So usually I don't have an issue retrohaling, even with some fuller bodied cigars, but this morning I was smoking a mini-mum and when I tried retrohaling it stung the hell out of my nose for several minutes. I'm assuming Pete wasn't counting on searing nasal pain to be a part of the overall blend's characteristics, so i'm assuming this was a reaction to this particular cigar. Also, I could be doing it wrong. Anyone had this happen to them before?
Retrohale Sting
- Thread starter AliveUS
- Start date
I'm not sure of your experience level, but I'm still trying to perfect the amount of smoke to retrohale without feeling like its melting my nose off of my face. Is there a chance you've retrohaled a larger amount of smoke than usual?
Hoshneer
Drew Estate NotRex
Mitch is right, I used to retrohale way to much smoke. I have found that if I exhale almost all the smoke and the last bit just runs through my sinuses it actually works just as well with far less burn. It takes practice sometimes but if you normally don't have the problem then. IDK
njstone
BoM January 2010
Too much smoke is a possibility. Another is that the smoke was just hotter ... thinner ring cigars often produce hotter smoke. Could have been the level of spice/pepper as well.
Another possibility is health. You could have been dehydrated or fighting off a cold or allergies.
Another possibility is health. You could have been dehydrated or fighting off a cold or allergies.
Retrohaling is the act of passing the smoke from a cigar through your nasal cavaties over the olfactories (what you have your sense of smell from) to detect more distinct flavors. You will generally get a slightly different profile from a cigar retrohale vs palette.
I find (and have used the ratio for years) that blowing out 70% of the smoke and then retro'ing 30% allows you to really taste the smoke and get all the notes, and at the same time allows you to retro both mild and extremely full -bodied smokes. Also alternating both blowing out and retro'ing multiple times in one puff (back and forth) lets you get an overall taste of the stick better then just one or the other. JMHO
Cigary43
Just Another Ashhole
This......you can't just retrohale pure smoke or you will likely burn your sinuses and that will affect your sense of smell and taste if you do it too often. You want a ratio where it's more like 50/50 for those who aren't used to retrohaling...this will give you a chance to develop the technique. Usually the first third is easier as the cigar isn't smoking hot...once you get past the second third you have a hotter smoke in progress you need to take in a bit more air and retro lightly.