LEAST favorite flavor in Cigars

[SMQQKIN]

Ammonia, old ladies purse, acrid bitterness & that thick chewy tar taste

[santela]

Another vote for soap. Was absolutely disgusted.

[PigFish]

... I ditched the bad tastes by doing two things. Storing cigars correctly and ceasing to smoke the cigars that did not originate on Isla Cuba!

My least liked taste in cigars is gasoline!

Yes, as a punk in the 70's I used to siphon (steal) a little gasoline to make my dirt bikes run... I know what it tastes like! Of course the lead has affected my short term memory.

...my short term memory. My memory in the short term. I mean memory... You know... Hmmm, what the hell was I saying again? ... writing 'bout.

Have a nice day anyway! -the P.... what the hell!

[parabola66]

Non Cuban: musty air, wet dog smell, wet soil types of flavors.. usually with Maduros that have lost that discolored wrapper that has lost its "sheen" where you can tell the oils have dried up out of the wrapper.

Cuban: I can't say there is a specific flavor that I am not fond of, but I do notice a gnarly taste to a Cuban that has not been properly dry boxed before smoking. Always happens halfway through the cigar, never sooner nor later. Sometimes I can smoke through it, other times I have to force it as long as I can.

[ThatAlfonso]

  On 11/17/2015 at 5:21 AM, ChefBoyRG54 said:

The NC after taste has been a big turnoff for me in recent months pushing me completely away.

Although this has been trending quickly for about a year I just got to a point where I live in regret with the damp, muddy, swampy taste I'm left with after smoking NC. The peppery kickstart is also a turnoff. Why so much power up front? Let it build:)

I still smoke NCs regularly at my local smoke shop but feel now as I always have that a majority of NCs seem marketed in both size, packaging and flavor to favor the every-once-in-a-while US customer that lights one up only with his buddies after a steak dinner in Las Vegas. If you don't notice nuance and are never going to finish the whole stick then you have to hit them with the flavor up front while completely ignoring the final third.

[ChefBoyRG54]

  On 11/17/2015 at 8:18 PM, ThatAlfonso said:

I still smoke NCs regularly at my local smoke shop but feel now as I always have that a majority of NCs seem marketed in both size, packaging and flavor to favor the every-once-in-a-while US customer that lights one up only with his buddies after a steak dinner in Las Vegas. If you don't notice nuance and are never going to finish the whole stick then you have to hit them with the flavor up front while completely ignoring the final third.

That's an interesting theory. More of a play on the instant gratifcation society:)

I believe my personal turning point was starting to do blind reviews. It forced me to focus and expand more than normal on what I was tasting. The end result being I grew to expect more out of cigars, getting more picky, which lends to what appears to be a natural gravitation to cuban tobacco:)

[cigarbreak]

Damp Soil and Pepper from NC's. Had an OSA Lot T once, and tasted like I did a faceplant into wet earth lol - a few others had that soil taste and i did not enjoy it unless it was washed down with a good stiff drink. Which, oddly enough, make 's NC's sometimes really shine... The pepper though in the first inch or so is really hard to get through sometimes, and half the time it doesn't really go anywhere from there.

In CC's, there's not really much i don't like about em, except the ammonia and young bitterness that can pop up from time to time.

[LeafLover]

I concur with Ray. Kerosene is a taste that pisses me off.

Ray, BTW, gonna be a bit on the RAE. I'm in the middle of a move. I'll hit you up for your addy when I'm all moved in and settled.

[DrunkenMonkey]

I've never had it in a Cuban cigar, but there's a metallic flavor in lots of non-Cuban cigars. The moment I taste it, I'm done with that cigar. In my experience, that flavor doesn't go away. I can't stand it.

[bresdogsr]

Menthol really puts me off

[irratebass]

As most have mentioned I have to agree with

Ammonia

Damp Soil

Perfume

Soap

Kerosene

[mash]

  On 11/17/2015 at 10:51 PM, Hutch said:

Perfume !! Every so often I light a cigar that tastes as if the roller didn't wash their hands after putting on perfume of cologne, or used scented soap. These putrid cigars seem to contaminate nearby cigars in the box, so my assumption is that it's wrapper based.

Same. The rollers must be told not to wear scents wouldn't you think?

[ErikB]

  On 11/19/2015 at 10:48 PM, mash said:

Same. The rollers must be told not to wear scents wouldn't you think?

Cuban rollers would not wear scents. Not available to them.

[alloy]

Perfume and soap. Blechhhh.....

[soutso]

  On 11/16/2015 at 7:58 PM, leftimatic said:

I know the one. I get it as a cedar taste almost a woodsy aftertaste. Very dominant in the retro hale department. Don't mind that so much as a perfume taste I get from HDM Epicure #2's. Everyone I have had reminds me of a blue haired old lady counting pennies at the grocery store.

So glad you've pointed this out. The first time I experienced this was with HDM Epi 2 and it was that strong I asked my wife if her aunts had visited that day; true story!

Thankfully I don't get it in every HDM Epi 2. I've also experienced it in the odd:

Partagas Short

Ramon Allones Superiors

Ramon Allones SSC

Not every time but occasionally. This has led me to question flavour profiles overall. I've noticed too many varying flavours in too many different brands and types of cigars. This is why blind tasting is near impossible for me.