Over the past three months, I smoked 50 cigars — roughly one every two days — and logged every single one in Cigardome.
Once you start looking at your smoking history as data rather than a collection of isolated experiences, certain patterns become surprisingly clear.
Here’s what I learned about my own taste after 50 logged cigars.
1. Cuban Cigars Don’t Guarantee Enjoyment
Cuban cigars are still the ones I smoke most often. But they also show the widest variation in my ratings — from sessions that were merely “fine” to some of my most memorable smoking experiences.
My strongest performers have been Hoyo de Monterrey, Romeo y Julieta, and Ramon Allones.
But several brands and vitolas have consistently fallen short of my expectations.
I smoked the Montecristo Edmundo four times, with an average rating of just 3.92 out of 5. I also logged four different Partagás cigars, which averaged only 3.69.
The lesson was simple: reputation, heritage, and origin may shape my expectations, but they don’t determine how much I actually enjoy a cigar.
2. Nicaragua Is My Safe Choice
Nicaraguan cigars may surprise me less often, but they deliver consistently enjoyable experiences — especially when I return to a cigar I already know.
There are fewer disappointments and more predictability. When I simply want a reliable evening without taking a gamble, Nicaragua is often my safest choice.
For me, that means primarily My Father and selected cigars from Padrón.
Cuban cigars may have a higher ceiling, but Nicaraguan cigars seem to offer me a higher floor.
3. Flavor Matters More Than the Brand
The cigars I rate highest tend to share a very specific flavor profile.
My best experiences consistently feature creamy, nutty, woody, and coffee notes.
On the other hand, excessive pepper, sharp spice, and rough earthy flavors are much more likely to disappoint me.
That helps explain why the three Quai d’Orsay cigars I’ve smoked have an average rating of only 3.92. They may be excellent cigars for someone else’s palate — but the data suggests they are simply not a natural match for mine.
This was one of the most useful insights from my smoking history: a highly rated cigar is not necessarily the right cigar for me.
4. Price Is No Longer a Reliable Guide
My statistics revealed a surprisingly clear pattern: many of my highest-rated cigars fall within the $25–38 price range.
Above that level, spending more has had very little impact on my enjoyment. More expensive does not necessarily mean better — and in some cases, the opposite has been true.
As a result, I’ve gradually stopped using price as a proxy for quality.
Instead, I now look for cigars that match the characteristics I know I enjoy. Since making that shift, the number of genuinely satisfying smoking sessions has noticeably increased.
5. Awareness Changes the Experience
When you can see your own taste in numbers, patterns, and past experiences, you start making different choices.
I smoke fewer cigars “just because” and more cigars that I have a good reason to believe I’ll enjoy.
The experience becomes more intentional, more predictable, and — most importantly — more satisfying.
My Top 5 Cigars After 50 Logs
Based on my accumulated ratings, these are my current top five:
- My Father The Judge Toro — 4.60
- Hoyo De Monterrey Le Hoyo de San Juan — 4.50
- Ramon Allones Gigantes — 4.50
- Hoyo De Monterrey Le Hoyo de Rio Seco — 4.50
- Davidoff LE 2023 Year of the Rabbit — 4.50
The Real Value of a Cigar Journal
Fifty cigars is not enough to define a palate forever. Tastes change, preferences evolve, and the next cigar can always challenge what you thought you knew.
But it is enough data to start seeing meaningful patterns.
And that, for me, is the real value of keeping a cigar journal: not simply remembering what you smoked, but understanding what you actually enjoy.
If you’d like to discover your own patterns, start logging your cigars with Cigardome — and turn every smoking experience into a better understanding of your taste.