Why is Top25Cigar being rebuilt.

Top25Cigar was originally created as a hobby. Like many good things, it grew naturally because it was built around something simple: honest reviews and a community of cigar smokers who just enjoyed the hobby without taking themselves too seriously.  It also spawned Club Stogie, a cigar discussion forum.

What I didn’t fully appreciate at the time was how much the people would come to mean to me.

The cigar industry is full of some of the most genuine people I have ever met. Many come from families who lost everything and rebuilt through hard work, dedication, and commitment to family. I was fortunate to spend time with many of these people and to see firsthand the pride they take in their craft and their legacy.

Over time, my career took me deeper into corporate America, specifically big tech, where I still work today. That work has been rewarding in many ways, but as I look toward retirement in the coming years, I find myself wanting to reconnect with something that always felt more personal and grounded.  Being in tech also has provided me with the skills, although rudimentary, to give this a shot at being rebuilt.

I am not rebuilding Top25Cigar because of what it was.

I am rebuilding it because of what the people and the community meant to me.  If I am being honest, I feel like I let the community down when I sold it, as it went from being community focused to monetarily focused.

I missed the honesty.
I missed the friendships.
I missed the shared respect for craftsmanship.
And honestly, I missed having a place where cigars were discussed without marketing hype or exaggerated descriptions.

This site is not being rebuilt to compete with retailers or publications. 

If I ever felt Top25Cigar was competing directly with some of my old freinds, I would think hard about continuing. It is being rebuilt to create a modern cigar reference based on honesty, history, and community. A place where collectors can document cigars from their humidors, new smokers can learn, and experienced smokers can share real feedback.

Today I am also fortunate to be working on this alongside the next generation, including my son, which makes this feel less like rebuilding a website and more like continuing something meaningful.

If the site grows, that is great.
If it generates income someday, that is fine.
But those things are not the goal.

The goal is simple:

Create something honest.
Make it useful.
Keep it fun.
Honor the people who make this industry special.

If that happens, everything else will take care of itself.

I hope this works, I hope some people find it useful. In the little time I have been building it, I felt a rekindled passion and connection to the industry.  Let’s have some fun, not take ourselves to serious, and enjoy an industry full of some of the truest people on the planet.  We need more of that today,

— Paul

Founder, Top25Cigar