There is something I've been thinking about lately...
If I were to explain to a new cigar smoker what the different tastes that we get from cigars are like...I'm not sure I could do too many of them justice...
For example...what does "cedar" taste like...what does "earth" taste like...what does "leather" taste like...
Some of the tastes I read in reviews, I'm familiar with through experience, and some I am not. There are plenty of cigars out there that I lack the vocabulary to properly review...I just can't put a word to the taste I can isolate and pinpoint, making it my secret, and one I wish I could tell.
Tastes in smoke are often different than taste from foods, because smoke is void of solids and liquids, and that can confuse the beginner taster. This seems to be the hardest part of explaining how something tastes with smoke as your medium. Most people know what a cherry tastes like, but when smoke has a cherry taste to it....there is no cherry, there is no cherry juice, there is no stem, there is no red fruit, etc. So how would you describe how a cherry tastes...without the cherry?
I want to put together and organize the definitive glossary of tastes, with the new cigar smoker in mind. Making the journey of getting to know their pallets, taste buds, mouths, their cigars smells, nasal "taste", and body, can be a long and discouraging process if they are not properly nurtured and informed.
What would really help is if members of this board could use your words to describe a taste. There are plenty to choose from...explain all of them or pick one or two you know for sure...even if someone else has already described it, I'd like to hear your take on it.....and if you know of a taste not in the list, by all means describe it for us....the more, the better.... :thumbsup:
These are all words I have seen used to describe tastes, not the cigars themselves...e.g.: "oily finish" as opposed to an "oily wrapper." Also, any insight to difference in descriptors would be great...e.g.: "hint" vs. "note" vs. "finish short/long/sharp" vs. "aftertaste (lingering?)"
leathery
toasty
nutty
woody
cedary
earthy
floral
sweet
licorice
chocolate
cherry
spicy
minty
flinty
charcoal
mushroom
tangy
gritty
salty
bitter
acidic
fruity
vanilla
coffee
chewy
creamy
pepper
macaroon
oily
ginger
dry
damp
cocoa
vegetal
pencil lead
tart cedar (as opposed to cedar)
tea
cardboard
coconut
cinnamon
meaty
oaky
wheaty
papery
leafy
metallic
charry
almond
caramel
Calvados <---- Proper Name?
black cherry (as opposed to cherry)
dusty
citrus
grassy
Hopefully I didn't repeat any...now let's have some fun!
:lol:
If I were to explain to a new cigar smoker what the different tastes that we get from cigars are like...I'm not sure I could do too many of them justice...
For example...what does "cedar" taste like...what does "earth" taste like...what does "leather" taste like...
Some of the tastes I read in reviews, I'm familiar with through experience, and some I am not. There are plenty of cigars out there that I lack the vocabulary to properly review...I just can't put a word to the taste I can isolate and pinpoint, making it my secret, and one I wish I could tell.
Tastes in smoke are often different than taste from foods, because smoke is void of solids and liquids, and that can confuse the beginner taster. This seems to be the hardest part of explaining how something tastes with smoke as your medium. Most people know what a cherry tastes like, but when smoke has a cherry taste to it....there is no cherry, there is no cherry juice, there is no stem, there is no red fruit, etc. So how would you describe how a cherry tastes...without the cherry?
I want to put together and organize the definitive glossary of tastes, with the new cigar smoker in mind. Making the journey of getting to know their pallets, taste buds, mouths, their cigars smells, nasal "taste", and body, can be a long and discouraging process if they are not properly nurtured and informed.
What would really help is if members of this board could use your words to describe a taste. There are plenty to choose from...explain all of them or pick one or two you know for sure...even if someone else has already described it, I'd like to hear your take on it.....and if you know of a taste not in the list, by all means describe it for us....the more, the better.... :thumbsup:
These are all words I have seen used to describe tastes, not the cigars themselves...e.g.: "oily finish" as opposed to an "oily wrapper." Also, any insight to difference in descriptors would be great...e.g.: "hint" vs. "note" vs. "finish short/long/sharp" vs. "aftertaste (lingering?)"
leathery
toasty
nutty
woody
cedary
earthy
floral
sweet
licorice
chocolate
cherry
spicy
minty
flinty
charcoal
mushroom
tangy
gritty
salty
bitter
acidic
fruity
vanilla
coffee
chewy
creamy
pepper
macaroon
oily
ginger
dry
damp
cocoa
vegetal
pencil lead
tart cedar (as opposed to cedar)
tea
cardboard
coconut
cinnamon
meaty
oaky
wheaty
papery
leafy
metallic
charry
almond
caramel
Calvados <---- Proper Name?
black cherry (as opposed to cherry)
dusty
citrus
grassy
Hopefully I didn't repeat any...now let's have some fun!
:lol: