Customer Reviews

Cigar Aficionado's: Buying Guide : Ratings & Prices for More Than 1200 Cigars

5 star:		(0)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This is a very informative book, but unfortunatly, unlike "Cigar Aficionado" magazine, illustrations of the cigars are not included with the reviews, so at times, due to the lack of conformatity in categorizing cigars sizes, it is slightly difficult to identify a specific cigar. Since cigar manufactors have so many different lines with very similiar lenths and ring sizes it is difficult to locate a specific cigar without a lot of flipping around, the reviews are catagorized by "size name", (ie. corona, robusto, ect.), which can differ from manufactor to manufactor.

If your looking for a good novel, you need to look elsewhere. If you are interested in learning more than you ever wanted to know about cigars, then you've found your book. Cigar Aficianado is one of the leading authorities on the world of cigar's and cigar smoking. The Buying Guide is so much more than that. It includes tips on cutting, lighting, and smoking, liquers that go well with cigars, ratings of cigars, as well as names and addresses of fine tobacco stores and cigar friendly restaurants from around the U.S. This book was a gift to me from a friend and it makes a wonderful gift. If you are an avid cigar enthusiast or just an occasional partaker of the finer pleasure of cigars, you will want to add this book to your collection.

This was the first cigar book I bought, and I outgrew it within a week. Most of the information it presents can be found on the Internet.

I learned a lot from the chapters that introduce basic cigar shapes and wrapper colors and discuss how to store, cut, light, and smoke cigars. But the meat of the guide, the index of cigar ratings, most of which was done in 1996 and 1997, wouldn't be very useful in a cigar shop today. I've found my local tobacconist's advice to be much more helpful.

I learned more about alcoholic beverages from this book than I did cigars. Cognac and brandies, port, scotch and Irish whiskey, rum, and bourbon each have a chapter dedicated to them. Those unfamiliar with these drinks will learn a little about their distinguishing qualities. Unfortunately, there are no suggestions in this book about matching cigars with drinks, but Cigar Aficionado has since posted articles about cigar and drink compatibility on its Web site.

The final few pages of the guide are a personal cigar tasting log in which all but the most occasional of smokers would quickly run out of room. You can of course transfer the basic format of the tasting log to a notebook, or purchase a separate tasting log (tasting log software for PC's and palmtops is available too).

If you're very new to cigars and happen to see a copy of the CA Buying Guide at your local library, go ahead and borrow it. If you want a book about cigars for your bookcase, I'd recommend The Good Cigar by Jeffers and Gordon. Other than that, take advantage of the wealth of information on the Internet.