The most expensive cigar isn't the one that costs $50. It's the $15 cigar you smoke halfway through and think, "This is fine."
"Fine" is the enemy of a great collection. It drains your budget, fills your humidor with noise, and teaches your palate nothing.
Most smokers fall into this trap because they buy based on:
But taste is specific, not general. A 94-rated Connecticut Broadleaf is worthless to you if your palate reacts negatively to earthy sweetness.
To stop buying "almost good," you need to stop guessing. You need to identify your "Dealbreakers" and your "Anchors."
Look at your last five bad experiences. Was there a common wrapper? A specific region? A size? Identifying what you don't like (e.g., "Indonesian binders taste metallic to me") is more valuable than knowing what you do like.
Before buying a new stick, compare its profile to your "Anchors"—the 3 cigars you rate 90+. If the new cigar shares < 50% of the DNA of your anchors, put it back.
Never buy a box until you've smoked 3 singles. Once in a shop, once with a drink, once in the morning. If it survives all three contexts, it belongs in your rotation.
Cigar AI automates this process by comparing every new scan against your history, flagging potential mismatches before you pay.
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