More Blind taste tests!

[moki]

Parallels between wine critics who can't tell a Syrah from a Merlot from a Cabernet and cigar smokers who claim to like only Cuban cigars, but can't reliably tell a Cuban from a non-Cuban when they smoke them blind?

I think so.

.....

Point A: Even extremely experienced tasters cannot consistently identify in double blind tastings a basic wine trait such as the grape variety.

 

[Brickhouse]

I can tell the difference between a good cigar and a bad one. Where it came from? Who gives a damn

 

[moki]

I'm actually surprised when people are surprised at not being able to guess things like country of origin, etc.

The placebo effect is well documented scientific fact. If you give someone a sugar pill, and tell them it is medicine that will cure them, they often have measurable improvements in health.

So if you know (or think!) that you're smoking a fine Cuban cigar or drinking a fine French wine (with all of the expectations and memes that go along with them), it follows that you very well may enjoy it more. Not because of the taste, but because of a variant of the placebo effect.

Given that it has been shown that you really do enjoy a wine more if you know it is expensive, and given that switching the labels affects expert wine tasting, it seems like a fairly obvious thing.

 

[B.HOBS]

I....as a self proclaimed expert...can easily tell the differences from a Coca-Cola and a Pepsi from the same vintage. I think its because of the terroir where Coca-Cola's HFCS is produced makes it so superior, and exquisite... :laugh:. I agree with you, Moki. There may be slight differences in varietals, but I doubt that it is significant enough to really differentiate. Some people are very good at distinguishing between tastes, but it's the "experts" who are snobs about it that really ruin the fun of it. Although, I could be eating my foot in about a week or so, when my first CC's arrive!

I feel its the same concept as smoking with a buddy and smoking alone - a good cigar always tastes better in good company! :thumbs: