Don't take it too literally, john, because there is also, as you said, the element of intangibles with it. Subjective elements. A good blender and a good range of products depends on who defines it, how many thousands of people can see the skills and define them.
But the key remains that making a consistent product from one year to the next is a challenge in itself, being able to take tobaccos from various fields and vintages to create the same punch every year is masterful. it's a technical achievement. Being like pepin or aj, being able to create different paintings from the same palette is another skill set.
Then you have the greatest blender of them all, hansotia, who has managed to create hundreds of the greatest cigar labels ever made during his limited time on this earth, and he's still going, and just getting better every year. He just put out his most expensive cigar to date. He's an artist. The sort of artist who spits on the wall and frames it.
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