Cigar Aficionado..top 10 of 2010...

[TheRiddick]

Originally Posted by bonggoy

WayneR provided a link where one of the reviewers in, Mott Gordon, might be the head of the panel, took offense to all the accusations about them being influenced by big dollar advertisements. You should take a look. He explained in details how they buy the cigars themselves, smoke unbanded, and in the same environment as much as possible.

They MAY be buying some cigars since price wise it may allow them the luxury to do so IF THEY BUY SINGLES. Wine wise, there is no way in hell they can purchase 2 bottles of each (their minimum requirement) and stay in business. No one can. Parker and his similar claims included...

I can check, but I am sure that cigar manufacturers send them boxes of cigars instead of singles for easier and safer shipping (damage wise). Look at their back pages' "old stock" reviews. Do you really think they buy singles? It would create a nightmare for them just to store singles and keep track of and if they store boxes (as I bet they do to keep the whole thing sane, alpha system of storage, easier handling with no damage to cigars when they re-stock/buy new cigars, etc.), then same as with wine they cannot afford to buy cigars they test.

No, I do not produce cigars and no, I have no proof of their cigar review process, but based on my PERSONAL experience with their wine side (which cigars' side is based upon), I can assure you that their claims are questionable, at best, no matter what they say in public.

For example, their claim of "unbanded" cigars. As I already pointed out somewhere above, there is a good number of cigars that don't need a band to be easily recognized (Padron anyone?, some perfectos, there are other shapes and wrappers that easily give out the cigar), so their claims are half valid to begin with even for unbanded cigars. Cigars are not like wine, when they pour some in glass and place it in front of you, and you only see the color of wine and that's it (and vintage as well, which is usually given up front). For someone looking at cigars daily as a job, band is not much needed to recognize a stick in many cases.

I've observed their main wine guy in a blind tasting. Not impressed at all and his TRUE blind scores (since I controlled the tasting set up and made really blind with each and every wine decanted into same shape/size bottle prior) were pretty much opposite to what was printed in the magazine for same wines and producers. He later admitted to that in his wine blog, kudos to him for coming clean, that took guts.