From the Deck
Opinions, experiments, and the occasional soapbox... from the chair where every review happens.
Position
Why I Smoke Cigars
I smoke cigars to slow down: no screens, an hour and a half after dinner, flavor over strength. Why I started, and how it shapes the way I review.
Why Your Cigar Burns Uneven
When my cigars burn crooked, the notes keep pointing at how they were rolled, not the wind or the lighter. What goes wrong at the factory, and the cost.
The Case Against the 100-Point Scale
I scored cigars on 100 points my first year. A cigar I'd never smoke again landed a 78 and a phenomenal one an 87. That's why this site runs four tiers.
No, Nica Libre Is Not “Padrón Seconds”
The twenty-year rumor that Nica Libre is made from Padrón factory rejects. It isn't, it couldn't work that way, and here is how the look-alike marketing became a fact.
Are Expensive Cigars Worth It?
Sometimes. You don't need $20 to smoke well. But the $20 cigars I keep buying earn it one specific way, and a $32 Padrón just showed me exactly how.
I Skip Dessert for a Cigar
Cake or ninety minutes on the deck? I take the cigar, and I think I get the better end of that trade on every axis that matters, including health.
What a First Cigar Is Actually Like
My whole first-cigar note was four words... very mild, little sweetness. What actually happens the first time, from a guy who wrote his down.
First-Year Cigar Mistakes
A year in: the Connecticut rut, dead Boveda packs, cutting too deep, and why cigar price never predicted anything. Real mistakes, itemized.
Cigars and Your Family
How one household actually got comfortable with cigars... a staged ramp, real conversations, and why the relationship outranks the hobby.
How WSA Works
Why There Are No Ads Here
I don't like clutter, I don't look at ads, and I don't want to be beholden to anyone who can pull one. So there will never be ads sold on this site.
Why the Deals Page Has Rules
The deals page started as a list I kept for myself. The rules exist because most deal emails aren't deals, and I got tired of reading them all to find one.
The Verdict Distribution, Out Loud
35 cigar reviews: 6 Box Buy, 12 Five-Pack, 11 Hand-Me-One, 6 Not Even Free. The grade curve behind every verdict on this site, published so you can hold me to it.
Review Sample Terms
What a brand agrees to before sending cigars: the review isn't for sale, nobody reads it first, nobody vetoes it, and free doesn't change the verdict.
If a Brand Ever Sends Me Cigars
Nobody has offered, and I doubt anyone will. But if a brand sends free cigars: I say what I want, nobody reads it first, and the review is never for sale.
How I Set Street Price
Every verdict here is judged at street price, not MSRP and not the deal I caught. What street price means, where the number comes from, and what a sale changes.
Why I Review the Misses
Nearly half the cigars reviewed here sit at Hand-Me-One or below. Publishing the misses is the only thing that makes the praise worth anything.