Cigar Aficionado Top 25, 2022 guesses

[asudevil08]

18 hours ago, SMELTZ said:

Could it be? Box Date 2018

It will be fun watching the upcoming weeks of 24:24 after this news.  Gonna be blood in the water.  

[Corylax18]

35 minutes ago, Cigar Surgeon said:

I do enjoy seeing jimmies rustled in the US cigar industry from people outraged they picked a Cuban at #1.

Some real "leopards ate my face" material.

 

The Elegantes making the list surprises me and I understand why that might ruffle some feathers. I've tried and tried with that one and had no luck. 

The Upmann 2 has been pretty solid for years though. I've smoked quite a few since the PC was discontinued and I'm rarely disappointed.

[SCgarman]

18 minutes ago, Cigar Surgeon said:

I hear July 2022 is way,way better 🤷‍♂️🤣

They must be better. They are well over $500usd/box now!! More expensive=Much better correct?!! 🤣

[Corylax18]

7 minutes ago, Carrie Nation said:

You haven't shown me anything that supports your statement. On the other hand, I showed you a statement that contradicts what you said. Here's the link if you want to read it, straight from the horse's mouth.

 

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

 

Again, show me something where a reviewer says he only takes a few puffs during the rating process. Because I've never seen or read this anywhere. Otherwise, this might be a case of The Mandela Effect, where you swear you heard and saw it...but really didn't. 

If it means this much to you go ahead and watch every video. I don't have the time or desire to do so. 

[helix]

Should never judge a cigar on the first inch.

[SCgarman]

17 hours ago, Corylax18 said:

Really? I'm surprised when I hear anyone discussing them.

They flat out tell you they only take a few puffs of each cigar for the regular reviews. And that those three puffs came minutes after three puffs of the 5 previous cigars they "tasted".

I read those reviews as entertainment, which is what they are. Its pandering, pretentious bullshit. Fluff to fill out the few pages that aren't ads. 

It takes more than three quick, hot puffs to determine you where tasting "Madagascan Vanilla Bean" as opposed to vanilla from anywhere else. More than 3 puffs to confirm it was "dried Chilean mango" opposed to any old mango on the grocery store shelf. 

I understand that they go much further with the cigars they choose to compete for the top 25, but the list is based on BS, so of course it consistently delivers a BS result. If the CA crew could rank the hot air coming out of their mouths I'm sure it would win all of the top 25 spots, every year. 

I take all their reviews with a grain of salt. Since they only smoke the first inch or two to grade a cigar, you are spot on. They don't sit and smoke the cigar from beginning to nub, no way to accurately describe a cigar. These guys are typical NYC uppity elites who sit on their sanctimonious thrones and proclaim what is hot and what is not. Truth of the matter is "taste in everything in life including cigars is purely subjective"

[gormag38]

Oh they will be selling out even faster on 24:24. (If that’s even possible )

Glad I managed a 1/4 box of GEM ENE 22s. Haven’t sampled them yet but may have to try soon

[SCgarman]

1 hour ago, gormag38 said:

Oh they will be selling out even faster on 24:24. (If that’s even possible )

Glad I managed a 1/4 box of GEM ENE 22s. Haven’t sampled them yet but may have to try soon

I have a box of LUB 14. What are they worth now? One thousand per stick? 🤪

[Capn_Jackson]

I don’t put a lot of stock in CA’s list, pure entertainment. Still, though, makes me want to smoke this today. Top smoke of the year, though?

[SCgarman]

1 hour ago, Capn_Jackson said:

I don’t put a lot of stock in CA’s list, pure entertainment. Still, though, makes me want to smoke this today. Top smoke of the year, though?

It's my favorite Cuban pyramid. But THE #1 big kahuna? Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. 

[Carrie Nation]

2 hours ago, Corylax18 said:

If it means this much to you go ahead and watch every video. I don't have the time or desire to do so. 

 

Until you can show me where "they flat out tell you they only take a few puffs" as you said in your previous post, I'm inclined to believe you might have a false or misinterpreted memory here. Mandela Effect. But feel free to read the AMA where they address the question directly and say otherwise. Here it is again if you don't feel like clicking. 

 

"If a cigar is disagreeable for the first inch, it is scored accordingly and no more of the cigar is smoked. It doesn’t matter if it becomes the greatest cigar in the world afterward. Any cigar that requires anyone to smoke through a bad first inch is a seriously flawed cigar and will be rated accordingly. Normally, it takes ⅓ to ½ of the cigar to develop its natural flavors. That’s how much we generally smoke."

[Bagman]

1 hour ago, Carrie Nation said:

Until you can show me where "they flat out tell you they only take a few puffs" as you said in your previous post, I'm inclined to believe you might have a false or misinterpreted memory here. Mandela Effect. But feel free to read the AMA where they address the question directly and say otherwise. Here it is again if you don't feel like clicking.

I have also seen this in the past.  So I can confirm they have mentioned their limited puffs per review.  The ability to find the exact article among the billions of articles on the internet does not mean it isn't true.  Perhaps they have changed their policy since, but I remember thinking that their reviews couldn't be that accurate based on what they just said about the short smoke time per cigar review.

[SMELTZ]

I have box of GEM ENE 22 and smoked a few already. 93-95 for me, was very surprised of how good they were. I thought medium to full, but then again I only have been smoking cigars for 6 years, what do I know?

[SpecialK]

2 hours ago, gormag38 said:

Oh they will be selling out even faster on 24:24. (If that’s even possible )

Glad I managed a 1/4 box of GEM ENE 22s. Haven’t sampled them yet but may have to try soon

Got the same 1/4 box... still sitting on them  

[ha_banos]

dang. never be able to get any more now!

[Rhinoww]

Have a box of the upmann no 2 from May 22, the month my daughter graduated from college. It’s the only box from May I was able to get and planned on smoking that box slowly over 20 or so years. Even more expectations around it now that they are the cigar of the year. We will see….

[CrownN7eveN]

On 12/12/2022 at 5:26 PM, Stoyan said:

I guess there will be 2 pardons and 2 Fuentes in the top 10 if they are “so low” in the list. Opus X and padron 1926 in the top 5. I think this year they might put a cuban n1 just to support the price hike. There was a video last year by some guys that guessed almost everything. I was shocked by the accuracy.

This aged well, right on the money with a Cuban being #1 and 50-50 on the padron and fuente selections, lol!

[Carrie Nation]

2 hours ago, Monterey said:

I have also seen this in the past.  So I can confirm they have mentioned their limited puffs per review.  The ability to find the exact article among the billions of articles on the internet does not mean it isn't true.  Perhaps they have changed their policy since, but I remember thinking that their reviews couldn't be that accurate based on what they just said about the short smoke time per cigar review.

Unless you can find some evidence that "they flat out tell you they only take a few puffs," then no, Monterey, you can't "confirm" anything. You're just repeating internet chatter. I don't know about you, but I'll go by what they actually said in the AMA in their own words, as opposed to these shaky, questionable accounts of what some people think they might have said, but have nothing to support it. 

[jakebarnes]

As someone who got banned from the CA forum all those years back for telling James Suckling that he and his opinions were a collection of hot air and his reviews were somehow less than worthless, I still think they know nothing. 

But ultimately it led me to this forum. So I guess you can blame CA and James suckling for having to deal with me here. My blessing, your curse or something like that. 

[mbflash80]

I thought it was common knowledge that they smoked 1/3 of the cigar on average? at least that what was always inferred over the years...and no I am not about to go searching for it...just trust me

[Hammer Smokin']

no comments around the top 10, but was surprised to hear the poor mention towards the Escogidos. 

2 left from my original box but all 8 were excellent cigars. 

have a 2nd box resting. 

[SCgarman]

34 minutes ago, Carrie Nation said:

Unless you can find some evidence that "they flat out tell you they only take a few puffs," then no, Monterey, you can't "confirm" anything. You're just repeating internet chatter. I don't know about you, but I'll go by what they actually said in the AMA in their own words, as opposed to these shaky, questionable accounts of what some people think they might have said, but have nothing to support it. 

Why don't you give it a break already mate? I have been into cigars over 30 years and will concur with Monterey that the reviewers in the past have stated they only smoke the first inch or two of a cigar for a review. So more than one of us has read that coming straight from CA magazine. Have they maybe changed up their methods? Anything is possible. 

[westg]

5 hours ago, SCgarman said:

I have a box of LUB 14. What are they worth now? One thousand per stick? 🤪

LUB MAY 14 from Upmann probably one of the best box codes ever 

[bassistheplace]

still have a box of GEM Oct 20 PSP

They are fabulous sticks

Glad CA finally came up with a cigar I can "relate" to

[NSXCIGAR]

Only CA could rate a CC highly and give it a monster score and still baffle the world. 

98 points for a MAY 22 HU 2 is just a bridge too far. Although I suppose if you think a Hoyo Elegantes is in the top 10 anything's possible...