Drop in quality after a success?
As a blogger, I try to dedicate some time to scanning what’s going on in my niche. I have noticed a trend lately and I’d like you to help either confirm or disprove it. It deals with the overall quality of a given blend, which sometimes tends to be very good at the time it’s released, then progressively drops after gaining a certain reputation.
This might (sadly) seem as a natural process – as soon as the sales pick up, less attention is being given to quality control and raw material – there are other blends to promote/work on, right? Of course, this post would be worthless without examples. I’ve got a couple and they concern the same manufacturer. Some of you must already have guessed who I am talking about.
Over one year ago, I reviewed the Rocky Patel Decade. I thought it was one of the best Nicaraguan smokes that I ever tried and I still have a couple of cigars from that batch. Yesterday another review of this cigar hit the blogosphere and Barry’s verdict is not that favorable. We have the same story with the Olde World Reserve (by the way, #8 on the CA’s top 25 list of 2009). One year ago, Charlie said it was an excellent choice for all corojo lovers. These days, the wrapper of the OWRs leaves nasty brown spots on your fingers and lips.
What do you guys think about it? Is this a real trend or just a coincidence?
