The TPCC Score Is Built for the Room, Not the Echo

A useful cigar score should capture performance without pretending that taste is mathematics. TPCC begins with four visible dimensions: construction and burn, flavor development, balance and finish, and character. A review panel records each component before discussing the final number.

The guardrail matters as much as the rubric. We will not copy another publication’s score, add a point to it or publish a tasting note for a cigar nobody here has tasted. An unreviewed cigar is marked Not yet rated. That makes the database slower to fill—and more useful when it does.

Samples and hospitality are disclosed internally. Paid stories are labeled and never receive a TPCC score. Re-tastings may update a score only when the new session, box code or release difference is documented.