Does Halfwheel ever have anything nice to say about CCs

[Fumar Mata]

Is it me or every time I look at a cuban cigar review on Halfwheel they bash it ?

Do we think its just because they get no revenue from  cuban cigars? Maybe they

need to have a different editor/reviewer for their cuban tastings kind of like

the Wine Advocate had for different wine regions.

[Kevin48438]

https://halfwheel.com/category/reviews/cigars/country/cuba/
 

Here you can read them.   Which one(s) are you concerned about?

[Fumar Mata]

I will look at the link you sent and maybe it just happens to be the cigars I look up there and the stats will say otherwise. 

I usually will just look up  random regionals when I see them offered for purchase causing me to rarely pull the trigger

on a purchase . Just a feeling I sense but maybe I'm wrong....

[MrBirdman]

They’re probably more fair than I care to credit them for, but their 75 point review of the Punch 8-9-8 was ludicrous. 

[Kevin48438]

I don’t know that REs do so well here either....

Halfwheel doesn’t go deep on box codes, aging, micro adjustments to storage conditions, etc. like a lot of folks here do.  They treat CCs the same way as they do NCs.  They expect to get a few cigars and they be ready to smoke as a finished product.  Here that isn’t necessarily the expectation.   While freshies have generally improved that last couple of years, there are still many exceptions.   It’s not uncommon for someone here to buy a box, try one, then sit the box for 6+ years.  That’s kind kind of a major theme here:  the details that make a 86 rated cigar into a 92.

BTW, have to ask:  how did you choose your screen name?

 

15 hours ago, MrBirdman said:

They’re probably more fair than I care to credit them for, but their 75 point review of the Punch 8-9-8 was ludicrous. 

I can’t find it.   Have a link?

[MrBirdman]

1 minute ago, Kevin48438 said:

I can’t find it.   Have a link?

https://www.google.com/amp/s/halfwheel.com/punch-8-9-8-er-asia-pacifico-2018/383326/amp/

[Kevin48438]

Just now, MrBirdman said:

https://www.google.com/amp/s/halfwheel.com/punch-8-9-8-er-asia-pacifico-2018/383326/amp/

Thanks.  I should have used google instead of their internal search function.

I’d criticize that more than their reviews. 😁

[Cairo]

5 minutes ago, Kevin48438 said:

They expect to get a few cigars and they be ready to smoke as a finished product.

Yup.   They should know better.      I would like to see them rate five year old Cubans--they all hit the spot for me.

[Kevin48438]

14 minutes ago, Cairo said:

Yup.   They should know better.      I would like to see them rate five year old Cubans--they all hit the spot for me.

That would be cool.  However, I think they try to review stuff anybody can get in the US at the time of review.  Hard to get stuff aged more than a couple years without going to a B&M or having an online someone willing to sort through their stock.

Pretty hard to review everything possible.  That’s one of the gaps this place fills.

[Nino]

41 minutes ago, Kevin48438 said:

Halfwheel doesn’t go deep on box codes, aging, micro adjustments to storage conditions, etc. like a lot of folks here do.  They treat CCs the same way as they do NCs.  They expect to get a few cigars and they be ready to smoke as a finished product.  Here that isn’t necessarily the expectation.   While freshies have generally improved that last couple of years, there are still many exceptions.   It’s not uncommon for someone here to buy a box, try one, then sit the box for 6+ years.  That’s kind kind of a major theme here:  the details that make a 86 rated cigar into a 92.

BTW, have to ask:  how did you choose your screen name?

Agree with your comments, I find Halfwheel a good & fair source of information.

Was wondering about the nickname as well - Spanish warning sticker = Smoking Kills, not sure I'd use it in a cigar board ... 🙂

[joeypots]

I think they are fair but lots of special production Habanos. Gotta say, I concur with a lot of those reviews being a guy who gave up pursuing REs and Els years ago.

[Cigarsmoker81]

I read a lot of their reviews and I notice that they do admit that Cubans “when they want” make the best cigars but it’s rarely consistent and suffer from construction issues which I think is fair. 
 

if the 3 cigars they smoke are not great then naturally they don’t give it a high score 

[Nino]

1 hour ago, Cigarsmoker81 said:

I read a lot of their reviews and I notice that they do admit that Cubans “when they want” make the best cigars but it’s rarely consistent and suffer from construction issues which I think is fair.

if the 3 cigars they smoke are not great then naturally they don’t give it a high score 

I think you/they nailed it with that "when they want" comment. All goes back to being a socialist economy of not giving a f#+k about the customer.

[Puros Y Vino]

4 hours ago, MrBirdman said:

They’re probably more fair than I care to credit them for, but their 75 point review of the Punch 8-9-8 was ludicrous. 

Haven't read it but that is low. I've found them to be excellent. BUT. There's always a bad cigar in any box or they're just not ready when it was reviewed.  Big grains of salt needed with most reviews.

[Vitola Corleone]

6 minutes ago, Nino said:

I think you/they nailed it with that "when they want" comment. All goes back to being a socialist economy of not giving a f#+k about the customer.

True enough but no less than Adam Smith put it thusly: "It is not from the benevolence of the butcher, the brewer, or the baker that we expect our dinner, but from their regard to their own self-interest." They don't have to care about the customer, just money. Habanos does work in a competitive international market and I am still naive enough not to have a good story for why this does not discipline them more. 

Halfwheel is clear enough about their review philosophy, but since smoking fresh is not usually how I want to enjoy cigars, I don't find their philosophy all that informative. Still, even when I smoke CC's within a month of receipt, and < 6 months box age, I almost always like them better than the halfwheel guys. Conversely, I don't smoke many NCs but I rarely like any as much as these guys like a ton of them. So, I put it down to different tastes, most of all. "I don't know what they're smoking," in a manner of speaking. 

[Kaptain Karl]

I think the gripe against Halfwheel is as the “experts” in the cigar reviewing world, they should have an “expert” approach to Cuban cigars, which they clearly do not. They also give awful grades to a cigar like the Esmeralda, while giving some POS Dominican Cohiba crap a high score. If they were indeed experts of the cigar world, they would have given a cigar like the Esmeralda a legitimate shot. They also keep their CC’s at 67% humidity, which even a novice CC smoker knows is a no go. 

[Cigar Surgeon]

It ain't easy being a cigar reviewer!

[Kevin48438]

I don’t know that they call themselves experts.  That’s just something that’s given by outsiders as they are usually informative to people without the same knowledge.  Example, I would say NSXCIGAR is an expert on Cuban cigar and Cuban cigar business history.  Guy seems to really know his stuff.  But I don’t think he call himself an expert.  Just a guy who writes thoughtful, seemingly knowledgeable replies to people’s questions.  But it’s fair to criticize anybody’s opinions who speaks publicly of them.  Part of the game.

As for halfwheel, they are like a longtime NC smokers approach to CCs.  Similar to me.   We don’t have the same history and psychological attachment to CCs.  Probably do toward some NCs though.  For example, I am an admitted Padron fanboy.   I know much of the family and love their operation and cigars.

But it’s also why I’m here.  I want to learn about CCs from those who love them.  Also why I don’t ask my mom’s opinion on whisky.  She hates whisky.

[Fumar Mata]

1 hour ago, Kevin48438 said:

I don’t know that they call themselves experts.  That’s just something that’s given by outsiders as they are usually informative to people without the same knowledge.  

 

 

Kevin I have no idea either way what they call themselves but they are experts. What did Malcom Gladwell say... 10,000 hours.

2 hours ago, Kaptain Karl said:

I think the gripe against Halfwheel is as the “experts” in the cigar reviewing world, they should have an “expert” approach to Cuban cigars, which they clearly do not. They also give awful grades to a cigar like the Esmeralda, while giving some POS Dominican Cohiba crap a high score. If they were indeed experts of the cigar world, they would have given a cigar like the Esmeralda a legitimate shot. They also keep their CC’s at 67% humidity, which even a novice CC smoker knows is a no go. 

I agree. They should be cognizant enough to know that they need a Cuban specialist .

[Ryan]

One of them goes to the Habanos festival every year on a journalist pass. I don't know what makes someone an expert but they are making an effort to go see the people, places and products.

[MrBirdman]

3 hours ago, Puros Y Vino said:

Haven't read it but that is low. I've found them to be excellent. BUT. There's always a bad cigar in any box or they're just not ready when it was reviewed.  Big grains of salt needed with most reviews.

They claim to have smoked three, presumably from the same box. I’ve often wondered whether Halfwheel is even giving their CC adequate rest after shipping. Obviously travel can effect any cigar, but their reviewers in the US will likely be smoking CC that have been in transit for 2+ weeks, including a multi-day “rest” in a transit station under god-knows-what conditions - whereas I suspect most of their NC are sourced domestically and spend at most a few days in the mail. 

I have no idea how they handle that aspect - I just know that once in my humi a CC from Europe or the Pacific can change dramatically from week one to week 12. Oddly enough IME they are better ROTT than they are after a week or two.

[Cairo]

3 hours ago, Vitola Corleone said:

smoking fresh is not usually how I want to enjoy cigars

I don't even like smoking NCs fresh--many of the stronger NCs that I like are just awful without a year or two to calm down.   Halfwheel unfairly beats up on them as well.  🙂

[Ken Gargett]

7 hours ago, Nino said:

Agree with your comments, I find Halfwheel a good & fair source of information.

Was wondering about the nickname as well - Spanish warning sticker = Smoking Kills, not sure I'd use it in a cigar board ... 🙂

nino, agree with you on this (not the name - love that). i don't go there often but when i do, i find that they make a serious attempt at a fair review and i think they do them well. probably a bit harder than some of us on cubans but that is hardly a crime. i think that there are many i'd rank below these guys . 

remember that we have all had the experience of a dud cigar. you can only review what is in your hand. if they got a dud siglo vi then i hope they'd review accordingly rather than what we think they should say. 

[MrBirdman]

I would that - I can’t remember where I read this - but halfwheel is up front about mainly reviewing recent production (ie fresh cigars) regardless of origin. I think that’s fine...but it’s not always a level playing field for obvious reasons. Of course reviews are subjective so as long as they’re consistent that’s more important. 

The reason I don’t read halfwheel reviews of CC is that, regardless of origins, I don’t usually get the same tasting notes they do from a given cigar, even NC. But that’s just me!

[NSXCIGAR]

The luxury of HW is the sheer amount of reviews they do allows for a pretty good trend analysis. 

Only 11 (regular production/LCDH/ER/EL/Anejados) CCs produced in the last 10 years have reached 90 points or above: 

Boli Bosphorus, HU Royal Robustos, Partagas Corona Gorda Anejados, Boli Super Coronas 14 EL, Partagas Serie No. 1 17 EL, Partagas Capitols, Cohiba Medio Siglo, Dip El Diputado, HU Mag 54, Boli Tesoro ER 16, SLR Inca.

I am not including super-premium releases like Reservas/GR, humis, books or commemoratives (Monte 80th, Trini 40th, Monte Compay Segundo, Millennium Jars)

The highest-scoring CC that adheres to the above criteria was the Boli Bosphorus at 94 points. The HU Royal Rubustos scored a 93 & 92. Party CG Anejados 92. All others 91-90. 

In the last decade HW has reviewed about 3,000 cigars with about 250 of those CCs. Excluding the 50 or so cigars not meeting my above criteria they have reviewed 200 CCs with 11 scoring 90+, or only 5% of all CCs they review reach 90 or higher.

As far as share of scores:

96 points: 56% NC

95 points: 85% NC

94 points: 81% NC

93 points: 80% NC

92 points: 93% NC

91 points: 95% NC

90 points: 93% NC

So averaging that out only 87% of all 90+ scores are NC. It also doesn't seem to increase in any one particular score except it's a bit less likely a CC will score 93-95. The likelihood of NC scoring 90+ is equally distributed throughout that range. 

I'll also say that the review methodology may also play a part. They seem to weight construction quite heavily. If one of the three cigars has a serious flaw they will score that cigar very low--like 50, despite the other cigars scoring 95. That skews the score down to a 80. I'm not sure that methodology is the most effective at communicating about cigars in general. 

Draw your own conclusions from this analysis, but to me it seems that there is a clear pattern.

3 hours ago, Kevin48438 said:

But I don’t think he call himself an expert.

No, I think I feel as many others do that the term "expert" is a very loaded term and I avoid that. There's always someone who knows more than you. I do think I'm reasonably knowledgeable about certain things and am somewhat competent at surface-to-mid-level research and am an able communicator. 

As far as opinions on cigars, I think the key is comparison and communication. I think even MRN has mentioned certain aspects of flavor and quality are often missed by even the best. Talking to others about what they taste might trigger a realization or better description. Smoking as many different cigars as possible also provides contrast.