Cigar oils and the processes of maturations

[KeithS]

Setting the scientifics aside a lot of this is personal taste and palette. I've had cigars that I did not like and then after sitting awile I enjoyed them. In the small amount of aged I've had (6+ years) I've noticed a lack of flavor, more smoothness but less flavor. Of course my palette is limited and I usually only detect strong notes and can't pull the more subtle flavors from a cigar. I have noticed an improvemnent in cigars in the 2 to 3 year range. I prefer flavor to the prestige of saying this cigar is X old, but it's still a matter of personal preference. If some one prefers aged and vintage there's nothing wrong with that.

 

[Ginseng]

I agree to a point. Personal preference does figure. But I'm not sure I'd go quite so far as total relativism. Standards of some kind should be justifiable if we're to have a meaningful conversation about things.

Wilkey

 

[KeithS]

I agree to a point. Personal preference does figure. But I'm not sure I'd go quite so far as total relativism. Standards of some kind should be justifiable if we're to have a meaningful conversation about things.

Wilkey

But wouldn't standards be based on the pallet of the person or committee setting the standards, and usually people doing that have very developed and refined pallets. Taste is too subjective to set a universal standard too. I'm a little jealous of people who pull individual flavors from a cigar or wiskey. I can only detect what I would call major notes. Like I detect sweet, floral, musk, but not specifics. Although I have noticed recently that I have been able to pull nutty flavors from some cigars. Hopefully I'm developing.

 

[Dave]

Cigars, like most luxury consumable utilities, are an acquired taste. At first, beer tastes like 'tussin, but after a while, I can partake of guinness with enjoyment. I'm sure everyone's first shot at scotch or whiskey reminded them of lighter fluid.

 

[Rebel Herfer]

Dave - Happy to see a return to cigars topics on the new items - and an active one at that.
I agree with your assesment and I believe your theory is true a majority of the time. There is always the one cigar that will fall outside the findings but those are just outliers. In the past I've had the opportunity to smike a few 10 -15+ yr aged smokes; a few were stellar, so creamy, oily, potent that you could compare them to a fine Bordeaux taking on age, several were devoid of that oily taste but were smooth and subltle none the less, and a few were downright bad - dry and bitter. For the most part not good vs. bad - just different experiences. BTW - I did smoke an ISOM Fonseca that litterally had "flavor" crystals on the wrapper that made the smoke a masterpiece - and a smoke experience I'll NEVER forget.