I hope its OK with u Moki...cut n pasted your comments from the other blind taste test at the other forum
"....As I said before, I don't view this as your failing at all... but rather the failing of preconceptions regarding any mythical "Cuban cigar profile" or the inherent superiority of Cuban cigars (even to those who profess to love them exclusively). ...... "
Which was the reason why I stepped away from the All-Cubans environment here in Asia a couple of years ago into your boards at CP and CF in an effort to open my eyes and mind to the rest of the cigar world.
Some friends were like "Are you CRAZY ??!! You're trading away your Cuban cigars for non-Cuban cigars??!!"
I have had NO regrets so far (well except maybe the Smokin Toad cigars I gotten once in exchange for some RASS) Trading for, outright buying them and getting bombed with non-Cuban smokes (whether wonderful/good/so-so/bad)was the best thing that could have happened to me..... that the world is SO much bigger and diverse than Cuba.
But dont get me wrong, that does not mean that I do not like Cuban cigars.... just that there's a whole world of other cigars that I really enjoy as well
Peace all...
Bolded and italicized my me.
I think that is the key here and, in my opinion, the point. It's easy for all of us to get a bit blindered by things we know we like and to begin to pursue them in an exclusionary manner. You know, stuff like this:
I hate Harleys.
I am a PC guy.
Techno sucks.
I don't drink organic milk.
<Insert name here> cigars are the best.
Personal preferences are all well and good but when they start to close our minds and dim our willingness to try new things then they become nothing more than simple conceits based on old conceptions that may not have been challenged in a very long time. We all change perpetually. Our attitudes, tastes, and desires evolve over time so it stands to reason that our preference in cigars might change as well. That's why exercises like this taste test and the often surprising reults they yield are so cool. They remind us all that there is more out there than we can ever know. Hey, the next cigar you smoke just might be your new favorite...
I have enjoyed reading Moki's threads on this and I hope they keep going. It's way cool to see someone discover something new and it always makes me rethink what I "know".
Full disclosure: I also love Cubans and count some of them among my favorites. I have also smoked some that I thought were unappealing. And I certainly have a whole raft of US market smokes that I dearly love as well. Do I think there is a Cuban flavor profile? Tough question. I will hedge and say that I find many similarities in the Cubans that I like. I also find the same thing with many of the Nicaraguans and Dominicans that I enjoy. However, in all of those cases I have found some from those regions that do not fit the mold. And I have occaisionally found some from one country that seem to be from another. I guess I would say that there seem to be broad regional (national?) trends that are not hard and fast rules but that seem to be generaly applicable.
I'll add that I am fairly certain I would get my ass handed to me in a test like this. When friends have given me new cigars I have found that I had no better luck than a coin toss in guessing where they were from.
Anyway, my .02
