Please help me understand high quality vs low quality tobacco

[craig]

For wine, the price, the year, and the label (assuming that it is controlled by the government) is a fairly decent indicator of crap vs. not crap. However, there is a lot of error as well, so, while technically a good indicator, it isn't very useful for buying.

For cigars, the controlled labels are for cigars that aren't available, or aren't sold, in the US.

For the OP, buying cigars based on pictures is a sucker's game - actually, buying most anything consumable based on a picture isn't informative. Does a picture of a restaurant entrée tell you what it will taste like?

[ggiese]

For the OP, buying cigars based on pictures is a sucker's game - actually, buying most anything consumable based on a picture isn't informative. Does a picture of a restaurant entrée tell you what it will taste like?

THAT best illustrates what I was trying to communicate... Even looking at a cigar and holding it in you hand doesn't speak to how it will taste.

[Combat_chuck]

Well i did try to point out that i know you cant go just by price or picture or wrapper color so i'm not sure why everyone explained that to me again. But im starting to think that the key may just be aging them. But short of doing significant reseach on each cigar, price may be the best indicator. Or better yet, how often they go on sale. Rocky Patel vintage series is never on sale because they are so good they dont need to be.

[ggiese]

Well i did try to point out that i know you cant go just by price or picture or wrapper color so i'm not sure why everyone explained that to me again. But im starting to think that the key may just be aging them. But short of doing significant reseach on each cigar, price may be the best indicator. Or better yet, how often they go on sale. Rocky Patel vintage series is never on sale because they are so good they dont need to be.

Sorry if you were misunderstood, but your post suggested you did not understand why certain cigars were good, versus other cigars that were not (e.g. "Harsh"). I'm not sure you understand what your asking for, and additionally looking for a simple answer.

I don't know there could possibly be a simple answer to that question. Somewhat like asking, "why does this one brand of beer taste so good, but this other one is so bitter and nasty". No one knows what you tasted, and whether it was bitter, sweet, harsh or whatever. Certainly, any cigar manufacturer would be crazy to create a cigar that tasted "harsh" - so why would a cigar taste "harsh"?

Age will mellow a cigar, but so much that it takes a cigar that tastes like crap and makes them pleasant? I don't know about that...

[Cody44]

I don't know there could possibly be a simple answer to that question. Somewhat like asking, "why does this one brand of beer taste so good, but this other one is so bitter and nasty". No one knows what you tasted, and whether it was bitter, sweet, harsh or whatever. Certainly, any cigar manufacturer would be crazy to create a cigar that tasted "harsh" - so why would a cigar taste "harsh"?

Words of wisdom.