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The Smells of Cigars Prelit and During

stogieguy5

stogieguy5

New Member
Joined
Mar 12, 2012
Messages
28
I know i'm new to cigars and gaining more and more appriciation for great smelling and tasting cigars. I tried searching for the topic of cigar smells and got nothing so here's my question. When I open a cigar and you smell the cut end as well as the cigar itself everyone always lists these different smells. I read the "How to smoke a cigar" post and below they listed these tastes:

So my question is, because I'm so new am I not able to determine the exact smell i'm smelling? I can tell there's a difference between cigars but what exactly it is I'm not sure. Some smell sweeter, some more bitter. Is there something I'm doing wrong? Same goes for tasting. I can sometimes pick out certain things, but I'm wondering if its because I drank something before or maybe I'm not tasting it right. I do salivate a lot when I smoke a cigar. Any suggestions or things to try are always welcome. Thanks
  • Caramel
  • Toffee
  • Cocoa
  • Chocolate
  • Bittersweet
  • Sugar
  • Vanilla
  • Molasses
  • Honey
  • Buttery
  • Creamy
  • Fresh Fruit
  • Dried Fruit
  • Black Cherry
  • Blackberry
  • Coffee
  • Licorice/Anise
  • Pepper
  • Cloves
  • Nutmeg
  • Cinnamon
  • Ginger
  • Orange Peel
  • Salt
  • Cedar
  • Oak
  • Wine/Tannic
  • Grass
  • Moss
  • Nuts
  • Floral
  • Citrus
  • Dirt/Earth
  • Peat
  • Tobacco
 
I think it's just something that some people are better at than others. I just rate mine by "will smoke again", "will smoke again if given to me", "will not smoke again". :D

You left off damp newspaper and placenta from your list, btw.
 
JHolmes763 said:
I think it's just something that some people are better at than others. I just rate mine by "will smoke again", "will smoke again if given to me", "will not smoke again". :D

You left off damp newspaper and placenta from your list, btw.
Click to expand...

Ya that's a good idea. I got the list off of this forum. I guess I'm looking to share my thoughts on some of the cigars I smoke that I think are very good and think others should try but I'm not quite as good as giving it smell and taste descriptions as everyone else.
 
Doesn't hurt. Don't let me discourage you. I think one method may be to have those things around and practice getting used to their smells and then comparing that to what you smell/taste when smoking.
 
It takes time to develop your pallet. Just keep smoking and trying. Youll get it.
 
I think sometimes folks do an injustice to new cigar enthusiasts with all these flavor descriptors. Just smoke cigars, and if you get an impression of something, that will be your impression.
Cigars mostly taste like tobacco. You will get to a point where you can probably determine origin of Puros. And even then, a lot of folks with a lot of experience get fooled.
Just enjoy your smokes. If you are reading reviews, and they give these sort of descriptors, you will probably be disappointed when you don't taste these things. This can be frustrating when you buy, based on these, and then get nothing like the description. You also have no idea how much experience some of the so called reviewers have.

I'm convinced some folks lay it on thick, because it makes them look special, enlightened, sophisticated. You will quickly learn to determine what folks are loving. Read some reviews on those, and I can assure you, there will be plenty of differances. I've smoked cigars over 30 years, and have yet to taste coffee, vanilla, french peanuts, etc. I have gotten many impressions of food items, but they are typically fleeting, and momentary. Cameroon tastes like cameroon, and yes, can sometines gives a distinct orange peel flavor. Exactly like an orange, no, but it is where the mind goes when trying to interpret what it is tasting. I can name more impressions I've gotten, but those are mine, and you may never get the same.

Another thing to consider is that a lot of advanced cigar smokers do not like flavored cigars. A peach, grape, pineapple cigar is not very enjoyable to them.
That is a definite flavor than can easily be identified. Think about that. Again, it tastes like tobacco, it is plant life, it comes out of the ground. So, yes, some of these tobaccos may have undertones, albeit subtle, of other foods, but they will always first taste like tobacco.
 
After about 2 or so years of steadily smokimg cigars I began to pick up various flavors. You'll get it as you develop your palette. Won't happen right away, however the more cigars you smoke the more distinct flavors become.

Then there are those who never pick up on the flavors listed above. Smoke for the enjoyment. Don't smoke and start looking for the flavors, rather let the flavors find you. I've smoked some cigars where the flavors of coffee, chocolate, pepper, annise, etc were very prominent.

Best thing to do is smoke a cigar, take notes, and then read reviews from others and see how your notes compare. Always a fun experiment.

Good luck and have fun!
 
It's all just tobacco. :)

There's a matter of terroir (the characteristics imparted by the soil it's grown in), the specific cutting (shade grown, sun grown, ligero, top of the plant, bottom of the plant, etc) and the fermentation process itself, which is where a lot of the flavor subtleties come in . . . but in the end it all comes down to what YOU got out of it, and whether you liked it or not.

I like "coffee bean" flavors in cigars, so when I smoke a strong, richly flavored cigar, coffee bean is where my mind goes and what I tend to "pick up" from the flavor profile. Somebody else might call that flavor something else entirely.

The most complex cigar I ever smoked was my first PAN '64 . . . every puff was a new flavor nuance. But that was as much about the moment as the cigar itself.

~Boar
 
JHolmes763 said:
I think it's just something that some people are better at than others. I just rate mine by "will smoke again", "will smoke again if given to me", "will not smoke again".

You left off damp newspaper and placenta from your list, btw.
Click to expand...
Placenta?
 
For example I happen to love placenta flavored cigars.


It really comes down to smell being as unique as taste. It is individual. I will taste something different and therefore enjoy different things than you do. Of course the drink you had will influence all if your perceptions.

Matching the food, the drink, the smoke, and the situation (your mood and environment) is the art of understand complex flavors.

If you really want to get into it get a sample of all the smells, smell the cigar, then smell the actual scent of what you perceive.

Edited for grammar , not for spelling.
 
There are a few cigars that alot of brothers here smoke. My experience with them is often different than theirs. I taste some of the characteristics they express, but not all of them. Your tastes are yours. Enjoy the sticks you enjoy. Maybe find a brother's review that you agree with and follow that brothers preferences. You WILL develop your own. Enjoy the ride.........Oh, and another flavor profile you missed is ass. :laugh: Dam those dog rockets!

Edit for spelling.
 
I haven't really started being able to pick out the subtle flavors in cigars yet. I just enjoy the cigar and my environment (either my backyard or my local lounge). I have found that if I try and think about what I am smoking, I don't enjoy the experience as much.
 
I, on the other hand, have smoked so few cigars in a long while that I think I've lost what little taste perception I had built up. No matter. The main thing for me is I still enjoy lighting up a cigar or a pipe and not worrying too much about what I'm tasting. As long as I like what it is I'm smoking, I'm cool with it.

I rarely read reviews. We all have different tastes and what one guy gets out of a cigar doesn't mean I'll get the very same thing. What I would really pay attention to is whether the reviewer liked the smoke and if the smoke is in a general "profile" I would like.

At the end of the day, it's a roll of dried leaves. Don't freak yourself out about it.
 
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