The Performance Rankings were introduced in 2012 as a statistical analysis based on the average numerical score of all cigars assessed on Cigar Coop. It is meant to serve as a barometer in terms of how the cigars were assessed.
Inspired by Developing Palates, in 2021 we introduced a new category – prices of cigar. This is not meant to be an award, but a look at how scoring went, and what can we learn from it. In this case we look at the average score based on a particular price range.
For the 2022 year, a total of 152 cigars (down from 163 in 2021) were considered for this analysis. The average score for the entire set of 152 cigars was 88.72. (Statistically, this was down 0.34 points from 2021 when the average was 89.06). The average price for a cigar reviewed during the Cigar Coop year was $13.43. The average price of a cigar that landed on the Countdown was $14.30.
We used the following criteria to implement this:
- The cigar must have its score published during the period of November 1, 2021, through October 31, 2022.
- All cigars scored were eligible regardless of release date. The goal here is to look at scoring and how it maps to pricing.
- These prices are based on MSRP at the time of the assessment (or as close to possible). Most cigar companies do not include media on price adjustments. Where possible we tried to validate this data.
- Cigar pricing ranges in $2.00 intervals were done starting at $6.00 and going to $20.00. Cigars under $6.00 and over $20.00 were counted using “bookend” ranges.
| 2022 Avg (# of Cigars) | 2021 Avg (# of Cigars | |
| Under $6.00 | 89.00 (1) | 88.00 (2) |
| $6.00-$7.99 | 89.10 (10) | 88.71 (17) |
| $8.00-$9.99 | 88.76 (37) | 89.05 (42) |
| $10.00-$11.99 | 88.82 (33) | 89.11 (37) |
| $12.00-$13.99 | 88.64 (22) | 89.15 (27) |
| $14.00-$15.99 | 88.44 (18) | 89.33 (12) |
| $16.00-$17.99 | 88.86 (7) | 89.40 (10) |
| $18.00-$19.99 | 87.50 (2) | 91.00 (1) |
| $20.00 and Over | 88.75 (20) | 89.00 (12) |
| n/a (Not Priced) | 88.50(2) |
Assessing the Results
- The majority of the cigars reviewed were in the Under $6.00 to $15.99 range (121 cigars) with the $8.00 to $9.99 leading with 37 cigars.
- Cigars in the $6.00 to $15.99 range averaged 88.74 points, while cigars above $16.00 averaged 88.68
- Unlike 2021, there wasn’t much of a linear data trend when it came to scoring and pricing
- A small amount of data was captured for Under $6.00. This is because our focus is primarily on premium cigars and not bundled cigars which tend to dominate this pricing.
- Except for the $6.00 to $7.99 category and the Under $6.00 category (which only had one sample), every price range scored lower than 2021.
- A small amount of data was captured in the $18.00 to $20.00 range. This was similar to last year, and I’m just convinced many companies would just prefer to price over $20.00 as opposed to $18.00-$19.99.
