The Scale
I hate 100-point cigar scores. Nobody can taste the difference between a 91 and a 93, least of all the people publishing them... and when every cigar magically lands between 88 and 94, the score means nothing.
So this site asks one question instead: would I spend my own money on this again? There are only four answers.
The cigar scale
Box Buy · 4/4 A box stays on hand at all times. Regular rotation.
Five-Pack · 3/4 Yes, I'd buy it again. A few live in the humidor.
Hand-Me-One · 2/4 Wouldn't spend my own money. Wouldn't turn one down.
Not Even Free · 1/4 I'd rather smoke nothing.
The gear scale
Buy Again If it broke or walked off tomorrow, I'd order the same one.
Wouldn't Buy I own it, I've used it, and I'd spend the money on something else.
Gear gets a yes or a no because that's the only question that matters for a cutter or a lighter. There's no "it's fine for the price" tier... if I wouldn't buy it again, you shouldn't buy it once.
Where the stick came from
Every review wears a source badge. It's the disclosure, right up front, every time:
- My Money Bought with my own money at or near street price. Every cigar on the site so far, and most of the gear.
- My Money · Steal My money, but a deep discount... auction win, flash sale, the deals I brag about. Flagged because a $5 cigar is easier to love than a $14 one, and you deserve to know which one I smoked.
- Gift · My Wife A birthday present from my wife. Judged at street price anyway.
- Gift · Friend A friend handed it to me. Judged at street price anyway.
- Freebie · Promo Swag A retailer throw-in that rode along with a cigar order. Nobody sent it for review, nobody knew I'd write about it. Judged at street price anyway.
- Sent by Brand A company or shop sent it. Nobody buys coverage here... no preview approval, no promised review, no promised score... and it gets judged at street price like everything else. Hasn't happened yet; the badge exists so you'll know the day it does.
Street price, and why the verdict uses it
Every review states the street price: the typical online single-stick price at the time of review, checked against a fixed basket of major retailers (Famous Smoke, Cigars International, Atlantic, Neptune), auctions and flash sales excluded. Brick-and-mortar runs higher... that's noted where it matters.
Verdicts are judged at street price, not what I paid. A cigar that's a Five-Pack at $8 can be a Hand-Me-One at $20. If a stick is only worth it on discount, the review says exactly that, as a standing exception note... and the tier doesn't move.
The rest of the rules
- Coverage is never for sale. No review-for-product deals, no sponsored scores, no preview approval. The badge tells you where every stick came from.
- What I paid gets stated when I've got the receipt. Deals, gift cards, full freight at the local B&M... it's all part of the record, it just doesn't move the verdict.
- Negative reviews get published. Most cigar coverage is wall-to-wall positive because negatives don't win friends at the factories. The bad news is the useful part.
- One cigar, one review. If a bad stick might have been a fluke, I'll say so... and if a retry changes the verdict, the review gets updated with the history shown. A second smoke of the same line waits at least 90 days.