Keeping a Cigar Journal
If you smoke a lot of cigars like I do, or you are just getting into the hobby and want to help yourself learn about cigars and your personal preferences, starting a cigar journal is a great idea. It’s easy to do, relatively cheap, and doesn’t require a lot of work.
Step 1: Select a journal
You can go one of two ways with your cigar journal: a notebook or an electronic method. Personally, there is something more satisfying about writing in a notebook than typing in a computer so that’s the method I use. That aside, I will go over both.
If you are going to go the notebook route I’d suggest skipping the fancy pre-printed cigar journals. They tend to be pricey (save the money and spend it on cigars or joining the CRA), have pre-determined blocks for what you should be recording, and are usually bulkier than I prefer. I use Moleskine Cahier Kraft journals. They are fairly inexpensive (around $10 for a 3 pack), sturdy, very portable, and since they come in multipacks, I use a separate notebook for each cigar-making country. If you want something a little sturdier, the regular Moleskine notebook is a great choice. Whichever notebook you choose, look for something portable but that has enough room for your thoughts.
If you decide to go with an electronic notebook, I’d really suggest using Evernote, which I mentioned in my article on tracking your cigars. It’s designed for note taking, accepts photos (one area a notebook can’t compete), and is multi-platform: Mac, Windows, iPhone, Blackberry, you name it. It can even take new notes and photos via email and text messaging. If you want to catalog a lot of information, and have it searchable, an electronic method like Evernote is for you.
Step 2: Record the facts
Now you know where you are keeping the information. Now you need to figure out what information to keep. Think of the things you see in reviews. As I mentioned earlier, I keep a separate journal for each country of origin. So that’s the first thing you note. Next you’ll want to record the full name of the cigar including the size. Second is your standard wrapper, filler, and binder information. Price too. And the date you smoked it. I also take the band off the cigar (usually when I’m done) and tape it in the notebook. If you are using Evernote, snap a picture of the band or even the whole cigar, and include that. You may also want to note what you were drinking with the cigar, and where you purchased it. But these last 2 things are really up to you. Remember, it’s your journal. Keep the information you want to keep. That’s why I recommended skipping the notebooks designed as cigar journals.
Step 3: Record your impressions
So you’ve got the basic facts about the cigar down in your fancy new Moleskine notebook. Now it’s time to fire up that cigar and do what? A stream of consciousness as you smoke? Quick little bullet points? Those are both fine. I’d recommend a common format to your journal entries though. It’ll keep a consistent feel, and make comparing cigars a lot easier. Here at Nice Tight Ash, we don’t use a numbered rating scale because opinions are subjective, but in my cigar journal it’s my tastes I’m recording so I have no problem using a ratings scale. I tried to come up with my own when I started journaling, but decided to use the Cigar Aficionado scale. They award 15 points for Appearance, 25 points for Smoking Characteristics (burn, aroma, etc.), 25 points for Taste, and an Overall grade of 35 points for a total of 100 possible points. I write the scale on the inside of the notebook to remind me.
Now that I have my four categories, I put each category on the page with a few open lines to record my notes, and smoke away, taking notes as a I go. When I’m done, I assign grades to each category, and total them up for the final score.
That’s all there really is to it. Once again, it’s your journal, so you record what you want where you want. All I’ll say is it really is worth the minimal time and effort to keep a journal. It’ll help you understand your preferences and dislikes in cigars. Honduran cigars or cigars with Sumatra wrappers not getting good grades in your journal? Don’t buy so many of them. Dominican and Connecticut Broadleaf cigars have scores through the roof? Now you know where you spend your money.
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Comments
Thanks for the tips! I did not have a cigar journal when I started, but I just started a Habanos cigar journal for my foray into the Cuban side of cigars. I’m finding it helps to narrow down which marcas I enjoy the most.
Thanks again!
-MJ
I tried the paper journal, but then I went digital. I made a quick database app on Zoho for me and my friends to keep our notes in to compare…works great :)
Killer thoughts-I have been keeping a small journal, but not organizing thru a rating scale. Making this change tonight.
Thanks for the ideas for what to put in my journal. I am a very new cigar smoker. I am very excited to start my own journal. I am going to have a physical notebook but I may also type it up on the computer to maybe later make a blog or just to have as a backup somewhere incase anything happens to the physical copy.
Hi everyone,
I just finished making this site – http://www.TheCigarJournals.com for users to keep an online journal of cigars. It’s completely free and it has a user reviews database, forums and an events bulletin board. Check it out
It’s nice to look back at a cigar journal and see a pattern of your likes/dislikes – or to see a cigar you smoked at one point and loved but don’t care for now. Great info here on how to get one together, thanks!