[Lamar]

I noticed that Padron tops the overall list over at Top 25 Cigar. Could that be due to the fact that Padrons are easier to come by than isom's?

 

[mr.c]

I would say that, and who knows what poeple are buying from where. Lot of peoples first experience with a cuban is when they go to the islands, more than likely they are getting fakes. Another thing is the complexity of a cuban, look how they vary from box to box or from stick to stick, from fresh to sick to aged. Many people are rating them after only smoking one, and if it doesnt live up to their expectation of the worlds greatest cigar then they give it a shitty rating.

Padrons you always know what your getting, perfect draw and construction and each stick taste the same. -how boring
:r


joe

 

[(909)]

I'll agree with Mr.C to some extent. To the non-isom smoker, the Padron is like eating at Ruths Chris after spending a lot of time at Sizzler. I remember my first 64 anny, I enjoyed it all the way through, the draw perfect, the flavor was very nice with no harshness.

Padron annys are about as good as it gets without going out of country and thats probably why they are rated so highly.

 

[SilvrBck]

I've pondered this a lot lately. I think it has to do with availability, mostly. Many people who're rating the Padrons may not have had the epiphany of smoking a quality cuban cigar. So, as far as the reviewer is concerned, they rate the Padron at the top of the charts. They are no doubt excellent cigars and deserve to be near the top. But at the top? Not so sure about that.

SB

 

[DaveC]

To the non-isom smoker, the Padron is like eating at Ruths Chris after spending a lot of time at Sizzler.

yeah, but smoking a good habanos is like eating at Lugers or the Old Homestead after eatin' a RC.

 

[Fredster]

I've smoked all the Padrons (1926 and 1964) they are good cigars but overpriced for what you get (IMO). I think you guys are correct about why they rate so high. Most folks aren't smoking Cuban cigars. I've never had a Domestic cigar that does it for me like a good Cuban. Some Domestics have the strength, but lack complexity and depth.

 

[MoTheMan]

It seems to me that the best cigar maufacturers, the ones with the most consistent, and best quality of cigars, i.e. Padron, Fuente, Perdomo, Torano, tend to be family (rather than corporate) owned, AND tend to be vertically integrated (or close to it). This means they have a major say in what's planted, how it's cured and processed, how the cigars are rolled, even what boxes are used, and how they're distributed and marketed.

ISOM's on the other hand have only recently fallen under the umbrella of Altadis. This happened at the end of 2000 when Altadis bought a large minority "holding" in Habanos (to the tune of $500M) and untimately used that to help start consolidating the cigar making processes in Cuba. IMHO, I expect that quality of Havanas to steadily improve over the next few years.

 

[Bruce5]

The majority of the people rating cigars do not smoke ISOMs.
This would skew cross rating between ISOMs and domestics.

A domestic cigar smoker could give a particular domestic cigar a 9, but I, being mainly an ISOM smoker, might give it a 5.

Ratings are only as accurate as to "who" is giving the rating.

 

[IHT]

The majority of the people rating cigars do not smoke ISOMs.
This would skew cross rating between ISOMs and domestics.

A domestic cigar smoker could give a particular domestic cigar a 9, but I, being mainly an ISOM smoker, might give it a 5.

Ratings are only as accurate as to "who" is giving the rating.

i agree completely with this statement, and i thought that i replied to this on another forum on here only less than a month ago.

for example, when i first started, i use to think a "5 Vegas" was a good cigar.... so, i rated it fairly high... now having had a number of very good cuban cigars, i would probably rate them a 4 or so....

having had some Opus and Padron Anni's (and 26s), i'd rate the 1964s around a 7, the opus about a 7.5-8, and the 26s around a 2. THAT'S JUST FLAVOR... once you factor in the PRICE, or "cost to enjoy this cigar", they all take a major hit due to the ultra high prices.

 

[IHT]

just dawned on me as i was checking out CWs trading post...

odd that it takes a while to get someone to bite on excellent deals for PAM/PANs, but most cuban box splits or FS items seem to be snapped up almost instantly... example is one going on right now, where it's taken 4 days for someone to bite on a 5-pack of PAMs for $45 (which is a deal @ $9 ea.)

there's obviously a reason for that.

 

[Heartpumper]

I'm one of those misguided souls. Rated '64 Padrons and the like very high for a long time, and was convinced the hype of ISOM's was BS- until I got the opportunity to smoke a half dozen Cubans in a week. Given the chance to "re-rate" those domestics, the numbers would change substantially.