Why I don’t award points

Cigar magazines rate cigars using a points system. Scores of 90, 93 or 97 give the impression of objective comparability. As recently as 2025, I was still awarding points myself. I have now decided against doing so.

The reason is simple: a single number does not define a cigar. The score says very little about it. What’s more, everyone smokes a cigar under different circumstances. How you’re feeling on the day, your surroundings, how the cigar has been stored, or your personal preferences all influence your perception. A single number cannot capture these differences.

That’s why I’m not interested in whether a cigar deserves 91 or 94 points. What interests me is, why she behaves the way she does. In my view, this question can be better answered by conducting several tastings under different conditions than by a single, one-off assessment.

Why my approach to wine tasting differs from that of tasting panels

I have great respect for the work carried out by tasting panels. Assessing a cigar within a short space of time and comparing it with many others is a demanding task. How much time can actually be devoted to each individual cigar depends on the panel in question, its procedures and the resources available.

From conversations with people who have insight into such tastings, I also know that time pressure can sometimes be considerable. This does not mean that this applies to all panels or all tasters. However, it does show that a comprehensive assessment of the entire smoking experience is not always possible under such conditions.

Invitation from Zigarren.Zone

I have therefore decided to take a different approach. Instead of comparing as many cigars as possible with one another, I devote several tasting sessions to a single cigar. I am not only interested in the first impression, but also in how it develops from the moment it is lit right through to the very last puff. Only in this way can I understand why it behaves the way it does.

These tiny tobacco seeds are the origin of every cigar. If you want to understand why a cigar is the way it is, you need to start with its origins.

That is why I do not describe a score, but rather characteristics

• What is the smoke pattern like?
• How well-balanced is the blend?
• How does the cigar develop as it is smoked?
• How well do the draw and burn perform?
• What role do fermentation, design and format play?

In my view, this information is far more helpful than a single figure. That doesn’t mean that scores are fundamentally wrong; they can provide a quick guide. However, if you want to understand why a cigar is the way it is, you need more than just a score.

My aim, therefore, is not to rate cigars. My aim is to explain them in a way that is easy to understand.

Further reading

• Observe cigars rather than judge them – How to understand cigars better

Transparency

This article is based on my experience as a cigar connoisseur since 1996, on specialist literature and – where available – on scientific publications. The aim is to explain the relationships in a way that is easy to understand and to base observations on verifiable evidence wherever possible.

• Hu, W. et al. (2022): Study on the chemical compositions and microbial communities of cigar tobacco leaves fermented with an exogenous additive. Scientific Reports. → Fermentation, chemical changes and microbial processes in cigar tobacco.  
• (2023) Study on the correlation between the dominant microflora and the main flavour compounds in the fermentation process of cigar tobacco leaves → Investigates the relationships between dominant microorganisms and key chemical indicators.