their instruments... The songs, the dancers... There is a whole symbiotic community of things that can shift and make the experience different and unique.

Cigars are like playing the radio. Turn it on and listen. Not much to talk about, I guess, unless you are building a radio from scratch. Or, unless you are a critic of things playing on the radio, and among those who listen to the radio, very few probably feel motivated to critique the music. It is either good or bad or not as good.

I would disagree, I just finished a la gloria cubana petite. You need to have proper humidity, proper cadence or the cigar tastes like shit and you'll get super nic'd out, there's the type of cut you use, when I smoke a cigar it's like the world stops, it's just me and the cigar, the pipe is more something that's become like riding a bike for me or swimming. There's also the flavor changes that occur as you smoke it, much more pronounced then any pipe tobacco I've had.

 

[cobguy]

I just finished a la gloria cubana petite.

Good stuff ... love the Wavell Maduro from La Gloria too.

 

[northernneil]

My favorite is the one where the stickers are inside the box but not affixed to it, I've always wondered if you were going to go through the trouble to counterfeit a cigar, you wouldn't take that extra step and put the stickers on the box??

When I visited Cuba a couple years ago, cigars were a plenty. You cold pay top dollar in the State run tobacconist, or hunt for a discount on the streets / beaches.
The stuff being sold on beaches were not counterfiet's so much as rejects. They are made using Cuban leaf but weren't the right shape, color or size; and in rare extreme examples, rolled poorly. The seller leaves the stickers off so you can inspect the cigars. A luxury not offer when buying boxes from the state run stores.

 

[onestrangeone]

Halfwheel is one of the better cigar review sites that I have found, I have a lot more experience with cigars than I do with pipes, (I have over 3000 cigars at the moment) I don't try to compare one to the other they are very different experiences, I enjoy both equally. IMO Cuban cigars are somewhat overrated, it's the whole 'forbidden fruit' macho elitism thing, in the end a Cuban cigar is just another cigar, some are good some are not.

 

[mso489]

Okay, this is biased and prejudicial, but pipe smoking for some reason attracts people who have a lot of curiosity and think a lot about their pipe smoking. Cigar smoking is a more extravagant and dramatic habit, and thinking too much about it distracts from the theater of firing up a stogy. I've smoked both. If I want a cigar on one of my occasional trips to a horse track, I sure don't want to read reviews in advance. Dominicans are often good. Spend a little more, and you get a good one. Cigar question solved. Not to say some cigar guys (gals?) spend time learning and reading, but pipe smokers are the inquiring minds. Cigar smokers are out for a good time, to make an impression.

 

[deathmetal]

mso489:

pipe smoking for some reason attracts people who have a lot of curiosity and think a lot about their pipe smoking. Cigar smoking is a more extravagant and dramatic habit, and thinking too much about it distracts from the theater of firing up a stogy.

Cosmic:

Pipes are like learning an instrument. There are lots of variables and lots of instruments. So, we have lots to talk about...Cigars are like playing the radio. Turn it on and listen. Not much to talk about, I guess, unless you are building a radio from scratch. Or, unless you are a critic of things playing on the radio, and among those who listen to the radio, very few probably feel motivated to critique the music.

I like these comparisons but, with my limited knowledge of cigars (and pipes, perhaps) would offer this comparison instead:
Smoking a pipe is like hearing a favorite symphony. It is a half-hour through an hour of intensity centered around a mood and theme, and you choose your symphony by that state of mind.
A cigar is more like listening to an opera. You choose an opera by the story and by the impression you have, but then you are in for a journey. Lots of ups and downs, more emotional, less theory at the forefront. And when it is done, you remember not so much the parts of a journey, but a single fleeting impression.

 

[jefff]

I would say that pipes are really good Motown. You can feel the groove when you hit it.
Cigars are pop music. Superficially enjoyable.

 

[cobguy]

Cigar smokers are out for a good time, to make an impression.

Cigars are pop music. Superficially enjoyable.

Sorry you guys feel that way ... not how this cigar smoker feels at all.
Then again, I feel like the guys that can smoke nothing but "Opus X" or "Cuban" cigars provide that stigma for the rest of us.
Similarly, there are those whose lips must only touch "artisan pipes" ... same crowd.

 

[jefff]

There is nothing wrong with superficial enjoyment.
Plus...you can never discount the fact that I am full of shit.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

Sure, there is skill to cigars, no doubt. But, what I mean by my metaphor is that with pipes, you prep the tobacco, select one of many styles, widths, depths, bore shapes, etc, and totally control the experience, even mixing your own blends. But unless you are rolling your own, your enjoying the flavors the way someone else prepared it. One is not better than the other. One just requires more practice and experience to learn to control the experience more. I wouldn't buy a humidor full of cigars and then disparage the whole genre.
I picked up some that I'm excited about at The Briary today. I can't wait to burn them now. ::

 

[cobguy]

But unless you are rolling your own, your enjoying the flavors the way someone else prepared it.

Isn't that the case for pipe tobacco as well? Pop the tin and enjoy another's creation?
Just playing a little devil's advocate here, btw.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

Sure pop the tin and set it on fire. Ready to go, right? Ha ha!
La Flor Dominicana Double Claro, I was told that pipe guys say that this is a Virginia lover's cigar. About to find out... Smells wonderful so far!

 

[iamn8]

Ouch Cobguy, I feel that was directed at me. Judging me for what I like to smoke.... cat calling the kettle? I was just trying to answer the intitial question. I wasn't judging cigar smokers individual, only trying to discover why cigars lack the support we here are lucky enough to have, but should you feel the need... slams away there will ALWAYS be exceptions, but we're talking general rule.

 

[phil67]

Sorry you guys feel that way ... not how this cigar smoker feels at all.

Then again, I feel like the guys that can smoke nothing but "Opus X" or "Cuban" cigars provide that stigma for the rest of us.

Similarly, there are those whose lips must only touch "artisan pipes" ... same crowd

I couldn’t agree more cobguy. As for all of these over analytical recondite comparisons as to what smoking a pipe as opposed to a cigar is and comparing it to music or what not is absolute rubbish to me. I’ve been smoking for 50+ years and it’s all quite simple to me. I smoke cigarettes, much to my chagrin, simply for the nicotine and nothing more. As for a pipe or cigar I simply smoke one or the other when I’m in the mood and have taste for either, and sometimes a taste or mood for neither. It’s all pretty basic and simple for me. I can smoke a cigar or pipe while relaxing and doing nothing (which I have down to a science since I retired), listening to music, at the keyboard on my computer, taking a walk, sitting on the porch, in the backyard talking to my neighbor or while taking a dump. There is nothing esoteric, and or philosophical about either to me. It’s all basically… smoking and enjoying what I happen to be smoking, and nothing more.
P.S. Let us know what you think of that La Flor Dominicana Double Claro Cosmic.

 

[cosmicfolklore]

Not a Virginia... From the start it had that fermented cigar leaf aroma, then just sort of lost all flavor. It was not sweet, nor grassy, no hay, no stewed vegatable flavor, nor vinegary. I'm not sure why he said it was very Virginia-y. I didn't find that it had mich flavor at all. But, towards the end it picked up a bit in cigar flavor. But, I would strike pipe guys and Virginia from any description. But, for a loght afternoon in the sun, I would smoke it again. Or, something better if I had it on hand. 3 out of 5 stars. It did have some good nicotine content, medium. Not bad, not great. But, for a smokinh butterfly like me, I enjoyed the experience.

 

[cobguy]

Ouch Cobguy, I feel that was directed at me.

It wasn't, Nate. The Opus X is just an easy example ... sort of like Penzance around here.
Also ... what's this about a cat calling a kettle? Didn't it already run-away with a spoon or something?

 

[cosmicfolklore]

Hmmm... now, I have to get me some of that Opus X! Damn you! Ha ha!

 

[metalheadycigarguy]

As a member of CigarGeeks.com I can strongly recommend that site. There are currently 30700+ cigar reviews, and there are currently 46700+ cigars listed in their database. There are 860+ Geek Critiques where 4-6 members all review the same cigar at the same time and submit their reviews. Its interesting to see how the reviews are the same and differ on certain cigars when doing the Geek Critiques. I would say it's the most extensive cigar website on the internet. Now not all the reviews are solid, as you'll get some typical short Cigar Aficionado style reviews, but there are many detailed reviews as well. I've submitted 191 reviews, and all good reads if I do say so myself. :mrgreen:

 

[andrew]

Finally Phil enters some common sense into this thread

 

[iamn8]

I thought we were trying to answer a general question. There will always be exceptions to any generality. I don't think anyone's criticizing cigar smokers.