Hints of roast lamb...

[Reevzy]

I'm fairly new to smoking cigars and while I have enjoyed the majority of what I've tried up to now I'm wondering when the palate comes alive and when I can join the club of "tasting" a cigar and not just smoking one.

I have an absolute ball watching the FOH reviews and I can't wait to experience the roast lamb and the candy shell of a Jaffa. So far, all I'm getting is, dare I say a thick cream sensation on the tongue from BHK 52's and yes the sweet biscuity short bread from Party D4's. Coffee and chocolate from the likes of Cohiba Siglo's and a Monte 520 I had the other night was by far the most enjoyable and relaxing smoke I've had but the subtle flavours I'm getting from each of these cigars are the same from start to finish.

So the first, second and last thirds are kind of irrelevant to me at the moment.

I'm not complaining about that because when I can pick a gentle flavour I get all excited

but it feels like I'm, I dunno, looking too hard for them or something.

I've read on these forums of someone saying that you should just smoke as many different cigars as you can and all of a sudden it just happens. But when it happens, is it there to stay? Can you have a break from smoking and the palate will still pick everything up?

Admittedly, I'm aiming high in terms of price bracket on some of these sticks but you

guys argue a fine point about some of these fine cigars on the market of late.

So funds wise I feel the need to scale back my experimentation but it almost feels like I'm on the verge and I can almost smell that lamb.

[mazolaman]

Take a JL Piedra, and chuck it in a roasting dish with a good leg of lamb...!

In seriousness, I would try these three cigars, and see if you can point out the different flavours.

1 SCDLH La Punta.

2 Fonseca No 1

3 Bolivar Gold Medal..

I think these demonstrate the variety of flavours available.

[Reevzy]

Thanks for the suggestions but you'll have to forgive my "greenness", I'm really struggling with abbreviations around here.

What is SCDLH?

[bobbutcher]

San Cristobal de la Habana

[Warren]

Roast lamb, ah yes I remember that day. I still believe I could taste it but I think Rob and Smithy thought I had a stroke.

[Dbone]

Don't over think it, the flavors are very subjective. The flavor wheel is what I used to start, it helped for sure. But it's difficult enough to describe flavors in everyday foods. Like.. how would you describe what Roasted Lamb taste like... without saying roasted lamb lol Or how would one describe the flavors of an Apple or a Cashew.... Usually either sweet, sour, or salty. Sliding scale of flavor and finish, etc... It's a deep rabbit hole, keep on digging down and enjoy

[Dbone]

Here's a link to the Flavor Wheel Rob posted in the Cigar Review Section... work your way from the inside out.

http://www.friendsofhabanos.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=95707

[CaptainQuintero]

I like the idea of picking some cigars that people think have a great difference in flavours, I think my recommendations would be :

Bolivar Petit Corona

Cohiba Secretos

Diplomatico #2

Montecristo #3

Partagas P2

Quai d'Orsay Corona

Saint Luis Rey Serie A

Sancho Panza non-plus (Or molinos if you can get it)

[CanuckSARTech]

Using a flavour wheel definitely helps when you're starting out.

It depends not just on your individual palate, but on a torrent of other factors as well:

• smoking outside or inside?
  
• weather, time of day, smoking conditions?
  
• paired drink, plain water, or nothing at all?
  
• smoking by yourself for concentration, or with others? Others smoking?
  
• palate condition - sick, thirsty, getting over a cold, recently ate a lot of salty/acidic foods, etc.?
  
• are you a regular smoker? How many a day/week?
  
• do you also smoke cigarettes, as this affects the palate as well?
  
• do you eat a lot of red meats, drink red wines, lots of coffee (all with lots of tannins and strong substances that affect the palate negatively as well sometimes)?
  

And, there's many other variables.

I'd like to think I have a great palate, and can pick out many individual elements of flavours of a given item (food, cigars, etc.) I was a cigar and cigarette smoker for years, and then quick cigarettes and stepped away from cigars for a good while too. When I came back to them, I felt that my palate was just "on", and right from scratch again, I could pick flavours out really well with the different blends/marcas.

Also, I tend not to smoke a ton of cigars. Some people smoke cigars just because (and there's nothing wrong with that!). But I smoke them for flavour and the overall experience, not to just smoke a cigar because I can. To me, everything about a cigar is about flavour and the experience, not about nicotine, or "needing" to smoke a cigar, etc. Things need to be right when I smoke a cigar, as I want to give it the best chance to wow me. There's many smokers here who may smoke three or more cigars a day, day after day, year round. I tend to only average that in a week. However, I do still have my occasional days where I'll enjoy a 1/2 dozen cigars in one day, one go. But, I find my smoking habits help with my palate and my overall enjoyment of cigars, and my ability to pick out flavours. Others may only be able to pick out if the cigar they're smoking is a good/bad/crap cigar, but not individual flavours.

[Hypersomniac]

I do a pretty good job picking flavors and ingredients out of food, but when it comes to cigars, not so much. I was slowly getting better at picking out flavors (until the frigid North Dakota weather put smoking on hold), but for the most part I just pick out the very main categories (pepper, floral, cream).

I don't really smoke cigars to taste certain flavors though. I smoke because I enjoy it, it is relaxing, and a good way to spend time with friends.

[mbrody]

In my experience, it is not your palate. It is the cigar. If you have an "on" cigar, you will likely "taste" how people may describe the cigar. If you have a box that has not "opened up" yet, or may be in a "sick" period, or "muted", well, then you will find few apparent flavors that people describe.

Also, smoking conditions (as others have mentioned) will affect flavor. Try dryboxing a cigar for a few days, or put it in a sealed bag with a few other cigars without humidity. Lower humidity tends to bring out more flavor for me.

I recommend trying the following to see if they help you with your palate for cigar flavors...

Bolivar Petit Corona

Hoyo Epicure #2

HuP 1/2 Corona

Anything that El Prez says is "on"

Avoid cigars that typically need time (aging) to develop their flavors, such as Cohiba, Por larranaga, La Gloria Cubana, Quai d'Orsay

[dangolf18]

I find lamb revolting. If I smell lamb cooking in my house . Can't stand the smell and the taste and I hope I never find it in a cigar.

[Lotusguy]

I find lamb revolting. If I smell lamb cooking in my house . Can't stand the smell and the taste and I hope I never find it in a cigar.

So you're definitely not this guy...

[khomeinist]

FAVA BEANS and CHiANTI please

[Wil]

I hope I never find it in a cigar.

Love roast lamb, but agree with this statement 100%!!

[CaptainQuintero]

I've had Rosemary in old PLPC for sure, I guess that could be a factor?

[ajgagnon]

I'd suggest smoking the same cigar with some friends along with a simple drink (maybe even water) and see what each other thinks (sometimes the power of suggestion interferes but sometimes it's what you need to find what's on the tip of your tongue...).

And just try different cigars. Some don't do much for me. Others seem to punch you in the kisser with one particular taste or evolution of flavours. I had the most pronounced rocky road flavour profile (cocoa, bitter cherry, cream) from an H. Upmann Mag 46 while walking across a bridge in the breeze on the way to work (not ideal conditions), and other times all I can find is 'smoke', 'burnt wood' or 'tobacco'.

[Colt45]

Roast lamb makes me think meaty, smokey, gamey - savory, versus something on the (respectively) "sweet" / floral / creamy, etc side of the scale. I think Dbone has kind of hit it - don't over think it (a watched pot never boils, so to speak).

Enjoy the journey

[Reevzy]

For the record, I love lamp...... I mean lamb.

Thanks for all the tips and advice, I'm enjoying this all way too much to slow down now.

Some great suggestions of cigars to try. I'm teetering on the edge of awesomeness and I am having

a grand old time of late, why would I want to change that?!