Cigar recommendation engine

[Habana Mike]

I've been involved in a project for almost a year now that involves smoking and analyzing a lot of cigars blind. The input I and a few other 'analysts' provided have gone in to a database of cigar characteristics (construction, burn, aromas, flavors, balance, strength, value for the buck, etc.)

Anyway there's now close to 1200 cigars from across the board (standard stuff, boutiques, limited releases, Habanos, and more).

The principals of the project have recently gone live with a website designed to learn an individual's profile and preferences so as to recommend cigars they believe he or she would enjoy based on the analysis compared to his likes.

While probably most useful for the newer smoker in particular, there's value in this for anyone. Even with years of smoking experience, through the process I've been recommended cigars I may never have tried otherwise and some have been fantastic for me. As well I've found quite a few new favorites through the blind tastings along with a few that just don't sit with my palate.

It is a subscription site and while I am affiliated do not have any financial stake. I do however get to smoke several cigars a week at no cost to me!

The value proposition is that while there is a moderate monthly subscription, by avoiding one cigar that you aren't particularly going to enjoy you've saved the cost of the service. You'll also hopefully find the cigars recommended fit well with your palate.

The site is CigarSense.com  - Personalized Expert Cigar Recommendations

One of the premises of the service is that, unlike reviews and general recommendations where your palate may not match theirs, this is designed to learn what you like and make recommendations from that. I also use reviews and recommendations to decide on trying new smokes, particularly where I've found the individual has a palate similar to mine.

In regard to changing tastes, the profile adviser adjusts and refines your preferences every time you enter tasting notes based on the characteristics of the cigar and how you rated your enjoyment of it.

Being fairly new here and not quite sure what the guidelines are for promoting commercial activities I am really more interested to hear people's opinions on their perceived value of something along these lines than anything else.

So, what do you think?

[Vroomp]

Sounds like a promo for a cigar of the month subscription to me..................

 

Albeit a  cool idea for some, I would decline.........................  

[Habana Mike]

Vroomp - 4/23/2015  12:10 AM

Sounds like a promo for a cigar of the month subscription to me..................

 

Albeit a  cool idea for some, I would decline.........................  

Actually it's not that. No retail involved. Merely suggestions you choose to pursue or not....

[sar127]

Fantastic idea imo but execution depends largely on accuracy of the cigar analysis data. Can I ask who these "experts" are that drew up the original analyses, and does any member's analysis now get lumped into the same pool of data? ... if so, are you sure you want my 2 cents in there??  lol

The Aroma Analyses found on this page look pretty good to me, although I'm no expert. But I'm a little confused by the Taste Analyses. Maybe I'm missing something but do people really ONLY taste Spicy for Padron 64 Mad or Creamy for Hemingway Nat?

Site looks good and the youtube ad is great, hope this works out for ya, all the best!

[Longhorn]

The site is very interesting... I may take the plunge and try it for a month and if I'm liking the site, go the year.  I like the concept of aggregating the flavor and aroma profiles across many aficionados.  The panel members carry impressive resumes.

Thanks for posting and sharing.

[Mojo66]

Very interesting idea, would try it but not sure I'd pay for such a service. To me the hunt for new cigars I'll enjoy is part of the fun even if sometimes I am not so happy with some of my choices. Definitely worth trying, maybe a free trial or free access to a limited version off the app would attract more people like me who won't get their wallet out easily, unless it's to buy cigars

[McBryde]

Mojo66 - 4/23/2015  6:43 AM

Very interesting idea, would try it but not sure I'd pay for such a service. To me the hunt for new cigars I'll enjoy is part of the fun even if sometimes I am not so happy with some of my choices. Definitely worth trying, maybe a free trial or free access to a limited version off the app would attract more people like me who won't get their wallet out easily, unless it's to buy cigars

I agree 100%

E

[ntanner]

McBryde - 4/23/2015  11:22 AM

Mojo66 - 4/23/2015  6:43 AM

Very interesting idea, would try it but not sure I'd pay for such a service. To me the hunt for new cigars I'll enjoy is part of the fun even if sometimes I am not so happy with some of my choices. Definitely worth trying, maybe a free trial or free access to a limited version off the app would attract more people like me who won't get their wallet out easily, unless it's to buy cigars

I agree 100%

E

X3

[Habana Mike]

Thanks for the feedback guys. I've suggested they consider a free trial period so people can see if there's enough value to subscribe.

[Habana Mike]

sar127 - 4/23/2015  12:46 AM

Fantastic idea imo but execution depends largely on accuracy of the cigar analysis data. Can I ask who these "experts" are that drew up the original analyses, and does any member's analysis now get lumped into the same pool of data? ... if so, are you sure you want my 2 cents in there??  lol

The Aroma Analyses found on this page look pretty good to me, although I'm no expert. But I'm a little confused by the Taste Analyses. Maybe I'm missing something but do people really ONLY taste Spicy for Padron 64 Mad or Creamy for Hemingway Nat?

Site looks good and the youtube ad is great, hope this works out for ya, all the best!

The analyses actually consider aroma as taste and taste as sensations like mouthfeel/tongue/palate perceptions fo the smoke (confusing I know).

The "experts" are listed here http://www.cigarsense.com/who-are-we/

Member tasting notes are not consolidated though are used to refine the individual's profile of likes and dislikes.

[toby2]

pretty cool. hope y'all get a bunch of takers.

i'm too simple for all that though. cigars still taste like cigars to me and thankfully black coffee still tastes like coffee as well. which reminds me. Ken's tasting wheel has served this site well over the years maybe they could link to that....

[nirab]

For those who cannot afford the price to this site, I offer my free recommendation services...I recommend you smoke a cigar. You are welcome.      

[PETE314]

nirab - 4/24/2015  9:16 AM  For those who cannot afford the price to this site, I offer my free recommendation services...I recommend you smoke a cigar. You are welcome.      

I recommend you send ME the cigar, I will smoke it and I will tell you if you should smoke it or not....

[nirab]

PETE314 - 4/24/2015  2:33 PM

nirab - 4/24/2015  9:16 AM  For those who cannot afford the price to this site, I offer my free recommendation services...I recommend you smoke a cigar. You are welcome.      

I recommend you send ME the cigar, I will smoke it and I will tell you if you should smoke it or not....

We must be on the same recommendation panel!      

[05Venturer]

nirab - 4/24/2015  3:06 PM

PETE314 - 4/24/2015  2:33 PM

nirab - 4/24/2015  9:16 AM  For those who cannot afford the price to this site, I offer my free recommendation services...I recommend you smoke a cigar. You are welcome.      

I recommend you send ME the cigar, I will smoke it and I will tell you if you should smoke it or not....

We must be on the same recommendation panel!      

Can I join the panel

[05Venturer]

Now in seriousness before we derail this thread LOL.
If I continually smoked something recommended on what I already enjoy how would I enjoy the exploration in to far different blends? I still love grabbing something out of a pass that I think is completely out of my wheelhouse and enjoying the hell out of it. Just my honest opinion.

[nirab]

05Venturer - 4/24/2015  3:50 PM

Now in seriousness before we derail this thread LOL.
If I continually smoked something recommended on what I already enjoy how would I enjoy the exploration in to far different blends? I still love grabbing something out of a pass that I think is completely out of my wheelhouse and enjoying the hell out of it. Just my honest opinion.

I'm with ya on that. I've got to where I just grab em and smoke em. I might do a little research while smoking, but I like to keep it simple. I either like the cigar or I don't, and I don't mind buying a cigar without knowing a thing about it. The folks at Habana House know me pretty well, so when I go in there and ask for something new, or different, or ask them to pick my cigar for me, I know I'm gonna get a good cigar.

With that...if the site were free, I would probably check it out while smoking, but I just don't see myself paying for this service. I can see it appealing to others though, so good luck to y'all, I hope the site really takes off!    

[Habana Mike]

05Venturer - 4/24/2015  5:50 PM

Now in seriousness before we derail this thread LOL.
If I continually smoked something recommended on what I already enjoy how would I enjoy the exploration in to far different blends? I still love grabbing something out of a pass that I think is completely out of my wheelhouse and enjoying the hell out of it. Just my honest opinion.

That's a great point.

One thing I've done is change my profile preferences pretty dramatically to see what comes up that probably wouldn't meet the 80% match threshold.

As well, you can enter your smoking notes on any cigar in the database and if it's something you rate highly the profile advisor will ask if you want to adjust for the characteristics of that cigar.

Smoking all the cigars blind that they've sent me to review I've come across a few that wouldn't have come up, and I probably wouldn't have purchased on my own, but I thought were pretty dang good.

On another note I discussed the possibility of a free trial and it was suggested that they have a money-back guarantee so if you signed up for a month and didn't think the value was there, they'd immediately refund your money. Franca had some pretty good rationale for going this route.

Really appreciate all the feedback and suggestions, hopefully will only go to improve the site.

[05Venturer]

Habana Mike - 4/24/2015  6:00 PM

05Venturer - 4/24/2015  5:50 PM

Now in seriousness before we derail this thread LOL.
If I continually smoked something recommended on what I already enjoy how would I enjoy the exploration in to far different blends? I still love grabbing something out of a pass that I think is completely out of my wheelhouse and enjoying the hell out of it. Just my honest opinion.

That's a great point.

One thing I've done is change my profile preferences pretty dramatically to see what comes up that probably wouldn't meet the 80% match threshold.

As well, you can enter your smoking notes on any cigar in the database and if it's something you rate highly the profile advisor will ask if you want to adjust for the characteristics of that cigar.

Smoking all the cigars blind that they've sent me to review I've come across a few that wouldn't have come up, and I probably wouldn't have purchased on my own, but I thought were pretty dang good.

On another note I discussed the possibility of a free trial and it was suggested that they have a money-back guarantee so if you signed up for a month and didn't think the value was there, they'd immediately refund your money. Franca had some pretty good rationale for going this route.

Really appreciate all the feedback and suggestions, hopefully will only go to improve the site.

Glad you accept the replies and don't take offense my friend. I wish only the best of luck

[Cigary]

I've gone to the website per your post on another Forum....the guys on here are pretty astute when it comes to experience and when I want to look at cigars as far as reviews I come here...it's second to none.  As far as the replies go it's basically what I was saying in answer to you on the other Forum....the idea is good and letting people come in and peruse ALL of the areas w/o having to pay the fee for 30 days might get your people what they desire.  Giving a refund is the right idea but to me having to pay out first just doesn't seem "right" if  you're really looking for a long term commitment from consumers.  A good business plan will generate 'word of mouth' endorsements and there are a lot of cigar smokers out there that like to read reviews or anything cigar related.  Think of it as a Virtual Cigar B&M where you can smoke your cigar and read about what you have to offer on your site....the more that is offered the more people want to return and that's your niche' that hopefully separates you from the other sites.  Good luck.

[Longhorn]

Cigary - 4/25/2015  8:38 AM

I've gone to the website per your post on another Forum....the guys on here are pretty astute when it comes to experience and when I want to look at cigars as far as reviews I come here...it's second to none.  As far as the replies go it's basically what I was saying in answer to you on the other Forum....the idea is good and letting people come in and peruse ALL of the areas w/o having to pay the fee for 30 days might get your people what they desire.  Giving a refund is the right idea but to me having to pay out first just doesn't seem "right" if  you're really looking for a long term commitment from consumers.  A good business plan will generate 'word of mouth' endorsements and there are a lot of cigar smokers out there that like to read reviews or anything cigar related.  Think of it as a Virtual Cigar B&M where you can smoke your cigar and read about what you have to offer on your site....the more that is offered the more people want to return and that's your niche' that hopefully separates you from the other sites.  Good luck.

This.

[ntanner]

Longhorn - 4/25/2015  7:35 AM

Cigary - 4/25/2015  8:38 AM

I've gone to the website per your post on another Forum....the guys on here are pretty astute when it comes to experience and when I want to look at cigars as far as reviews I come here...it's second to none.  As far as the replies go it's basically what I was saying in answer to you on the other Forum....the idea is good and letting people come in and peruse ALL of the areas w/o having to pay the fee for 30 days might get your people what they desire.  Giving a refund is the right idea but to me having to pay out first just doesn't seem "right" if  you're really looking for a long term commitment from consumers.  A good business plan will generate 'word of mouth' endorsements and there are a lot of cigar smokers out there that like to read reviews or anything cigar related.  Think of it as a Virtual Cigar B&M where you can smoke your cigar and read about what you have to offer on your site....the more that is offered the more people want to return and that's your niche' that hopefully separates you from the other sites.  Good luck.

This.

I was thinking it.

[Habana Mike]

It seems that there may be a full access free weekend offer coming soon. Will keep you posted.

Thanks!

[Cigary]

Habana Mike - 4/27/2015  7:58 PM  It seems that there may be a full access free weekend offer coming soon. Will keep you posted.  Thanks!

 Hate to be the pin to your balloon but a weekend probably won't get it done...that takes on the idea that your target audience is going to be available just at that time and common sense tells me that you'd barely get 20%.  Here's the disconnect....any business plan has to net at the very least a target rich environment spread out at least over a meaningful period of time.  Limiting that time for just a few days tells the consumer that you're not serious enough to allow the gates to stay open for minimum of a week so one can really get a taste of what they are looking at.  Can you tell that we're on your side....if we weren't we'd just probably not add more posts to the thread....the longer exposure the better for the consumer.  LIsten to what you're being told...your target audience is telling you what they'd like to see and how much can it hurt to let potential consumers have 2 weeks to try it...?

[Jay'D]

McBryde - 4/23/2015  1:22 PM

Mojo66 - 4/23/2015  6:43 AM

Very interesting idea, would try it but not sure I'd pay for such a service. To me the hunt for new cigars I'll enjoy is part of the fun even if sometimes I am not so happy with some of my choices. Definitely worth trying, maybe a free trial or free access to a limited version off the app would attract more people like me who won't get their wallet out easily, unless it's to buy cigars

I agree 100%

E