When do you taste the flavor of a cigar

[N8DCJ]

Man , I wish I could have posted this one anonymously

Anyway , the limited number of cigars I have smoked (6) I never seem to get any real taste other than a peppery/ slight burning sensation on the inhale (I don't actually inhale in the normal sense of the word like cigarettes). Even on exhale not much , now then , if I wait a minute or so (the actual time varies) I get a slight taste , the only flavor that comes to mind at the moment is a vanilla taste , obviously it changes depending on the cigar...

Now my question is , is this normal , if it is that's fine , if not , I must need to change something...

I hear and read people talking about all the "flavors" etc... I get the impression that it is much more of a front end than back end taste...

Ok , fire away ......

Dan

[Briandg]

If you never "taste" anything that is perfectly normal. Your taste buds are the lame sisters of the sensory organs. Almost every bit of tasting is done by smelling the volatile components of what you are eating or drinking. Most of that occurs as you eat or drink, and the volatiles work their way up through your airway, or up your nose.

You can only taste the four main components; salty, sweet, bitter, and acidic. Everything else is taken in through the sense of smell.

If you want to taste a cigar, you actually have to let a bit of it into your nose. That is when you will taste the sweetness, the coffee/cocoa, the fruitiness, and the other things you read about.

That's also why you should never drink your beer from a can/bottle. You can't get the full effect. You have to feel the tingle of the head of foam, get the sparkle on your tongue, let the aroma flush through your sinus areas, and so forth.

Try this. Numb your nose with a dose of mentholatum, then try a sip of rootbeer, dr pepper, coke, and pepsi, and see if you can recognize them. All you will have to go on is the sweetness/tartness levels. You may not be able to tell them apart.

[grtrx]

I used to struggle with the flavors thing, it takes time to differentiate them, I think we have some BS terminology in ciagrs too. Flinty, meaty, etc. What do those terms mean??

I used to picky up pepper and creaminess and nothing else. And some cigars just don't have that many tastes. A Davidoff tastes differnent from a Tatuate and from a Cuban... describing those flavors, not so easy

Also, do you smoke cigarettes or dip snuff? Those flavors will 'sit' on your taste buds and screw up perceiving other tastes.

So too can things like gum, toothpastes, and mentholatum... as well as chronic sinus congestion/drainage.

A really good question, actually...

[N8DCJ]

Grtrx

"Also, do you smoke cigarettes or dip snuff? "

Nope none of those nasty things

Well I will just have to concentrate a little more I guess , usually only drink water and bud light , neither of those should be strong enough to influence too much...

However , when I had a Cuban a while back I paired it with Woodford Reserve and that combo was nice...

Dan

[gui_tarzan]

A cigar has to be really complex for the individual flavors to stand out to me. Most cigars taste like tobacco (duh, right?) but now and then there will be a leaf that reminds me of something else. Not "tastes like", reminds me of something else.

For a while the Gran Habano Azteca Fuerte taste reminded me of a good grilled steak. There are several others that have a distinct flavor or level of spice that sticks out (Asylum 13) and grabs my attention.

It takes time and you have to think about what you're smelling rather than tasting. I couldn't tell you an RyJ from a Punch from a Fuente but I can tell you what specific flavors/aromas I enjoy.

[KatDad]

Another aid to helping the flavors in a cigar, or even a pipe for that matter, unfold is to smoke s-l-o-w-l-y. A cooler smoke from slow draws and rest between draws helps a lot IMO. I speak from experience in this matter. In the beginning I smoked way too fast yielding a hot, harsh smoke. Smoking should be relaxing so relax when you smoke.

[vernonator]

Originally Posted by N8DCJ

Grtrx

"Also, do you smoke cigarettes or dip snuff? "

Nope none of those nasty things

Well I will just have to concentrate a little more I guess , usually only drink water and bud light , neither of those should be strong enough to influence too much...

However , when I had a Cuban a while back I paired it with Woodford Reserve and that combo was nice...

Dan

And there is a difference? (See bolded statement)

[N8DCJ]

Vern



yep , one goes in clear comes out yellow , the other goes in yellow comes out clear.... so there must be a difference right

at least it isn't Coors Light

Dan

[Maccabee]

Ditto! I am one who struggles with the same thing all I can add is retro hail, and it take time. Before you know it you will be shocked by what you start tasting. What helped me was getting a journal and trying to rate and review with as much detail as I could for myself. forces me to take time and really taste it EDIT: yea my phone tends to "correct" what i'm typing so had to fix this with my computer (:

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I747 using Tapatalk

[spiridon]

My experience has been the same as many of y'alls. I have never been one to pick up all the nuances I'm always reading about......I usually pick up the spice/pepper, cocoa, coffee and a kind of creaminess which is hard to pinpoint sometimes. BUT I do enjoy it when I have that experience that some of you have described....when a taste or flavor sensation sorta jumps out there at ya.....that's always a fun thing!