how do YOU write your reviews?

LiquidChaos66

I recently picked up a notebook/cigar journal to start writing down my personal cigar reviews. I wont be posting or recording any of my own reviews. This is all for personal use and reminders of good sticks.

Like the topic asks.... what points do you look for when writing your reviews? How do you format them for your use? I have a general idea of how im going to be doing mine... but would love to hear from you all about how you handle your personal notes.

jgibv

i usually write them in english. 
but every now and then i'll write one in spanish just for fun.

bigfnsteve

Gibby! My man! 
I too am bilingual and write in engrish and ebonics. We should start a bilingual cigar smokers association.

jgibv

bigfnsteve said:

Gibby! My man! 
I too am bilingual and write in engrish and ebonics. We should start a bilingual cigar smokers association.

let's do it.  we can have some hella bilingual contest/giveaways too. 
PM me

Patrickbrick

I don't write anything down, but for now at least my memory works great.  I put them in three categories: it was super good need try at least one more then buy a box, it was maybe ok will try another to double check, but don't think will buy a box.  This category is tricky sometimes, so I might pick up a couple just to have on hand for that occasion that I can't figure out what to smoke or I have had several and it won't matter what I smoke.  Then the third category, that cigar sucked balls after a round of golf in 100 degree heat, these I will not revisit or try again.

Yakster

Haven't collected my impressions, but I collect the bands of good smokes and list the great smokes in an Evernote note.  I'll sometimes posts notes and impressions on the forum.

I want to set up a spreadsheet of my cigar inventory and once done I'd probably throw some notes in a comments field.

LiquidChaos66

Im currently using a memo pad note on my phone listing cigars that I liked... but I didn't put notes on them as to flavor profiles.... so its hard for me to remember what cigars tasted like but to know I liked them. LOL

Bob_Luken

 I don't keep notes but, I've always thought keeping notes was a good idea.

danielzreyes

jgibv said:

bigfnsteve said:

Gibby! My man! 
I too am bilingual and write in engrish and ebonics. We should start a bilingual cigar smokers association.

let's do it.  we can have some hella bilingual contest/giveaways too. 
PM me

Putos! por favor envíeme cigarros puro gratis

MikeTodd

danielzreyes said:

jgibv said:

bigfnsteve said:

Gibby! My man! 
I too am bilingual and write in engrish and ebonics. We should start a bilingual cigar smokers association.

let's do it.  we can have some hella bilingual contest/giveaways too. 
PM me

Putos! por favor envíeme cigarros puro gratis

Did you just ask for a cigar enema? 

danielzreyes

MikeTodd said:

danielzreyes said:

jgibv said:

bigfnsteve said:

Gibby! My man! 
I too am bilingual and write in engrish and ebonics. We should start a bilingual cigar smokers association.

let's do it.  we can have some hella bilingual contest/giveaways too. 
PM me

Putos! por favor envíeme cigarros puro gratis

Did you just ask for a cigar enema? 

If it's free, sure. Just a 5er

Poopy_Jones

Every time I try a new blend I write a review in the notes section on my phone. That way it's always with me. My wording and logic are for myself at a later date. It's helped on a couple of occasions when I couldn't remember a particular blend

Unknown

This content has been removed.

danielzreyes

SolidOrder77 said:

Let me tell you how to review cigars for most possible enjoyment time.
Number 1, write down the name of the cigar, the size is not important because they all taste the same. Number 3, take note of how much leather and pepper you taste on your mouth palate.
Number C, watch Brian Glynn's Youtube videos, because mostly he is the best at tasting flavors.
Hope this helps. 
PM for addy.

Libre de la motocicleta Harley Davidson por favor

LiquidChaos66

Glad to see some people are taking this seriously. 

I might track down an actual cigar journal. Maybe I just need to use something that's already formatted for personal notes and reviews I stress of reinventing the wheel. 

Lee.mcglynn

For me it's a in the moment thing...the more I try to find all the flavors I find I'm thinking too hard and not enjoying the cigar. I try to find the most distinguished of them if I'm gonna take note. But as stated the vitolas all taste the same is well I disagree with that completely! As for Brian Flynn he does a good job but the guy doesn't retrohale which I find really odd and he also starts taking notes on the first few puffs. To me it takes a little bit into the cigar to start finding the flavors. IMHO at light for the most part it's all spice depending on the age of the cigar. I smoked a Johnny tobaconaut the other week and the upfront spice killed my pallet for the rest of the smoke. I did enjoy it but figured tuck them away for a few years. But back to the question for a mental reminder I would put the upfront flavors,burn and age of the stick. Then rate it interns of how much you truly enjoyed it and mark if you'd buy a box. IMO if you'd buy a box it was damn good...or you saw potential

kswildcat

My list is..

Holy crub yummy
Damn  good
Pretty good
Good
OK
Not terrible 
Awful
Who in the hell would smoke dis chit

LiquidChaos66

kswildcat said:

My list is..

Holy crub yummy
Damn  good
Pretty good
Good
OK
Not terrible 
Awful
Who in the hell would smoke dis chit

That is basically my current system lol

Martel

When I started, I found a formatted sheet for reviews that I liked, then I kept them in a binder.  For a while I tried typing them directly into the laptop, but I'm trying to save the new laptop from the smoking environment.  I might consider using my old Asus Transformer and converting everything to Evernote.  Still, there are times I like just writing it down as I smoke. 

When I do that, I usually just write short notes.  I might note the time when I finish a third mostly as a divider for flavor progression, but my flavor notes tend to be something like:

Vanilla and cream with oak under
Mild Spice:white pepper and cinnamon
20 min
Vanilla faded, cream level and pepper stronger. No cinnamon.

Or whatever the heck hits me at the moment.  I'll also have some general notes about how it feels and burns in another column.  Eventually, I found I wanted more room for notes than most pre-fab tasting sheets offered.  I've considered making my own, but typically don't worry about it.  In the end, I still have to type something up to make heads or tails of the notes because they won't make full sense even to me if I wait more than a couple of days.

Now, I'm thinking I should smoke something.

Bob_Luken

I've said it before and I'll say it again, (Since we've begun to talk about flavors,) I'm not one of these poor souls who says, "It all tastes the same to me." No, I love all the nuanced flavors I experience with each cigar and, I firmly believe I can taste all the flavors that anybody else might taste but, I don't feel confident in my ability to dissect and label them and, I haven't ever noticed my own experience matching up in any remarkable way with any reviewer's conclusions. Plus, with this outlook, I can't help but enjoy a bit of skepticism when I hear these labels being applied.

Charred oak?!! (You know who you are.)  OK buddy,.....if you say so. 

kswildcat

I had one I'm sure tasted just like sucking up a mud hole  of stale water thru a straw... Not an experience I want to repeat.

Patrickbrick

"Charred oak?!! (You know who you are.)  OK buddy,.....if you say so."
If I remember correctly that happened on vherf and was funny as hell.

First_Warrior

Since i stated rolling my own cigars I use a three part system to rate a cigar. First is construction, then is taste which is from start to end. Last is finish and aftertaste. I figure i can roll a cigar with to right tobacco  that is finer than most small batch cigars on the martet today.Some times my construction is not right although i am learning. sometimes my blend is spot on and tasty and sometimes my finish right where  I want it. Lots of pages in my blending book. 

0patience

Evidently, you have to be fluent in the english language, give a lot of fluffy words describing all of the nuances of flavors that no person imaginable could possibly detect and fill it full of tons of bullshit.

All seriousness, I haven't a clue.
I look at Rip's reviews and bow my head in shame, cause there is no way I could write like that.

My reviews are, it didn't suck.
Draw was good, got some spice, didn't kick me in the stomach. Sweet taste. Good burn or bad burn. 
Tasted hay, wtf?

GrouchoM

*Warning Newb opinion alert*

I actually started writing reviews to try pick up what all the cigar vets were tasting. I like to write and it helped w categorizing the thousands of cigars.

My notes were written on what ever was around. Initially it was napkins, scraps of paper, newspaper but eventually on my phone (warning difficult to keep a cherry lit while typing a review on a cell phone screen). So, a journal/pad and pen is in my opinion the best method to document cigars.

I focus on prelight /presmoke appearance and construction, specifically physical appearance and draw unlit.

Next, the flavor and taste.

Lastly, the overall quality of the experience. 

I score these specific areas from 0-5: Appearance  and construction, burn, draw, aroma. I score these from 0-10: flavor, taste/aftertaste (strength) and overall quality of the smoke. The total is about 50 pts. 

The findings go from:
Not recommended 
Below average 
Average 
Above average 
Excellent 
Outstanding 
Superior 

I also reserve a spot for sticks I need to retry later due to circumstances/interest or noticing that a stick might have required more humi time.

I always smoke cigars with these criteria in mind. It helps me w actually having a valid opinion when someone asks me about a stick I actually have had-further allowing me to mentally put together what is actually happening. Why? Because while cigars should be an emotional experience, I am overly cerebral, especially at this stage of my journey. I called cedar peat moss before actually buying peat moss about a week ago and realizing it doesn't have the aroma I was getting from my cigars. But, after reading numerous reviews by others of the same smokes helped me figure out the flavor I was identifying was cedar, not peat moss-again, I'm a newb.

When I started and wasn't taking notes I'd keep the band once I was done w smokes I liked or I took a picture of my smokes. I always take pictures of all of my smokes, so I can post, but also just in case I need to show a tobbacoist or fellow brother by saying "this is the stick I was talking about". For example, a person corrected a cigar post on Facebook when I misnamed a stick to which I was mortified-but I learned. Photos are a great archive, especially for bad sticks-I was able to warn a guy about Quorum after my cigar mentor mistakenly thought it would be a great cheap smoke for me. I sent him photo I took of them in a BnM and said avoid these like the plague, after he asked about identifying dog rockets.

I apply my review methodology mentally to every cigar I smoke. I know this is about relaxtion and not being so particular. But, I'm still figuring out what constitues good value for me. Also, it helps make sense of when someone else says that a smoke is wonderful, but I find the stick "meh" due to bad construction, horrible burn or terrible draw. Also, I'm a newb with a still developing palate, my mentor says that eventually vets have three sticks they settle on, and while they'll try others...these three sticks will flood their humis-like an old married couple-which I have seen w My Fathers, Padron and R&J just to name a few.

I'm just 5 mths in, so I still have many frogs to kiss before I find my princess, but Illusione Rothechilds are definitely one...so looking forward to finding the remaining two in my next 3,000 cigars.

Opa! 

(Disclaimer: all opinions were that of a newb.  Please know they do not reflect the views of this site and others.  No actual newbs were hurt in this posting).