Only 3 Cubans in CA top 20

[Randolph]

How can there be only 3 Cuban cigars in Cigar Aficianado's 2015 top 25???

[Scrubber]

$

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[El Presidente]

Their magazine. Let them do what they wish.

[Jeremy Festa]

How can there be only 3 Cuban cigars in Cigar Aficianado's 2015 top 25???

By there being 22 non-cuban cigars in the top 25.

It's simple math mate.

[Baldy]

It's their opinion and business so do whatever they want. They are in the market to sell some magazines and generate as much revenue as possible from advertising.

Having said that, what do I think of their opinions? 2 of 10 on my credibility scale and less on the usefulness scale. Besides providing an avenue for paid marketing, they are not authoritative nor provide any service to this hobby. I'd take it all with a grain of salt, with the realization a grain of salt is more useful to me.

[El Presidente]

It's their opinion and business so do whatever they want. They are in the market to sell some magazines and generate as much revenue as possible from advertising.

Having said that, what do I think of their opinions? 2 of 10 on my credibility scale and less on the usefulness scale. Besides providing an avenue for paid marketing, they are not authoritative nor provide any service to this hobby. I'd take it all with a grain of salt, with the realization a grain of salt is more useful to me.

I don't read wine mags either. I read a review and think that is the wine for me only to be disappointed most of the time.

It is hard for me to judge CA Top lists as I haven't tried 90% of what they reviewed.

In the past I would seek out some of their top rated cigars just in case I was missing something. Casa Magna comes to mind.

I worked out I wasn't missing much.

[LLC]

They need to support the companies that advertise with them. Imagine what would happen if there were only three NC's in their list.

[MrGTO]

It's a good thing, more habanos for us!

[TheLiquidGator]

Casa Magna, belch.

[SMQQKIN]

It's funny how 10 years ago I used to think CA was the authority. Now I only agree with them when they validate my own opinion...

[gcman68]

I don't agree with the process but 3 Cubans in the top 25 makes some sort of sense only when you look at the way they say they rate cigars. First, I don't know the number but a guess would be maybe 15-20% of the cigars they rate are Cubans (13 out of 77 in last issue by my quick unofficial count) if that many. Second, they supposedly buy them at retail and then if they score well buy them again for the final tasting. So it seems they are buying the Cubans blind and since a large part of the scoring in the top 25 relies on consistency it makes sense to me that for this type of testing Cubans don't score as well as we would think. That is not to excuse 3 in the Top 25 of course but it's just my attempt at a rational explanation.

I know I am very happy I don't have to buy blind and I suspect that if CA did the same things might change.

[garbandz]

Refer to Rob's top 25...........ALL CUBAN............

ALL smoked by a guy who sells cubans,and knows how to pick out winners.

Why would you look elsewhere?

[NSXCIGAR]

This shouldn't surprise anyone since 2014 was the same--3/25.

You've just got to scratch your head when a NC Monte and a Te-Amo both outscore a Double Edmundo...

[rmill3r]

To be fair, their #1 this year is pretty damn good. But end of year lists--whether it's cigars, movies, music or whatever--is as useful as....well, it's not very useful.

Sent from AOL in 1999

[Guest gorob23]

Their magazine. Let them do what they wish.

End of this discussion.

Merry Christmas to all

Rob

[cigcars]

If you'll notice too, Cigar Journal magazine (previously known as European Cigar-Cult Journal) is also rating a heck-of-a lot of NC cigars over Cubans these days. I'm figuring it's because as Cuba tries feverishly to meet world-wide demand, they're just releasing their product too soon to where they haven't had time to age properly, and are probably failing in flavor and aroma. Thus, that's why all you guys and aficionados get your prized smokes and then talk about putting them away for 6 months or longer.

[NSXCIGAR]

Curious, as CA is based in New York and Suckling seems to be the only man on the move (if he even is affiliated w/ CA anymore)--where exactly are they getting these CCs retail and to where are they being brought back and after how long are they smoked, and by whom? Does CA have foreign correspondents that smoke these cigars? NCs are fairly scarce outside N. America--are different people in different countries at different times smoking CCs vs NCs? The whole thing just reeks of inconsistency and bias.

I've always thought the CA ratings since the late 90s were highly dubious. Lots of private money at play in the NC world and I've heard consistently for many, many years CA ratings are a pay-to-play system. CA has no incentive to rate CCs highly and every incentive to rate NCs highly.

Knowing what I know about NC manufacturers & devotees they've never shied away from fact distortion and slander to diminish CCs in order to defend their product. NC folks have a serious complex about CCs being superior I would not for a minute doubt they're capable of buying off anyone for a sales bump. Deep down, however, I think they know their days are numbered.

[Ken Gargett]

I don't read wine mags either. I read a review and think that is the wine for me only to be disappointed most of the time.

seriously? buy better wine mags.

[El Presidente]

seriously? buy better wine mags.

Crikey...I only read the ones you contribute to.

[Ken Gargett]

Crikey...I only read the ones you contribute to.

you couldn't afford them!

[aushy]

Go back the past few years of their top 25, most years have 3 Cubans, some have 4 Cubans. Seems they follow a formula. They will always put 1 cuban in the top 5, perhaps to give the impression of it being a somewhat credible list. They are a magazine which primarily targets the US market who predominately smoke NC cigars. Just think of the list as the top 25 NC cigars of 2015. If that is useful to you then so be it, if it is not useful then don't bother reading CA because they won't be changing anytime soon.

[LeafLover]

CA is business. Some great articles and some advertisement of swag (not cigars) that made me go "ooooh". In my earlier years, when I displayed it on my coffee table, made me feel refined and my guests think "this guy smokes cigars, what a baller"....for like two seconds.

Otherwise, I don't despise them because my horizons have been broadened.

Do your thing CA....you do serve a purpose in the cigar community.

[santela]

You are taking them too seriously.

[wabashcr]

David Savona and some of his staff just did an AMA last week. Many of the issues raised in this thread were discussed. It's an interesting read, and I don't have any reason to believe they were being anything less than truthful.

https://www.reddit.com/r/cigars/comments/3wt19a/ama_david_savona_executive_editor_of_cigar/

I enjoy CA. I get the magazine delivered free, and it's a good product. I don't believe their top 25 list is as overtly tilted toward their advertisers as many others suspect. I just think it's a numbers game. They test so many cigars throughout the year, and a good number of those are going to come from bigger companies, who are releasing a lot of cigars, and also happen to advertise in CA. That's more of a reflection of the cigar market in the US than anything else. I think they do try to be fair, but the bias many perceive is just built into the industry. And they're trying to be relevant across the industry, not just to a certain subset of cigar smokers.

That said, I have no answers for how that CAO piece of crap made the top 5. I've had a few flatheads, and even by mass produced General Cigar standards they were crap. Le Bijou is a really good smoke, though.

[PigFish]

Gurus and professional tasters... HOGWASH!

People who need to be told what to do, either ask or seek out guidance from a self-proclaimed professional source. This is not unusual or necessarily bad. We ask our host, and certainly each other questions, including taste questions all the time.

The point is separating self-aggrandizement and self-promotion from fact. When it comes to taste, I separate "advice" from "gospel" because gospel does not exist for taste...!

I never smoke NC cigars anymore, pursuing them is a waste of my smoking time and smoking funds (again MHO). I find it odd that one would want to ask Scotch drinkers to sample and rate beer. I say this, because I think that NC cigars and Cuban cigars are truly different animals. There are people who smoke only one or the other... Those people obviously see (taste) something that they like in both (either) and it sets a preference. There are people who enjoy both, and lets say that the group at CA falls into that category... They obviously don't then have "my" tastes and therefore they nullify themselves from my reference by their own taste judgements. It is simple logic.

Why do they not then include a rating on cigarettes? This rounds out the whole picture. There are many dry-type cigars and certainly cigarettes to include in the realm of smoking tobacco products. Why stop the process at a certain price level of cigar?

I suppose if you could legally advertise cigarettes in magazines that might change as well.

Ultimately these guys don't have my tastes. I therefore refer to them as people who don't "know what they are talking about." It is that simple. I rather see this like Consumer Reports rating a Bugatti! What is the point? This is not their rice bowl or specialty.

I will continue to bash journalist and publications whom insist that their tastes are superior to mine. They can in turn bash my opinions about climate control and cigar taste.

When you enter the public square with your superior views, and mine are no different, you should expect some blow back... As long as someone is buying their rag (advertising in it and making them money), I assume that the loss of any individual as a reader means precious little to them.

Cheers! -the Pig