Welcome To the Cigar Corner

Greetings and Welcome to Don Ricardo's Cigar Corner.  I have been encouraged by some of my Brothers of the Leaf to create a blog to share my reviews with a larger network.  

Like you, I enjoy a good cigar even more in the company of friends.  I enjoy reading reviews of cigars and to compare the thoughts of others with my own.  This expands my appreciation and the reviewers become an extended group of friends as I learn from them.  I hope this will be your experience with this blog.

I would also appreciate forbearance in the replies back.  I do not want this blog to be negative or derogatory in any way.  A great quote I read from another cigar blog said  "I believe in courtesy, the ritual by which we avoid hurting other people's feelings by satisfying our own egos. ”— Kenneth Clark.  So if you choose to disagree with my or someone else's opinions on a subject, please treat us as Brothers of the Leaf who deserve respect as we seek to enhance our appreciation and enjoyment of cigars.

 
Although I have had no formal training on the skills and art of cigar tasting, I do believe I have achieved a certain level of knowledge and experience that permits me to enter into the on line world of cigar reviewers. Using my simple 1 to 5 scale I have rated over 900 cigars.  So if you will bear with me, I will take you down to Don Ricardo's Cigar Corner where we will share a few tales of the illusive leaf.

Let's start with Stats.

• I have been enjoying cigars since 2008.
• I smoke around 5 cigars a week
• Currently my collection stands over 880 cigars which I keep in multiple humidors.
• I age my cigars a minimum of two years before setting them ablaze.  I currently have 450 that are RTS (Ready to Smoke).  I tag them all with dates so I know how long they have been aging.
• My collection is primarily Fuente, Rocky, La Aurora, Oliva, Illusione, Alec Bradley, Padron, LFD and Don Pepin.  I currently have 92 total brands in my humidors.
• I make an effort to support my local B&M's only buying on line when the locals are not able to provide.  Look forward to many more discussions on B&M's in the future.

Now on to the ratings - My System is fairly simple with the scores in thirds.  These are running scores based on flavors, aromas, burns, draws, and level of overall enjoyment.  Although some cigars look better than others, I don't score much on appearance, pre-draw or pre-aroma, though I do take note of these items.  The scores are as follows:  

Excellent	5.0
Great	4.5
Very Good	4.0
Good	3.5
Fair	3.0
Sub Par	2.5
Poor	2.0
Bad	1.5
Terrible	1.0

Here is the summary of my ratings so far.

Rating     Qty Avg. Price 1. Excellent >=    4.5 75 $7.79 2. Very Good >= 4 280 $5.92 3. Good >= 3.5 265 $4.73 4. Fair >= 3 211 $4.92 5. Poor >= 2.5 88 $5.66 6. Bad < 2.5 63 $5.25

OK, last bit of stats to share.  I have created an Access Database where I document everything I can about every stick I smoke, buy, or read about.  From this Dbase I create PDF's which I carry on my phone.  I know every cigar I like and why I like them. I also know every stick I didn't like and I keep that list on my phone to prevent me from making the same mistake twice.  I have a short list to always buy.  I have a full list of cigars to find, many of them rare.  In short, I keep a working Library of Cigars with me at all times created from my Dbase.  The image below is the main form I use in the Dbase.  

Look for both old and recent reviews in the next editions of the blog.  Until then...

Happy Smoking,

Don Ricardo.