The Kraken's Grading
TheKraken
Posts: 2,253 ✭✭✭✭✭
So, I've found a way to take all of the fun out of cigar tasting and have developed a personal grading template! This is actually really fun for me and shows how nerdy that I really am. This grading is based on a number of different scales that I've researched and weighted for my personal preference. This is version 1 and I expect to continue to tinker with this over time. Feel free to share your thoughts or tell me how much of a waste of time this is! I'll post reviews for cigars using this scale below.
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Comments
I think that's great! Anything that helps you/us pay attention to our cigars, or anything else we do or consume for that matter, is important. @EgoBoundary's Unbanded/Blind contest was fun because of that and it showed me how I often just smoke w/o examining a cigar.
I'm too lazy for stuff like your chart, but you probably have a penchant for detail based on our conversation on Vherf regarding your vocation. For me, a chart with that much detail would distract me from enjoying the cigar, and I suspect you'll take some of those parameters off and just make mental observations, like the look and feel - it's great to observe that, but maybe not to record them. I've always felt that way about cold draw evaluation; I suppose it can give you a hint of what to expect during the burn, but actually think cold draw flavors are irrelevant.
Nice work, Taylor!
appreciate it Peter! You're right, I'm sure this will change quite a bit over time with what is actually important to me and how much time I care to spend on it.
First victim is La Barba Purple Robusto
That's very cool.
You'll want to build in a way to average the scores on a cigar so that when you have multiples you will not 'hang your hat' on the experience of a single stick. That'll compensate for your mood, previous meal, beverage or any other factors that can affect a smoke. That might even be a good category to add to the spreadsheet.
Another factor, which I don't know how you'd compensate for, is how our palates change over time. If we're newer to cigars the way we experience them is different than a seasoned smoker. We didn't talk about how long you'd been smoking but that may be a reality to consider.
So I suspect this exercise will become more about educating your palate and forcing you to become more aware and able to describe what you're experiencing than it will be for accurate record-keeping. Please forgive me in my 'thinking out loud' has any presumption and pompous-assness to it, as that's not my intention.
Not at all @peter4jc , great thoughts!
I've been smoking tobacco for quite some time, but have only cared to understand about cigars for the past year or so. I'm sure my palate will change dramatically over the next few years as I'm able to zero in on what I like and discern more flavors.
I've wondered how to catalog and compare scores, I like the idea of averaging scores out in case you get a bad stick or had a spice-bomb dinner or something. Think I may wait to have 20 or more reviews then create a separate file to 'splice and dice' the data and test to see that it's working how I want. I can do everything from wrapper to time of day, to mood, to temperature outside...this feels like a very dark, very deep rabbithole!
That's great, but I'm not in love with your font.
Itallics never belong in a spreadsheet!
Who is this?
Thinking the same thing......Mellowed out over the years...Must be because of resting/ageing.
Can't tell if @peter4jc is on his meds again or off his meds again
but good comments. My comments:
I'll say in a very positive way that it's an interesting and über nerdy complicated system, which appeals to my nerdy and complicated side, and like Peter, I'd never use it myself. My enjoyment of cigars is one of a qualitative pursuit, not a quantitative one, and to that end, Charlie's system is the closest I've seen to one that works for me.
I would, though, read the ratings for shíts and giggles. I find them interesting. I disagree with some of your category ratings but to each his own.
Overall, I Wonder how you judge one through five. Is three a nice average cigar? Or does it mean you think it's a piece of crap? Do you think that most cigars fall into a 3, while some are 4 and only a few can get to a 5? Or is a 4 expected and does a 3 mean deficient? I ask because you gave this thing almost all fours and fives across the board, yet your final rating is maybe by some later. Doesn't seem to match.
Damn it I keep hitting the enter button too early. The other thing that I noticed is that your scores in the chart at the top don't match the actual scores for the actual categories. For instance, you have 56 for palate when the score is add up to 29 for the individual categories. are you using some sort of weighted system? If so what is it? It seems that you have 20 categories with 5 points each, which would be a 100 point rating system.
The end result is an 84 up top, and then 83 when adding up the categories.
I used to write down tasting and burn notes.....Looked at them the other day and came to the conclusion I musta drank to much back then....Made no sense what so ever.
Channeling my inner JD, just for you Frank.
That's my WTF, just because....
You're right. So the scores below will match to 100. Up top I gave the scores an additional weight based on my preferences (I don't care as much about Look and Feel as I care about Palate - so it wouldn't affect me wanting to buy again as much). I hid the calculations of weight because I didn't think it mattered. I probably could have consolidated the weightings under the score elements themselves, but I got lazy and did it the hard way.
I tried to put some logic to the scores in italics which you obviously didn't read
under the score elements. It makes sense to me but probably not to anyone else.
Thanks for the thoughts all! What's Charlie's rating system?
Not sure if Frank was referring to me, but my system is:
Nice
Always nice ( go to )
Excellent
Sucks
But the same cigar may get different ratings based on my frame of mind etc.
But always nice are my fall backs. Right now, AJ New World Cameroon short robusto, and Oliva G are 2 that come to mind. Don’t think I’ve ever been disappointed in those!
Nah, I read them and they make sense, but I disagree with a few. For instance, I'd rather have a really toothy wrapper than a waxy or silky smooth one. I'd also rather have the loosest draw in the world than even a hint of a tight draw. I'd also rather have a drying smoke.
Charlie @cbuck uses a five tiered system:
Outstanding (or something like that)
Excellent
Very Nice
Nice (most common)
Not nice (very rare)
I use a narrative system myself, and it's just what I feel:
"That's pretty good"
"Meh, it's okay"
"Outstanding smoke!"
"Holy shīt!"
Etc, etc. Just an overall impression that I give starting about 3 quarters the way thru.
^^^I thought 'doesn't suck' was your highest rating.?
I was way off lol
Hahaha nice return fire Peter!
Frank's 10 point review system:
Suck factor is equal to the ring gauge divided by zero
Sucks as much as a broken vacuum
Totally doesn't suck
Doesn't suck
No suck factor whatsoever
Suck degree of absolute zero
My suck detector is not getting a reading
Sucks exactly 0%
The opposite of suck
It's suck quotient is the square root of zero
I'm not sure I have the order listed correctly
I like it Charlie!
@VegasFrank absolutely makes sense. Your weights and probably even what you score would be different than mine.
What I'm also trying to do is get this grading system zeroed into what I actually like. And I'm pretty convinced that it's not there yet. It doesn't capture the gut reaction that I have, but I want to review a few more with this to see where the holes are.
Also, not sure why you guys are reading reviews from a newb anyways hahaha. In all seriousness though, this is great, thanks for engaging y'all!
Next up Partagas Legend. This is what I'm talking about, I liked this more than my grading system. Definitely needs some work
Are you sure? Maybe 88 is a really good rating. You don't have enough data to determine what a good rating is and what a great rating is and what a bad rating is.
I just don't understand the final rating of maybe buy. Looks like you really really like this. Why would you only maybe buy it?
I'll post the final rankings, agree those need to change
Because he only buys stuff he really really REALLY wants.
Trapped in the People's Communist Republic of Massachusetts.
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1JFx3_dPdKsZR6Xxvovyyf6dXguEltTueP8JUSaFQp3k/edit?usp=sharing
I made this to do all the math for you, so when you change the values it adds everything up and displays it in the total score box.
So under palate, there's nothing about the actual flavor and how much you liked it. Reading your notes on that part of us, you said how the flavor was hit by the burn but never rated the post light flavor. That's like saying that you had protein, carbohydrates and fat for dinner.