These days, it’s easy to get wrapped up in the politics of smoking - a condition I found to be rampant in my recent visit to Washington D.C for this issue’s Smoke City feature. And while the right to smoke a cigar in peace is an issue worth the time and effort put into it, it should not be so foremost in our minds that we forget what we’re fighting for - namely the sheer pleasure and peace of mind that an hour with our favorite cigar can deliver in these trying times.

SMOKE Cigar Ratings
Rating	Quality
0-5.9	Poor
6.0-6.9	Fair
7.0-7.9	Average
8.0-8.5	Good
8.6-9.0	Very Good
9.1-9.5	Excellent
9.6-10.0	Superior

Our Cigar Review panelists certainly found pleasures galore in this issue’s selection of cigars, awarding the most uniformly impressive scores we’ve seen in a while, including the highest numerical rating achieved under our new 10-point scoring system.

That distinction went to the Carlos Toraño Signature Collection Perfecto, a Honduran-made figurado that our reviewers gave an unprecedented 9.5. Another figurado, the uniquely shaped Camacho Corojo - sort of an inverted baseball bat where you light the handle end and puff on the business end - impressed tasters across the board, earning a 9.3, Another top scorer, the Edge Torpedo by Rocky Patel (another 9.3) also hails from Honduras.

The bargain-priced American Stogies brand continued its run of excellent ratings in our blind tasting, with the American Stogies Torpedo Maduro earning another 9.3. At a retail price around $3.00, it takes the prize for best value in this issue’s field.

The other cigar to reach the 9.3 pinnacle, was, naturally, a Habano: the Partagas Serie P No. 2 - another sign that dedication to quality cigar making is alive and well in the legendary factories of Cuba. Full results await you on the following pages.

A “welcome aboard” and sincere thanks to our many first-time cigar reviewers, notably Kevin Corblies, Butch Cole, and Eric Morgan, all winners of our Smoke Online “Become a Reviewer” Contest. If you’ve got an educated cigar palate and the words to express it, log on to www.smokemag.com for the chance to add your voice to our roster of panelists.

While you’re at it, don’t forget to make your voice heard at the ballot box this November. Look past the baby-kissing and populist sound bites, and support the candidate you feel is more likely to preserve your personal freedoms as a cigar smoker, or - at the very least- less likely to try to snatch them away.