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How do you Taste or Review a cigar?

Farm_kid

Farm_kid

New Member
Joined
Jun 8, 2012
Messages
10
Hello,
I am new to cigars and have enjoyed reading others' experience in reviewing new cigars or adding thoughts on thier old favorites. So far, for me a cigar tastes like a cigar. So did everyone have to develop thier senses to identify specific tastes or smells?

I can tell the difference in a mild verses a full-bodied cigar, especially at the beginning of a mild when their is not much volume of taste. I can especially "feel" the tobacco buzz on the last third of a full bodied stick.

But I have not yet been able to identify chocolate, vanilla, oak, cedar, pomegranate, whatever... Does this become an acquired skill?

I enjoy the relaxation, but I think I am still rushing my smokes so far and drawing too hard because I don't want the cigar to burn out.

I am going to smoke a Rocky Patel Connecticut tonight if anyone can give me a tip on what to hone in on.
 
Some people can do it, some can't. I think half the shit is made up. Just enjoy the smoke.
 
I've been smoking cigars for 5 or 6 years and cannot determine all the flavors others describe as well. If I like the over-all taste of a cigar, I stick with it.

I'm the same way with wines, I cant discern all the flavors I hear others give as well. If I like it, I stick with it.

I agree with Jholmes, just enjoy.
 
I agree as well! The only real flavors I can come up with is some coco like in padron maduros but other than that I sense the diffrences like spice verses creamy smoke. I don't know how someone can taste the diffrence between Oak, maple, bark, earth and whatever other crazy flavors someone lists when describing a smoke. What does earth taste like anyways? Maybe dirt is what they are refering to a mouth full of dirt doesn't sound tasty. Maybe they can taste all these diffrent flavors and if so great. I just can sense the diffrences in smokes based on creamy verses spicy like Pepper vs coco thats it.

Like the others have said if you smoke a cigar and it tastes good to you then thats all that matters. I think everyone has a slightly diffrent sense of taste and some are more complex than others.

Good Luck!
Paul
 
Occasionally I get the spicy flavor (for me it's like allspice), and usually at least on the sticks I smoke, I get the salty / leathery combination. I just love cigars, and although I wish a review was always accurate to me, they're not. I have different opinions of many of the cigars that I have read reviews of. That's part of the fun. Trial and error. That's how you build up your bombing supply :laugh: . Or give to your not-so-best friends :whistling: .


Edit for spelling
 
Yes, you will develop your palate over time. It is not necessary to be able to decifer flavors if you want to enjoy cigars. I have been smoking for decades and still don't know WTF some of these guys are talking about in reviews.
 
Thanks for the information. In a short amount of time, I have developed some likes and dislikes. I really like it when there is a lot of thick smoke on the draw. Dislike having to double and triple draw to get enough smoke. One cigar I just have no taste for is Brickhouse even though it did have a lot of smoke. I had a great experience with a 5 Vegas Gold.
 
Farm_kid said:
Thanks for the information. In a short amount of time, I have developed some likes and dislikes. I really like it when there is a lot of thick smoke on the draw. Dislike having to double and triple draw to get enough smoke. One cigar I just have no taste for is Brickhouse even though it did have a lot of smoke. I had a great experience with a 5 Vegas Gold.
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Smoke what you like...Like what you smoke...it's all really just about enjoying the experience.
 
It's like wine. Some people can only taste grapes, while others can taste fruit, oak, coco, etc.

If you're new to cigars, then my suggestion would be to smoke a range of cigars from cheap to premium. First, learn the different characteristics such as construction, draw, how easy to light, the cut, pre-light smell, the overall feel, etc...

Once you're able to tell those differences, then you might start interpreting types of flavors. Cigars are made of tobacco, so the prominent flavor will always be tobacco. I can definitely taste flavors out of certain cigars such as anise, oak, coco, coffee, spice, creaminess, some fruit, etc. It took me a few years before I was able to pick up the flavors, and at the time I wasn't even looking for the flavors; they just started to appear...

When I first got into cigars, I also thought people were full of it, until one night I was smoking a cigar (I think it was an Oliva), and all of a sudden I tasted anise big time. From then on, flavors just started popping out at me. Sometimes you'll get just a hint, other times it'll smack you in the face, and then there will be cigars that are just cigars. Not everyone has a sensitive palate either, so that has an affect.

My recommendation is to first understand a cigar before even lighting it, and fully evaluate everything you can about it. Again, smoke a wide range so you can compare good from bad. If you only smoke the good stuff, then you won't appreciate them quite as much. Sample some machine made cigars, low quality, etc... It's the only way you'll develop your palate.

There are only so many flavors you're going to taste. I agree, some people go overboard. Don't expect anything, just wait for it to come to you.

Once you start tasting flavors, then pull up what others have to say about the cigar and see if there are any similarities. I do this still today, and it's always interesting how certain flavors are definitely there.

Good luck, and have fun!
 
MilesMingusMonk said:
BlindedByScience said:
Moki has a very good page on cigar tasting on his website:

http://www.vitolas.n...rch&cat=0&pos=0

I really like using a "flavor wheel" to help clarify what you are tasting. Some find it helps, some find it distracting.....but, I have used them when taking notes and thought it was a bit of help.

Most of all....have fun and enjoy the journey - B.B.S.
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Bad link. Good link.
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Great Read thank you guys for pointing this out!

Tom is that the "Flavor Wheel" you are talking about that is in the link?

Paul
 
It's difficult to pin down exactly what a certain flavor you're getting from a cigar is. Different people will have a different way of describing perhaps the same flavor.

The first time I smoke a Liga Undercrown I found a flavor that I could only describe as "a cinnamon and pear" type flavor. Although I knew that wasn't necessarily what I was tasting that is what the flavor reminded me of. Now I've picked it up in a couple of different cigars and I just call it an "Undercrown like" flavor.

To me tasting a cigar is all about being able to describe what I think I'm tasting so I know what to look for next time. It also gives me something that I can use to compare two cigars (besides from the obvious things like construction, draw, etc.).

One other thing that I nearly forgot to mention. Try retrohaling your cigar from time to time. You'll be amazed at how differently a cigar can taste when you pass the smoke through your sinuses and nose vs. just keeping it in your mouth.
 
MrAnderson41 said:
Try retrohaling your cigar from time to time. You'll be amazed at how differently a cigar can taste when you pass the smoke through your sinuses and nose vs. just keeping it in your mouth.
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I just learned a new word. For years I've said "exhale a portion of the smoke through your nose." Doing this completely changed my smoking experience. While I agree with most of the posts in that I can't taste the nuances of tabacco, I can tell a good cigar from a bad cigar.
 
I can't believe none of you fuggers said "granola smoothie" yet! :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:

I'm not a super taster as some have the ability for it, although I have learned to pick up certain flavors over time. I can smoke the same cigar from the same box and not get the same flavor, example being, try smoking the same favorite stick when you beef with your wife or girlfriend, you'd be surprised how terrible that cigar may taste. I also didn't know what guys meant when they said "dirt" until I smoked a Gurkha Black Dragon, blech! :angry:
 
There's only one cigar where a REALLY distinct taste sticks out for me, and that's the My Father Le Bijou Puff n Stuff edition. Super distinct raspberry taste and smell. In fact, when you open the box, the raspberry smell blows out at you. If I didn't know better, I'd say this was an infused cigar. It's THAT distinct to me.

Some cigars I can smoke and understand as "creamy", but otherwise the flavors I experience are pretty fleeting. Just when I think I taste something recognizable, it's gone with the next puff. Some cigars, themselves, have a distinct overall taste which is distinct to that particular brand and/or vitola of cigar. For me, two examples are the Puros Indios Reserva Maxima '03 maduro and the Devil's Weed nat robusto. I always know what I'm getting with those two cigars and I'm pretty sure I could pick the DW out of a blind lineup, now.

Let the flavors and tastes come to you. If you look for them in a cigar, you probably won't find them.
 
I'm pretty new as well so I'm no expert, but as I'm smoking more and trying different marcas, I definitely notice the differences. I would recommend trying variety of different but reputable brands and see how they differ amongst each other as they have a general flavor it seems.
 
JHolmes763 said:
Some people can do it, some can't. I think half the shit is made up. Just enjoy the smoke.
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This is an epic day. Holmes and I agree on something. People who taste chocolate in their cigars ought to be on medication. I've been smoking cigars for over 40 yrs and never have I tasted anything remotely like chocolate. Not milk, not dark, not semi-sweet and certainly not like cocoa. Christ, my wife would be smoking like a chimney if they did. This BS was perpetrated on the cigar community during the cigar boom by that POS periodical Cigar Aficionado. Who BTW also gave us the cigar boom. A dark time for lovers of the leaf.

Doc
 
Haha... I should play the lotto. 'tis my lucky day!

All that being said, I did taste black cherries in a cigar once. The original Tatuaje Noella Reserva.
 
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