Summer heat is quickly giving way to fall breezes, and the era of quality and consistency from the purveyors of premium cigars continues apace - at least judging by the high scores awarded by the overwhelming majority of Smoke's Cigar Review panelists (Special props to our online contest winners, Michael Guttman, Ben Maphis, and Rocco Yiu). The bar was set high once again, with a majority of entrants scoring at least a 4.0, or excellent, on our rigorous 5-point scale. Even when one of the tasters of any given cigar was underwhelmed by its attributes, the other three invariably had a higher opinion of them, sometimes much higher. And if one panelist thought a cigar was absolute perfection (rare, but it occurred in several cases in this particular Review), the other three brought it down to Earth with slightly more critical appraisals. Thus, the numerical field is fairly narrow. How then to decide which cigars are truly the best for you?

Simple, really. Numbers, while a good shorthand way to denote quality, have never been Smoke's forté. That's why we publish the most in-depth commentary available on premium cigars, rather than a couple of lines and a number. We feel that each consumer is entitled to get the full, unbiased picture of a cigar from a variety of sources, and make up his or her own mind. Sometimes the cigar that gets the highest rating may still not be your style, based on the description (Some smokers, after all, may simply not care for certain wrappers, sizes, shapes, or even types of tobacco). Sometimes you may see a cigar that receives a more middle-of-the-road score, but upon reading the comments, you realize it's exactly what you're looking for (especially if, as in many cases, value for the price is a consideration).

Of course, as folks who love trying new smokes, we hope readers are willing to put aside preconceived notions to expand their horizons - and we certainly think that our highest scoring entrants this issue - especially the Camacho Corojo Monarca and La Aurora Cien Años, both pulling down an impressive 4.6 - are great smokes worthy of the honor. Bottom line is that we're not here to tell you what to spend your money on; we're here to help you become a more informed, educated cigar consumer. After all, you're the reason that so many cigars are so much better than they were just a few years ago.
- The Editors