Identifying flavors..

[Gundy]

Alright, I may be asking a retarded question. But there is talk about how new cigar smokers (including myself) smoke mild-medium cigars to try and 'develop palate(sp)' .. And then move on to full bodied/flavored cigars once they can identify flavors. Don't get me wrong, but I remember reading a thread with a quote mentioning 'cigars never tasted nutty or any other type of flavor, just tobacco taste'. Obviously they do have flavors, as this seems like a selling point for the description when you go to purchase cigars. As for myself, when I sit down and smoke cigars I relax and let the real world crap fly out the window. But I've started to try identifying certain flavors/spices, being new to cigar smoking I started thinking of this today.

Anyways, I guess its sort of hard to ask/explain - but how long does it take to identify flavors? And whats this about defining your palate? And what do people look for when purchasing cigars? The taste, aroma, flavor? If they all tasted like plain tobacco we wouldn't have all these brands, no?

[smokepiper]

There is no hard and fast date to develop your pallate. I always find that cigars take on the flavors of recent memory. Coffee, leather, chocolate these are flavors you know. I have always spent a few puffs of a cigar to get to know it. To see what it reminds me of.

Take a puff. This reminds me of my baseball glove as a kid. Puff. Is that lemon zest or lemonade. As you practice more, you can get whiffs of different things.

Enjoy it. Relax, don't worry, have a cigar.

D

[Footbag]

It may help to get a few cups or bowls. Place in the bowls, coffee beans, grass, leather, black pepper, wood shavings(oak), dried cherries and cocoa.

Smell each bowl before you light your cigar. Now light your cigar and try to pick out notes of each. The same can be done for wine.

[cab28]

Search "taste descriptions", check the thread by wallyevs012. Some good info and links to other threads.

[uncballzer]

also, check out this link

http://www.vitolas.net/displayimage.php?pos=-903

[lenguamor]

The question has to be, are you someone who tastes different elements in food? Like, when you have a steak, can you taste the pepper; a soup, can you taste the different spices?

If you're someone who enjoys food on that level an can pick out a dish's different spices and herb flavors, the caramelization of a roasted meat, etc. then eventually you'll pick these things up in your cigar as well.

If you don't get these nuances in food, then chances are you might not get them in cigars either.

The thing to remember is, don't force it. It'll come.

And in the meantime, enjoy.

[Gundy]

Thanks fellas for the quick replies, thought it was a silly question at first. Yeah I love tasting different elements in food. Its just seems different with cigars. Being such a greenhorn I think it'll develop over time.

Thanks for that link uncballzer great reading material.

[bwalker2us]

Originally Posted by lenguamor

The question has to be, are you someone who tastes different elements in food? Like, when you have a steak, can you taste the pepper; a soup, can you taste the different spices?

If you're someone who enjoys food on that level an can pick out a dish's different spices and herb flavors, the caramelization of a roasted meat, etc. then eventually you'll pick these things up in your cigar as well.

If you don't get these nuances in food, then chances are you might not get them in cigars either.

The thing to remember is, don't force it. It'll come.

And in the meantime, enjoy.

I find that to be an excellent description of how the taste buds work.

[Mullet]

cigars are obviously an "aquired" taste -- just like beer, wine, whiskey.

In order to appreciate a $20 cigar, you MUST have the $2 cigar perspective. There is absolutely no way to REALLY know you're smoking a $20 cigar if you haven't smoked a $2 cigar. It's impossible. Some people might claim that they were "hooked" after being gifted a $20 cigar, but I would argue that they would really value that $20 more if they knew how much better it was than the $2 alternative. That's for another argument.

In order to "taste" the cigar you must make yourself "nose exhale." It's a requirement. The sooner you start doing it, the more quickly you're going to start picking out flavors. This is a very simple procedure. You draw smoke into your mouth, close your mouth, and fully exhale out of your nose -- at the very end of your nose exhale you open your mouth while still exhaling out your nose. That will expose all your sinuses/taste buds to the flavors of the cigar.

By smoking mild sticks to begin with, you'll very easily notice grassy flavors, herbal flavors, wood flavors, and very "raw" earthy flavors.

After having smoked those cigars and experiencing those flavors, you will then proceed into medium cigars where leather, nuts, and other more "rich" flavors come into play IN ADDITION to the grassy, woodsy, earthy flavors of mild cigars.

Of course, when smoking full cigars, coffee, chocolate, and other "bitter" flavors begin to emerge in addition to all the previously mentioned flavors. The reason that full cigars are the "climax" of most people's cigar enjoyment experience is because there are SO many flavors packaged into one cigar. You'll get spicy, salty, sweet, sour all in one.