Katman Is Correct…

…on a lot of things about cigars, but particularly on resting sticks for a while before smoking them – and in his case and other reviewers’ – in reviewing them.

Like many B/SOTLs I enjoy reading reviews to get an idea of cigars I have yet to try and to also see what they think of cigars I smoke. Today I read a review of a cigar on a site known for its reviewers’ critical – and some might say cynical – reviews. I have had this cigar in the past and really enjoyed it after reading about it on a couple of different forums where people raved about how much they liked it. But this particular reviewer gave it a much lower rating than I would have expected.

And the first thought that entered my mind after I read it was a question: “How long did the reviewer rest the cigar before reviewing it?” The venerable Katman often stated that cigars should be rested for a period of time to really capture the blender’s intent. Moreover, all his reviews start with how long he let his subject cigar rest before reviewing it; something he often called out with other reviewers, saying that it was a disservice to readers that they generally don’t share how long they rested the cigars.

I agree. I will normally let my cigars rest at least a month before I smoke them unless I know they’re good right out of the box, like the Regius Sun Grown that often has lots of box aging before they arrive because very few people know about them in the US. But for other cigars, if a cigar is new, I will smoke a couple of days after I get them, but will let the others rest for a minimum of a month before smoking another.

The point to this is that I believe Katman is correct in calling out other reviewers on how much they rested their cigars before reviewing. Granted, the review I read this morning was the typical overly-critical review I’d expect from this site, so I wasn’t expecting it to get a super-high rating. But the reviewer only gave the cigar in question an 87 which made me raise my eyebrows. But Katman, on the other hand, scored the same cigar a 93 and he also let the cigar sit for three months before reviewing it. This made me wonder just how long that reviewer let the cigar sit.

Despite that, I still like reading that site regularly. I may not agree with the ratings, and usually bump up the numbers they give to be more aligned with what I’ve read from other reviews. But I do like their insights and their thoroughness, so my hat’s off to them for that. I just wish they’d follow Katman’s lead and share how much they rested their cigars.

As for me, whenever I get a box of cigars – which is more often than I want to admit – I’ll let it sit for at least a couple of weeks before I smoke one. But invariably, I set a few aside for a long-term rest. Some, like the Oliva Black Swan pictured at the top, I’ll let sit for up to a year. The result is pretty incredible. With that particular stick, it was oozing oils; so much so that my fingers were stained with them. And no, it wasn’t tar. It was light in color and not as viscous as tar. And unlike tar that tends to develop near the end of the stick, the oils were being exuded from light-up.

The release of the oils had a profound effect on the flavor profile as well, making it incredibly intense. Whereas I’d give one of these sticks to a newbie when they’re newer, I’d never give an aged Black Swan to them. They’d be vomiting all over the place!