Honestly,
I dont trust any publication except for the ratings that Thor is doing in our NL and for the website under CC rating. He is working on a new ratings site.
The key is actually looking for the Gems. When I see a cigar get 91+ by anyone I am very quick to go buy it because while I might not find it to even be 90, it will probably be a great smoke. But that is a great point that I am touching on. Ratings are pretty much useless at the end of the day. I say this for two reasons.
1. The rating scale takes a lot of things into account, including burn and appearance. These two factors can create a wide range even from the same box. I have smoked 2 cigars from the same box, given one an 85 and one a 92. Basically the burn offset the flavor and it one of the cigars lost points becuase of the appearance of the wrapper and some construction issues. This happens a lot. The result is that people will see something highly rated and run out to buy it only to find the rating is a fluke, or a potentially great cigar gets dogged in the ratings (Matasa 30th Anni for instance) and no one tries it because they write it off.
2. Cigar smoking is too much of a personal experience to rely on the opinions of fellow smokers. I personally base my rating system on what I know to like in the flavor department and dont give much credit to appearance and construction. For me cigars are all about flavor. That said, if a cigar does not burn well or looks like crap, I simply just dont smoke it.
The best place to get started in finding what you like is to read the reviews. Dont pay attention to score, but learn about the flavor characteristics of a cigar. Read about what aromas are inside, what the body is like, and what type of wrapper it has. Soon you will identify which types of aromas you like, how strong you like your cigars, and even what wrappers you like and from what seeds. Then you can follow the cigars in this catagory and learn about what is coming out that you would like, what is already available, who the boutique makers are and the mass market guys, etc.
Another great way to proceed is to interact with other cigar guys in shops or on these forums and target a few people that have similar palates. I would then pay attention to what they like.
