THE MOST TRUSTED NAME IN PUBLISHING

I think I’ll get this framed for my office. I guess Cigar Aficionado has been so beat up on social media (and podcasts, perhaps) about choosing the Top 25 Cigars each year by ad revenue, relationships, and quid pro quo that they felt the need to publish a full-page missive assuring everyone that they're the "most trusted name in publishing" because they “taste blind”. After I had a good laugh for about twenty minutes, I had to sit down and share.

Only Marvin R. Shanken (who also happens to be Marvin R. Shanken's biggest fan) would publish a self-congratulatory message with the blindfolded Lady Justice sipping a glass of red wine – telling us of their "commitment to integrity" when reviewing cigars and spirits.

At the end of the day, we can only guess what's really going on over there, but I will tell you – I unequivocally believe that there is no situation in which the review panel of Cigar Aficionado is smoking 70-80 cigars each issue down to the last third. It's not happening. It's a light, a few puffs, and then some lightly written fluff about flavor notes. I'd also like to point out how the #1 cigar of each year features a rotating cast of manufacturers and origins. No manufacturer has ever won Cigar of the Year two years in a row or even in alternating years. If the Top 25 is as blind as they say it is, I find that to be mathematically near impossible.

Shanken and his crew believe that we are all a bunch of idiots and the revenue from us, their loyal readers, isn’t worth their time. So much so that a couple years ago, Marvin R. Shanken was the surprise guest at his own Big Smoke Festival - surprising his editors. Talk about entertainment!

The ship has sailed – and a winedrunk Lady Liberty is going to be hanging in my office next week.