Hey all,   

I had an idea for a thread I'd like to start but before I do, I just wanted to get some opinions on it first. Most importantly, I don't want or mean to step on any toes so please speak up if that's even a concern. 

What - My most favorite thing about having cigar friends is knowing what each other likes to smoke and absolutely nailing it when you hand your friend a new smoke that fits their profile. 

Why - From my short time in the hobby, I would argue there's only a few (loosely defined) flavor profile groups that most smokers fall in. Once those are defined, and once you can place your cigar buddy in that profile group, you have a match. Why does that matter? Because there's nothing worse than having a good cigar buddy that knows nothing about what you smoke! i.e. Anyone that knows me knows I hate IPAs and Cognac, wanna buy me a drink? I like Whiskeys and Stouts now go be a pal!

How - For starters we'll have the standard few questions for rating the cigar but then I'll add a few more asking what exact flavors make it stand out, what OTHER cigars it tastes like or reminds you of, etc.  Secondly, this has to be blind because our goal isn't to identify brand affinities, but actual flavor profile affinities. i.e. Just liking Warped as a brand isn't good enough, but maybe because you liked the floral notes on the Warped ABC blend, means you may also like the similar notes on the Tatuaje XYZ blend.

When - I'd like to offer this to 5 people every month. I'll provide the review cigar and but each participant will have to PooPaal me the $6.95 for shipping. Then once everyone has PMed me their reviews, I'll post a new thread every month with all the reviews. 

**This is where I don't want to step on the Geek Critiques toes, so please speak up.** 

Who - I believe the reviewers themselves should be veteran smokers for obvious reasons. I'm even considering asking reviewers to disclose if they retro-hale or not, we can always look at the data later and see how much that matters. Please note, this is not a competition to identify the reviewed cigar and any such references will be omitted from the review post. The idea is to identity what family of other cigars would a smoker of THAT cigar also appreciate. 

 

Like I said, any opinions, feedback, concerns are absolutely welcome. Any interested participants also please speak up so I know if this idea has any legs.  

Sounds like a pretty interesting idea Rob.
I know a few of us that herf regularly have gotten to know each others likes and dislikes over the years.
I personally think its a good idea and don't see it as stepping on any toes.

Sounds good to me

Rob, I think it is a great idea as long as it stays independent of the GC.  You may find that someone who is doing a GC is also doing your monthly review, but as long as that is not a problem go for it.  We were at one time doing Vendor Sponsored Critiques, but that has fell to the wayside except the Camacho Liberty Critique that has been an annual thing.

Followed through I think it would be a contribution to our forums

Sounds okay to me. Will the value of the cigar make the $7.00 shipping worthwhile for that one particular stick? In other words, might you send someone a blind  5 Vegas Gold Robusto that they could pick up themsvles easily enough for $2 or less? Just askin' ??

Quotejunglepete - 5/5/2018  10:32 PM  Sounds okay to me. Will the value of the cigar make the $7.00 shipping worthwhile for that one particular stick? In other words, might you send someone a blind  5 Vegas Gold Robusto that they could pick up themsvles easily enough for $2 or less? Just askin' ??

Oh I didn't put this in the details but the package will consist of "1" geek math cigar, this will also make my efforts worthwhile. But no cigar for review will be under $7 unless its one of those few great $5 smokes. Anyone that knows me can attest that I wont cheat them or waste their time. 

 Good question, keep 'em coming!

I'm in.

E

im in

I'm in

I'm in.  So, there will be a dedicated monthly thread for each blind review cycle?

I'm in

Rob, love the idea, would love to participate
Will you be using a similar points system as the critiques?

This is a fantastic idea.  I'm in.

This sounds like a great idea.  I'm excited about my first blind review coming up in the GC and I've always enjoyed reading other blind reviews.

Good on you for dreaming this up, great idea.  A couple thoughts:

Maybe everyone that wants in on this can post a little write-up about their flavor preferences and what some of their favorite smokes are and what they don't like in the thread.  That in and of itself would be an awesome resource for the community.  You can see who has similar tastes and see what they're smoking, or if you want to bomb them you have an idea what they'd like.

I find that I don't read all five geek critiques every month.  I may read a couple for geeks I know better than others, or if one grabs my attention.  Fewer per month may help everyone to get to know a particular geek's tastes/preferences better by not having to read through that many at a time.  I'm a lazy reader though so this could be just me.  There also seem to be a lot fewer active people on here than just a couple years ago so fewer may also be better for keeping the activity consistent.

Looking forward to watching this roll out...
 

Sounds like a great idea,will be interesting reading for sure.

Great idea! This will be fun to follow

I neglected to add the comment that I am in!