How do you \'taste\' a cigar?

[shrink]

I purloined this topic, because I find it very interesting. Here is my take on 'tasting':

I find that I 'taste' a cigar in a variety of ways, typically in a cycle of experiences as the cigar progresses.

The first 'taste' that I pay attention to is the unlit aroma, and the taste of the unlit cigar in my mouth. Some tobaccos taste bland, others peppery, and some sweet, for example. If these aromas and flavors are especially intriguing, I might savor these qualities for a few minutes before lighting up. These are not only pleasant (or sometimes not so pleasant!) experiences in their own right, but they help 'set up' my expectations, for when the cigar is ignited. For example, if I detect cocoa in the unlit aroma, I'll be looking for it after the cigar is lit. I do much the same with coffee beans, by savoring the aromas at each stage of preparation, prior to actually taking that first sip of the final brew.

The next tasting 'layer' is the impression that the first draw or two makes on my palate. I pay special attention to this, even if it is too peppery, too bitter, too strong, or too bland. That first impression serves as a baseline, with which I compare the flavor profile as it evolves. Does the intensity and profile change quickly, slowly, or at all? Were the initial impressions 'true to form', or did they mislead me as to the ultimate direction the flavor evolution would take? I think that this consistency (or lack thereof) speaks to the blend 'integrity' of the cigar, and how true it is to it's intended character. I want those first few draws to announce the marca, in no uncertain terms. "Welcome to my world. I am Partagas", so to speak.

Next, I often inhale wisps of the smoke rising from the newly ignited cigar, through my nose, to better discern the more subtle and aromatic qualities in the cigar, before my senses are numbed by the barrage that follows. These qualities often help me to to determine what smoking technique will yield the most complex and satisfying experience; full, deep draws, or slower, lighter inhalations.

I find that cigar smoke impacts different areas of my mouth and mucous membranes in different ways during the cycle of inspiring and expelling the smoke. Sometimes the 'taste' seems focused on the tip of my tongue, such as when peppery elements are dominant. Sometimes my attention is drawn to the smoke's impact on the median of my tongue, where sweet, salty and bitter tastes are detected. At other times, the smoke has its greatest impact on my salivary glands, as when citrus elements are strong. I believe that a good cigar will make my mouth water, at least somewhat.

I pay very close attention as to the different sensations and flavors as they are revealed during the inspiration-exhalation cycle. Some cigars, especially the strong ones, seem to express their character most distinctly during the inhale, or as the smoke is held in the mouth. Others, during the exhale. And still others, only after the smoke is expelled, and the 'finish' slowly reveals itself. IMO, the finest and most complex cigars have something good to 'say' at each and every stage of the cycle. I consider this to be an important factor in assessing the overall 'balance' of a cigar.

I always exhale some smoke through my nose, usually after I have first expelled the majority of the draw through my mouth. The amount that I expel, and whether I do so slowly or with gusto, depends on the qualities I have already discerned, as well as my mood at the time. For me, the 'nasal' experience is critical to my appreciation of every cigar, since it is in my nose that more subtle aromas and some of the lighter spicy and 'white' peppery elements are best detected, and appreciated.

Like others, I frequently refresh my palate with a cool drink, which is usually a neutral drink.. not too strongly flavored, not too sweet. Although I have been known to consume a root beer with a good, strong Partagas! I find that a sip or two between draws helps cleanse the palate, and prepare me for the next draw.

Enough. I see that I've written more than I planned, but when I am smoking a 'good' cigar, this is how I get the most out of it.

[Ken Gargett]

Shrink, terrific stuff. I smell the smoke first rather than actually taste it when cold and that plays a similar role for me, setting up expectations. This is partly because so much of taste is actually smell.

The other point I’d make here is that I am one who doesn’t inhale (thanks Bill). This comes from never having had a cigarette in my life - I think if I did inhale, especially something like an SLR DC, I’d kill myself.

Does everybody inhale or not? I don’t believe it impacts on my ‘tasting/smelling’ but be interested in the views of others.

While on the ‘tasting’ theme, I dug this up from a few years ago. It was one of my earliest posts - apols for the length.

Recently, our esteemed guru dobbed me in to try and give some thoughts on ‘flavours’ in cigars, (see post – ‘who can taste chocolate?’) after one of our lot wondered whether he or I was a moron (hopefully neither of us) because rather than taste some of the flavours described in reviews on the forum – from myself and presumably others – he declared that he tasted nothing but tobacco. I am certainly not a scientist and my thoughts are largely transposed from my wine experiences, but I believe that there are obvious similarities, so here goes.

I guess the first point to make is that we are all heading down the wrong track in discussing taste. From my readings, our taste is limited to five different elements – sweet, sour, salty, bitter and umami. For those not familiar with umami, it was first identified in 1907 in Japan. It was largely dismissed by the West until around 2000 (which is why most of us never heard about it at school) but now seems widely accepted. It is effectively glutamate (think MSG, thick broth, old cheese, mushrooms, seaweed and especially fish sauce tho the saltiness there can hide it; it is also in tomatoes tho again can be hard to detect). Check out 1. www.glutamate.org/media/glutamate.htm if you want to follow this a bit more. However, it would seem largely irrelevant to us re cigars.

A while back we touched on receptor taste buds and how some people make better tasters simply because they have been blessed with high number of tastebuds. This is key to individual perceptions – no two people are identical so I may have a greater ability to detect sweetness than the bloke next to me while he may be better at picking up bitterness than the next bloke and so on. This is often genetic (and in case there are any pregnant women out there, apparently perceptions change, and are often greatly heightened, during this time). It is one of the main reasons that we have different reactions to different things, eg cigars. Hence, we don’t all prefer exactly the same cigar. One wine scribe once likened the fact that we don't all like the same wine to the fact that we don’t all identify the same woman as the most beautiful in the world, adding ‘wouldn’t she be tired’.

So in reality, when we say taste, what we are mostly, but not completely, saying is what we smell. Flavour is a combination of taste and aroma and to an extent, the tactile/textural component as well.

But that is only the start.

What we smell is much more complex than what we taste. Apparently, we can pick up around 10,000 different aromas. Wine, there is still much work being done on this, has hundreds of compounds (some say thousands) and these work individually and in combination. It is simply inevitable that some of these compounds will resemble other characters/flavours/aromas etc. I can line up a series of viogniers for you and I have absolutely no doubt that your reaction would be that you are smelling/tasting apricots – despite there being no apricots involved at all. The compounds give a very strong and dominant apricot flavour to the wine. There are a squillion examples. Clare Valley riesling often has a zesty lime character. Think of the blackcurrant flavours of cabernet, tho obviously there are many other flavours as well. One English critic sent Burgundians into a spin when he claimed that ‘good Burgundy smells like shit’. He meant it in a positive way (rural, earthy, farmyard etc etc, though did delete that line in the second edition of his book). In fact, just about the only grape that, when made into wine, actually smells/tastes like grapes is muscat. Hence, it makes sense to me that the same should happen with cigars/tobacco. When transformed into cigars, the combination of compounds therein gives off different flavours. Don’t forget that there is a human component in the production of both, including fermentation, which will alter the original flavour. Otherwise, wine would taste like grapes and cigars like tobacco leaves and nothing more.

Making it all the more difficult is that there is no doubt that aromas are inextricably linked with one’s individual experiences and emotions, not unlike music. So if I had a Partagas Lusi last night, as I did, while the Lions thrashed the hapless Bombers and Jonathan Brown proved himself the best player in the game, then I am likely to think favourably on Lusi’s – even tho I do believe it was a fabulous cigar without the bonus of the game – and quite possibly when I next return to it, it will immediately stir pleasant feelings or at least, positive anticipation. The reverse might happen if I was smoking something else while watching the Poms win the Ashes (God forbid that should ever happen). I probably could never touch that particular cigar again, which would be rather unfair to it.

Obviously, the gentleman from Pillow PA, who set this in motion, is technically correct when he says he is tasting tobacco but I would suggest, if you wish to get the most from your cigars (I don’t know about you guys but the cost of the things is such that I certainly want the most from them), you need to go on from there and look for more.

Obviously, tobacco varies in taste; otherwise, there would be just one cigar for all. A start is that some is mild, some earthy, some powerful - and immediately we are in the realm of flavours and heading to more than just that it tastes like tobacco.

If anyone can get hold of the wine wheel developed in California, it is not a bad start. Try 1. www.wineserver.ucdavis.edu/Acnoble/waw.html if you don’t have one. Although specifically for wine, i see no reason why we cannot adapt the concept to help us with identifying and describing flavours.

Its great use is in helping to identify the flavours you are enjoying in a wine but no reason that your own personal version can’t be used for cigars. The concept is that you start in the centre (it is a wheel), so with a white wine, your immediate reaction might be that it is fruity (I am assuming that you are not using this in the ‘sweet and suitable for doddery old dears’ manner but genuinely fruity – you’d be horrified at the number of people who when they taste sweetness have the reaction that the wine is ‘fruity’). Fruity is one of the major sectors - others include spicy, earthy, woody, nutty etc. Once we have selected from them, one then moves out where the choices become ever-widening forcing you to be more specific. Lots of people say they cannot go further. To begin, it is difficult for everyone and only practice will change this. So the next step, as you move out, is what sort of fruit. Is it stonefruit or dried fruit or tropical or citrus or berries? Once you have decided on that (and these things are not mutually exclusive – complexity is desirable and it is achieved in part by as many flavours as possible – no reason a wine could not exhibit some citrus and also some tropical notes, and possibly a lot more), and for example, let us assume you think it is citrus-like, then what sort of citrus is the next decision. Is it like orange peel rind (possibly a Sauternes style) or is it lemony (possibly young Hunter semillon) or is it limey (as mentioned, Clare riesling). None of these are absolutely definitive, as boundaries are often blurred – and many wines share characters, so just because you detect lime flavours doesn’t automatically make it Clare citrus – but this concept helps one move from a position of ‘just that it tastes like wine or is fruity’ and even more importantly, helps us provide descriptors.

This leads to the ability of some smokers to determine what a ‘blind’ cigar is, because they recognise the flavours. It also allows us to determine if a cigar is smoking as one would expect and perhaps most importantly, it simply allows each of us to identify, and therefore regularly buy, the cigars we prefer.

There is much more obviously – structure, for example. That is vital for both wine and cigars but not strictly relevant to the flavour debate.

It is possible to take this even further and put aside personal preferences and look at objective quality, tho this is difficult and probably not necessary unless you have some professional association or reason to do so. It is, however, what anyone in the wine game needs to do (eg, if I am looking at sauv blancs, I have to try and put aside my view that it is a toxic weed, the best of which would kill a brown snake, that it is not worthy of bottling and that any sauv blanc vineyard would be better served as a carpark and look to see if the wine in the glass is a good example of what it purports to be: ie, a good sauv blanc, whether or not it I like it).

Where this is most likely to be reflected on the forum is in the scores we give in our reviews. That begs the question – should we rate the cigars objectively or subjectively? Given that this is for our own enjoyment and education rather than a purely professional site (no offence intended, Guru), my view is to do it subjectively, and I’m quite sure that is what the vast majority of the forum has been doing. It does mean that scores may be slightly different from if we did it objectively.

If you think along the lines of the wine wheel (whether it be for wine or for cigars – and as far as I know, no one has ever developed one for cigars other than in their own mind – what a good project for our Guru in some of his endless spare time, these days used only to count his money), it will greatly assist in what many of us find tough – linking smells and tastes to language.

For me, this long, involved, rambling, attempted explanation of the concept of flavours is why when I pick up a cigar, I find tastes/smells other than just tobacco and is certainly one of the reasons I think these things are so fascinating and enjoyable.

I would be interested to know if forum members agree or disagree or have completely different ideas.

1.

[Freefallguy]

Excellent insight Shrink; it will enhance the enjoyment of my next cigar

I’m glad Ken inquired… I’m not one to inhale, and short of doing so, I’ve not figured out how to exhale through my nose. I suppose I’m missing part of the flavour profile. If I am in such company as Mr. Gargett however, I must be doing ok.

[n2advnture]

great post Ken & Shrink!

~Mark

[n2advnture]

» Shrink, terrific stuff. I smell the smoke first rather than actually taste

» it when cold and that plays a similar role for me, setting up

» expectations. This is partly because so much of taste is actually smell.

» The other point I’d make here is that I am one who doesn’t inhale (thanks

» Bill).

I made this same statement just this morning in response to a someone wondering how you taste earth, leather & wood because you don't actually eat those types of flavors.

Here was my response:

This is key statement, even if you don't blow smoke through your nose (which I recommend a few times throughout a smoke).

The reason I say it's key is that you are associating a olfactory perception of what something tastes like.

Using your examples, earth, leather & wood. How many times have you actually chewed on a belt or ate dirt (in your adult life that is)?

It's similar to when you smell fresh cut grass and kind of taste it in your mouth. You're not actually eating the grass but if you ate a food or smoked a cigar that had a "grassiness", you'd know what someone meant.

The passage of oxygen through your nose and through after you have drawn and expelled cigar smoke pulls those flavors through your olfactory system and over your taste buds at the same time which helps associate smells with actual tastes.

There have been many times where I taste something in a cigar that I am unfamiliar with and the first place I head is to the spice cabinet to figure out (by smell) what flavor I am tasting. It's amazing how it works.

I have also found that eating a wide variety of culinary delights helps a lot as well. (especially stuff you'd never thing to try - go out of your "norm" to enhance your palate).

I also wrote this a while back in regards to refining a palate but feel it applies:

The key reason for refining your palate is to aide in picking up the subtleties in your smokes, so here are a few tips that I believe will help you out:

1.) A "refined" palate doesn't come over night and isn't available to everyone. Genetics has a lot to do with it as well, so don't get discouraged. The main key is to try a WIDE variety of cigars and to concentrate on them when smoking. (ie: Don't be working on your car or mowing your lawn.)

2.) Smoke slower! Remember the one minute rule between draws. This is the most common reason people don't pick up certain flavors. For one, they smoke too fast which causes a cigar to get hot and bitter. Secondly, because they are smoking to quickly, they don't have a chance to savor the flavors and don't concentrate on them. Try it, I guarantee you will pick up more flavor.

3.) After taking a draw and expelling the smoke, take some air in through your nose and mouth (at the same time if you can do it). By drawing air through you mouth and nose you pull some concentrated flavors across your olfactory and can usually pick up a ton of subtle flavors this way.

4.) Drink water. Try not to drink anything that will over power or effect the flavor of your smoke. As you get good at discerning what flavors are in a smoke, you can then pair beverages that will compliment those flavors. (Rums, scotches, coffees, etc...)

5.) Read reviews. I am a firm believer in the "smoke what you like and like what you smoke" but reviews (and MRN's book) are a great GUIDE to leading you in the direction of smokes that fit your preferred flavor profile(s). I am not saying go buy a box of ANYTHING based on a review. If a review or a couple of reviews describe flavors that seem to be in your preferred flavor profile, then pick up a couple to try for yourself before committing to a box.

6.) Smoke a cigar that has been reviewed and try to follow along with the reviewer. You'll be amazed at how smoking along with someone else's notes will help you pick up flavors that you couldn't put your finger on.

7.) Take notes for yourself! Break the cigar down into thirds (first 1/3, second 1/3, final 1/3). Most cigars change flavor in these areas so it's a good general rule to follow. By taking your own notes, you slow down and concentrate on the flavors.

8.) SMOKE SLOWER! - It is worth mentioning twice.

9.) Once you get these basic techniques down and manage to concentrate on flavors and not techniques (like smoking slower!) I HIGHLY recommend blowing a little smoke through your nose about 2-3 times during each third. Some may argue that they do it every time but I do think there can be too much as the nasal cavity is sensitive and the hot smoke may effect it's ability to discern flavors later in the smoking experience. (You need to find a happy medium for yourself though).

I remember when I first tried it I did too much smoke and I thought my nose was going to burn off...my eyes wouldn't stop watering! LOL!

10.) Try new cuisines & beverages! Foods & beverages are a great way to develop a palate. Concentrate on each bit and try to pick up the herbs, spices, etc...

*Side note - I was smoking a small stick one time on my drive home from work and it had a certain flavor that I just couldn't relate to what it was. I was driving my crazy! So when I got home I opened the spice cabinet and sniffed through (and tasted) them all. Couldn't figure it out. A week later, I was enjoying dinner at one of our favorite places and BAM! I tasted the flavor in my meal that I had tasted in the smoke. Dried Apricots!

Hope this helps and happy smoking my friends!

~Mark

[jqmunro]

Shrink, I agree with you about the pepper. For me I taste pepper up in front of my mouth, but I like to discern spicy from pepper because it seems to be picked up further back in the mouth - right about at the entrance of the throat.

[Cam]

I taste cigars by relaxing and with every draw licking y lips and instantly nothing any flavours which even spring to mind, don't ask me how i know what dog **** tastes like?

[El Presidente]

Well done Shrink/Ken/Mark.

I essentially follow the same guidelines as Shrink described. I make it a point of enveloping as many of my senses as possible, as slowly as possible.

[EricDe]

Great notes, Shrink! I will be more mindful of all your points on my next smoke.

I generally do not inhale any smoke, although I tend to catch some when I inhale through my nose as I take a long time to push the smoke from my mouth.

I have been unsuccessful in trying to inhale wisps of the smoke rising from the cigar. This does not get me anywhere although after reading your post, maybe I need to do this early on. I have noticed that I get alot from incidental smoke from someone who is smoking near me. Can't figure out why that is.

Thanks again.

Eric