This is gonna sound weird but...

[truckingtiger]

How do you actually "taste" the cigar? I knowhow to get the subtle nuances and tastes in wine and in loose leaf tea and even in fine chocolates...but how do I get these subtle tastes from cigars? All I end up tasting is - smoke, Where others taste either and coco and other tastes, I taste smoke. Is there some secret to it? Or are the tastes thatchy are saying they taste just bunk?

I really want to know because I KNOW that there are notes of different tastes that can be detected, I am just not sure how with the cigar just yet.

 

[ChuckMejia]

Retrohale

 

[navyvet]

taste and olfactory are such a close two senses alot of times can't you remember when at home and someone is cooking and you smell something you begin to taste it as well. and even still smoke from different cigars taste and smells diff. most people will chastise my example it is much like a regular full flavor cigarette and a reg full flavor menthe cigarette it is obvious difference in flavor there. for everyone the experience is diff. different people smoke cigars for different reasons. when i hear people say there are no taste in smoking a cigar it's like saying there is no sugar in pecan pie

 

[truckingtiger]

I just watched a video on this....I think I'm drawing too much per minute and to fast when I do draw, which is heating it up too much causing me to just get hot gas. Hmmm...

 

[navyvet]

this is a possiblity i noticed when i first started that i smoked to fast and it got harsh and tasted burnt it took me a while to slow down and perfect purging to enjoy things a little more

 

[ChuckMejia]

How long have you been smoking bro?

 

[navyvet]

since april chuck if your asking me

 

[ChuckMejia]

since april chuck if your asking me

No bro not you, the tiger

 

[truckingtiger]

How long have you been smoking bro?

Chuck...a few yeas with a 4 year break. just starting back. I simply have forgotten everything I once knew

 

[jerseyjetset]

Honestly, the key is patience. It will come with time. I doubt that anyone who just started drinking wine - even if they used to drink a lot but took a break - would be able to pick out the subtleties the way that someone who had been drinking lots of different wines for years would. Try things that are different, things that contrast (according to reviews, manufacturers' notes, the brothers here, etc.), and you'll start to taste through the smoke, so to speak, to the subtleties within.

 

[icehog3]

Retrohale

This. The key to tasting the nuances of a cigar, especially Cuban cigars.

 

[multi-useless]

For me, it's a matter of paying attention. I often don't put too much thought into the cigar, I just smoke it and enjoy it. When I do that, I can't say what it tasted like. On the other hand, if I take a minute every now and then to think about what I'm smoking, the flavors become more apparent.

 

[Yarddog]

I think I'm in the same situation as the OP, in that I don't detect individual things from a cigar...I'm not like detecting essence of barnyard, hints of hog sty, nothin' like that. I don't work it to death, for God's sake! It's supposed to be relaxing! If I like a ceegar, I buy more and smoke 'em...if not, move on! I am able to detect certain things, like generally where the tobacco comes from, and I know what an AJ Fernandez profile is...how to describe that, I don't know.

So, Tiger, I really wouldn't get too wrapped up in all of this. Smoke 'em, enjoy 'em, don't worry about analyzing 'em!

 

[tengel78]

It took me about a year to taste the subtle differences.
Time and retrohale as others have said. I don't think to much about it now, I just enjoy the cigar and relax.

 

[HIM*]

It's been said but I'll keep driving the idea home. It just takes time. Smoking slowly helps a lot, as does letting your cigars get acclimated, but it still takes time.
Personally I think pepper, cocoa, and coffee are the most common flavors with pepper being the easiest to discern. Maybe start by judging how spicy blends seem to you and see what else comes to you.

 

[truckingtiger]

I can detect spices. Pepper for sure.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Lunacris13]

It's been said but I'll keep driving the idea home. It just takes time. Smoking slowly helps a lot, as does letting your cigars get acclimated, but it still takes time.
Personally I think pepper, cocoa, and coffee are the most common flavors with pepper being the easiest to discern. Maybe start by judging how spicy blends seem to you and see what else comes to you.

I would agree with this. When I started smoking cigars it was kind of like, I just did it and I ended up smoking too quickly rather than enjoying it. Now, I know how much time I have and choose a stick that I know I can enjoy in that time. I also like pairing certain types of cigars with different beverages (i.e. bourbon, scotch, port wine, coffee).

 

[Isaiah]

When I first started smoking about a year ago. I kept to what people told was a one dimensional mild cigar and I smoked this a few times until I noticed the specific flavor in this cigar. It was the Oliva Connecticut Reserve and I kept getting a roasted cashew and cream flavor. Now, I can really pick out any roasted nut flavor in a cigar. I have trouble picking out the dark deeper flavors in a cigar but I assume it will come with time.

 

[atison]

Agree with all above. I am just coming into being able to pick up the individual flavors and the keys I have found are: 1) slow down as just changing your pace can take a cigar from "harsh ash tray" to a bevy of individual flavors 2) retrohale, but not too much 3) make sure your sticks are not too dry...or to wet and 4) what you drink greatly affects the flavor (I was drinking bourbon and scotch early on and it can overwhelm most cigars).

Also, I jumped up to bolder cigars early on and got a little overwhelmed with them. Recently I went back to milder cigars and Connecticut wrappers and have been blown away with the flavors I am finding.

 

[Jfire]

Start taking notes and doing reviews here on BOTL. I'll put my tastings up with the top 10% here. It's in part to doing reviews and paying attn to what the cigar is offering the smoker. Retrohale 20% of the cigar smoke every inch or so of each cigar to start.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk