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Seasoning a newbies palate?

U

Uncle Boo

New Member
Joined
Sep 7, 2006
Messages
153
I'm not sure that's worded correctly. I'm only in my first week of cigar smoking and I am having trouble telling the difference between the flavors and tastes of cigars. I have smoked a different stick every night after dinner and have kept a written log of things I have noticed. It's mostly how hard it is to light, what does the ash look like, how much smoke is produced, does it taste ok with water or coke, does it burn evenly. Not many notes on what it tastes like since I can't tell. I'm really enjoying puffing away but I could be smoking innertubes for all I know right now.

This is what I've tried so far, and maybe they are crap, I don't know. Cremosa Cubana, LaArora E Leon Maduro, 5 Vegas Grand Reserva, Fonesca Serie F, and I am on my second cigar tonight a Perdodmo Estate Selleccion.

Another thing I have noticed, with the exception of the Cremosa Cubana they don't taste so hot after about 1/2 is gone. They seem hard to stay lit. Most of the sizes seem to be around 5-6" and fairly fat. I'm not sure of the exact gauge sizes but I wonder if the shape has much to do with how far down they should be smoked. Most of them seem to last a half hour to fourtyfive minutes for half the length. If I roll the ashes off the end when they get to be an inch or two they don't want to seem to stay lit.

Any insight would be appreciated,
 
well, first off everyone has different tastes. But, for me, I cannot pick out certain flavors like some here can. I only know what I like. The bottom line is, if you like it, then smoke it! :cool:

one thing that has a HUGE impact on the cigar, in about every aspect, is the RH, or relative humidity. anywhere from 60% to 70% is the 'norm'. I prefer 65%, as it seems they light better, do not burn as hot, and so on and so forth. You didn't mention anything about storage... are thes straight from the cigar shop? or do you have a humidor you pulled them out of? If you go them from a shop, it is very possible they were a little 'wet', or the RH was too high, and that would account for the burn issues. Give us a little more info on this and it might give some insight into the burn issues and the taste when halfway done.

It's good you're keeping a log- you'll find as time progresses, that will come in handy. It's easy to go back and find what you liked, didn't like and so one. If a cigar is compared to one you already reviewed, you'll know if it's something you might like to try.

I'm sure others here will chime in with much better advice than I could ever give (!), but hang in there, and you'll find some you like, and others you don't. For a few starter cigars to recommend...

Padon x000 series - 2000, 3000, and so on
Sancho Panza Double Maduro
Arturo Fuente's - Chateau, 858, to name a few...

and a few searches will help you look for things too...
Search Feature

and probably the BEST place to get some smokes to try out... the Newbie Sampler Thread - the guys won't steer you wrong!

Be sure to post the info on the RH situation... that will be a great start-

and welcome!...
 
I do have a humidor with a jar of the beads in it but I don't have a hygrometer yet. It came with this starter kit http://www.cigarsinternational.com/prodDis...-BC06&cat=6. Now that I think of it I added a little distlled water to the jar and the beads are at the top of the jar. From what I read it is supposed to keep the RH at 65%-70. This is the jar that I have http://www.cigarsinternational.com/prodDis...MC05&cat=10.

I did buy a cutter thank goodness, but for a guy using an old ceramic butter dish for an ashtray don't you think a hygrometer is too sophisticated for me :laugh: . Maybe a lighter would help too, since the little wooden matches burn down faster than I can light.
 
I was in the same boat as you, not being able to differentiate the tastes of cigars. I did a search here a few weeks ago and after reading many posts I came across a thread started by The Master that really helped. He explained how it was proper technique to exhale some of the smoke through your nose to get the full taste. Read through the thread and give it a shot:

http://www.cigarpass.com/forumsipb/index.php?showtopic=15843

Cris
 
A hygrometer definently couldn't hurt as you can run into problems if it's too high or low. It does sound like your RH is too high causing you burn issues.

I'm a newb also and am working on developing my palate. Only advice I have is to make sure your nose isn't stuffed up. That and I hear that coke will overpower the taste of a cigar.
 
Uncle Boo said:
I do have a humidor with a jar of the beads in it but I don't have a hygrometer yet. It came with this starter kit http://www.cigarsinternational.com/prodDis...-BC06&cat=6. Now that I think of it I added a little distlled water to the jar and the beads are at the top of the jar. From what I read it is supposed to keep the RH at 65%-70. This is the jar that I have http://www.cigarsinternational.com/prodDis...MC05&cat=10.

I did buy a cutter thank goodness, but for a guy using an old ceramic butter dish for an ashtray don't you think a hygrometer is too sophisticated for me :laugh: . Maybe a lighter would help too, since the little wooden matches burn down faster than I can light.
Click to expand...

Absolutely not... get one! it's imperative that you keep the right RH going, or the cigars and your enjoyment will suffer. Until you know for sure, it's hard to say if the cigars were bad, your tastes were off, etc... you need a control, with that being a properly humidified cigar ;)

And a decent hygrometer is just a click away... the CP store has a couple to choose from, with sales going to support CigarPass.

But in all honesty, a search thru CigarPass will probably give you a TON of info... hell, I've been here a year and a half and I'm still picking up tidbits here and there during searches! :laugh:
 
I for one never had a hygrometer the whole time until this year. I got my first humidor in 2002 which is a 200 to 300 stick humidor. It stayed relatively empty the first 3 years as I didnt have a lot of cash to spend on cigars since I started smoking back in 1996 and 1997 when I really got into cigars. Thanks to OpusXKC for constantly nagging me in saving sticks which took him 2 years in doing. When I first joined CP I had jack for cigars and now its a whole different ball game.

In fact, I really never worry about the humidity until this year as I want to get one hell of a collection. Which the plan is working out nicely as I have enough sticks to last me a good 4 months if I stretched the stock out. But way to many good ones, rare ones, and aged ones to do that.

Best way I found to build my palatte as others will have different experiences was to goto my B&M shop and talk with the people that worked there. A good one will ask questions like what do you like to eat and drink...then make a recommendation on those alone. My old B&M shop had a 90 to 95% ratio in cigars they recommended that I would like. I developed my tastes for cigars pretty fast and tried something from every brand to get a feel for the cigars. At the time, I found the best cigars I enjoyed when I was new to cigars to be in the range of $5 to $10 with some exceptions like the Punch Rothchild Maduro and MM one. I still to this day love them. Hell, I always have loved the Dunhill Calebra or however its spelled which has the blue label. I never did care for the Green label ones for some reason.

I tried Diamond Crown from the normal line and couldnt stand it. But the Padron line I enjoyed and especially the 1964 Anniversario's at the time. I didnt care for the Arturo Fuente line except the Hemingway Naturals as I didnt know they made Maduro. Hell, the Opus X I really liked but was always out of my price range so I only smoked 3 in 9 years. Didnt even know AF made those to many many years later. But my palatte is ready for them now and I can now appreciate a Opus X on many many levels. Before it was just a nice stick that I liked but now, its one that I love. I can now also enjoy most of the AF normal lines but I dont generally smoke them as I know what I like now.

Another thing I noticed in the many years...my preference in cigars is always revolving. One year I maybe on a Padron kick and then all of a sudden I cant stand them and switch. Now I have the means to have a huge variety so I can smoke whatever I'm in the mood for and never have to be on a strict cigar budget. Slevy can tell ya when he goes through my bands some of the patterns I had since I was dating some of them off an on. I slipped out of that pattern many years ago and I tried to keep a journal, but I am a slacker so I never did keep one going. At first I did.

Best advice is to try the sticks several times. See if you enjoy them. Write notes the first time you smoke it and wait another month to smoke the 2nd one. See if you pick up any subtle differences and I'm sure you will. I wouldnt worry if you cant say this one tastes like chocolate and this one tastes like lemon pepper. I dont really have a sense of smell or taste buds so when they do work, a good cigar really is a whole different experience than my normal routine. :thumbs:
 
Here are a few different inexpensive smokes I would suggest:

Arturo Fuente Hemingway Short Story - cameroon wrapper and mild domincan blend

Ashton Classic - Classic creamy, smooth natural wrapper taste, dominican blend

Hoyo de Monterrey Maduro Corona, or El Rey del Mundo Maduro Rectangulares Maduro - Classic Maduro wrapped Honduran filler

Any of the Padron's Swissy listed will display the classic Nicaraguan taste.

My personal experience was an attraction toward milder, sweeter profiles of cigars at first. I was, and still am, big on cameroon wrappers. It took a while to pick up maduro's, but once I did I couldn't put em down.

Just about any La Flor Dominicana, Joya de Nicaragua or Camacho is gonna be an ass kicker. Same for Padron Anniversario's and the Opus X. Smoke any of these on a full stomach, when you want to be up for a while.
 
Hey Uncle Boo. I'm pretty much repeating swissy's feedback but here goes :)
- keeping a log is very helpful. Keep doing what your doing. I've been smoking for about 1.5yrs and I still keep a log and refer back to it. But keep in mind when you read reviews on cigars from others, they're sometimes (or usually) different because everyone reacts to cigars differently because of good/bad cigars, what they had with a cigar, age/storage, prefered tastes, etc. So as Swissy said, smoke what you like.
- the burn problem is most likely due to the RH. I've had that problem when I would purchase a cigar from my local shop and smoke it that day/night. When I leave it in my humi for a week, it's much better. Never had to re-light it this way. Give that a try.
- just a tip on smoking which I found useful was when you initially light a cigar, you obviously puff more to get it lit nice. once you got a good light, you should wait like 30-45secs before puffing again. This will prevent it from getting too hot and killing the 'real' taste.
- As for a lighter purchase. stay away from zippos. the fluid will effect the cigar taste and in my experience, makes it too hot initially. go Butane. can't go wrong with colibri's or similar

Hope that helps.
 
To go along with what Mr. Peat said, if you try a cigar just once, you may be missing out if you give up on it for a second chance. If you grab a stick at the B&M without letting it rest in your personal humidor for a while, you may be disappointed in the outcome, as it my indeed be over or under humidified. And while a pleasant taste on the palate is what you are looking for, remember that sharing a herf with others accounts for much more than you can now imagine.
 
Wow. I must have overdone it last night. The Perdomo Estate Selleccion must have been a bit too strong for me and I felt very nauseous and a little shakey. I smoked it for about an hour and a half trying to get the smoke out of my nose and maybe I inhaled some smoke :0 I was ready to quit cigars altogether I felt so badly. With not quite a whole week into this new hobby I guess I better slow down a bit.
 
Hey Uncle Boo, Welcome to CP. And welcome to being nicotine sick. I am pretty sure that EVERYONE here (well, maybe not Mr. Peat, he seems to be immune!) has been there...at least once. Probably more.
First of all, I remember reading that that Perdomo was your 2nd cigar of the evening...so you already had a decent amount of nicotime in your system. Second, I THINK (but I could be wrong) that exhaling some through the nose DOES lead to a higher absorbtion of nicotine. (I exhale about half of the smoket hrough my nose when really trying to taste a cigar...and absoltuely feel like I get more nicotuine that way).
Don't quit because of it. BUT DO learn to recognize the earliest onset. Sweating (for me), excess salivation, ANY gut-rumble. And of course, nausea and shakig (though at that point...you're probably jsut about past the point of no return). A trick that many people here have learned, sugar and caffeine help... A LOT! (Right slev???) Coke is your friend (not diet...the sugar is KEY!!!!!). Pound two cokes, and if you don't feel at least a little better pretty soon...well, then you REALLY over did it. Also, making sure you have enough blood sugar in your system when you START a night of heavy smoking is helpful, you will often hear (or read) don't smoke this one on a heavy stomach (Opus X, Siglo VI, Sublime, a lot of the triple ligero cigars, etc).

Hope this was helpful.

By the way, I went to school ( my first attempt at colelge) in Pomona in south Jersey, back when I wanted to be an environmental science guy....where are you from? My parents still live in NJ.
 
Thanks for all the help everyone. It's a little comforting to know I'm not the only one that has felt badly :laugh: It was my second cigar of the evening, and the first I had before dinner. Unkowingly that was a bad idea.

I need to do some shopping to get the most out of cigars. I stopped drinking coffee and few years ago and only drink diet soda and tea. Time to stock up on coke and maybe some of that starbucks cap that comes in bottles.

Smokelaw1- As I write this I am looking at the Atlantic Ocean from my office in Ocean City, and I live in Upper Township, Cape May County.
 
I'm in the same boat as you Boo, I can't discern different flavours in cigars, I just know what I like. It's the same for me with wine, the way people are able to say "ohhh, do you taste that honey?" and i'm like "uh no, it tastes like wine" :laugh:

With cigars I never get any "leather, cedar, coffee" etc i just sort of get the tobacco smell and taste. There are certain cigars I've really liked, some that are ok and a few I could do without. I don't know if I'll ever be able to get individual flavours...
 
Some people are simply blessed with more vivid imaginations that others. To me, cigars taste like tobacco. Some, better tasting than others. I've gotten to the point where I can tell where the tobacco has been grown, but that's about it. I'm a food snob. I can taste a 1/4 tsp of nutmeg in two lbs of ground meat, but I'll be damned if I can taste food in my cigars.

Doc.
 
there is really no way to "season" a palate. Some people just genetically are unable to taste certain flavors even after smoking for years. Same with food and wine.. Your best bet IMO is to smoke anything you can get your hands on try things, smoke them slow and let the smoke stay in your mouth on different parts of your palate. Eventuallly smoke will taste like different things to you, and eventually you will be able to pick up subtle things on different parts of your palate.
 
Raph8erxxx said:
there is really no way to "season" a palate. Some people just genetically are unable to taste certain flavors even after smoking for years. Same with food and wine.. Your best bet IMO is to smoke anything you can get your hands on try things, smoke them slow and let the smoke stay in your mouth on different parts of your palate. Eventuallly smoke will taste like different things to you, and eventually you will be able to pick up subtle things on different parts of your palate.
Click to expand...

Nice avatar Raph, I'm starting to grow quite fond of Gurkhas.
 
Why pair great cigars with crappy coffee?

I didn't mean crap I meant Cappucino (cap). I ran out and bought a bottle of Havana dulce de leche cappuccino so I can see how that effects the flavor of the cigar. It looke like it has a lot of sugar in it which I read is good.
 
On the sugar topic, I must point out that overly sweet accompaniment can detrimentally affect the way you pick up flavors. The sugar is useful if one starts to get nic-sick. I do not suggest one drink overly sweet beverages along with cigars in order to get ideal smoking/tasting conditions.
With that said, I do often smoke with a big glass of iced coke, especilly if I'm just "social smoking" as opposed to really concentrating on picking out flavors. For that, I tend to drink water.
 
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