I am by no means an expert on the topic of cigars but, (being a cook and a wine connoisseur) I do know a bit about taste.
When you taste food most of the taste comes from smell. We all know this. All that the human tongue can actually taste is salt, sweet, and bitter. To develop your palate you need to develop your sense of smell. This may seem like a difficult task but it isn’t hard. It just takes practice. Another thing that helps is knowing what you are looking for.
I do enjoy a glass of wine. If it was up to me I would have a glass of wine with every meal. I like to taste all the little flavors going on in the wine, but being able to identify them took practice. Here is how I taste wine:
1) Pour glass less than half way full.
2) Swirl and look for impurities (cork from opening)
3) Take a deep sniff of it.
4) Take a small amount in and hold in the mouth
5) Smell again
6) Swallow
When I do this I can smell everything in the wine and identify what is in it.
But, how do I know what to look for?
Good question.
Look up what other people say about the wine. If they say it has a black cherry smell to it, go out and buy a black cherry. (Try it: Blackstone Merlot does in fact taste like black cherry) Cut the cherry in half and place it in a wine glass and smell it. Then pour the wine in another glass and smell it. Notice the similarities. After a while you learn to point out taste on your own.
How does this relate to cigars?
Another good question.
Read reviews. If someone says it has a hint of coffee then smell some coffee while smoking a cigar. I recently red a thread here where someone said they could taste Macadamia nuts. Buy that cigar and some macadamia nuts. Smoke the cigar and eat the nuts. Notice how they are the same. How else are you supposed to identify a taste if you don’t have a reference point? Basically, you need to learn the common smells and tastes of cigars. (Nutty, pepper, leather, and so on)
Develop a smoke strategy. Much like my wine tasting, I have found a way to taste cigars better then when I first started. I feel the cigar, I look at it closely and I spend a lot of time smelling the cigar pre-smoke. Before I clip, I lick the cap. I use the method described in “lighting cigars 101.” (that was a great thread) I make sure to blow at least one puff out through my nose (albeit a small one). All of this helps me understand the cigar better.
Read reviews, buy the flavors mentioned, try the cigar, and decide for yourself. At worst you’ll enjoy a few good smokes.
When you taste food most of the taste comes from smell. We all know this. All that the human tongue can actually taste is salt, sweet, and bitter. To develop your palate you need to develop your sense of smell. This may seem like a difficult task but it isn’t hard. It just takes practice. Another thing that helps is knowing what you are looking for.
I do enjoy a glass of wine. If it was up to me I would have a glass of wine with every meal. I like to taste all the little flavors going on in the wine, but being able to identify them took practice. Here is how I taste wine:
1) Pour glass less than half way full.
2) Swirl and look for impurities (cork from opening)
3) Take a deep sniff of it.
4) Take a small amount in and hold in the mouth
5) Smell again
6) Swallow
When I do this I can smell everything in the wine and identify what is in it.
But, how do I know what to look for?
Good question.
Look up what other people say about the wine. If they say it has a black cherry smell to it, go out and buy a black cherry. (Try it: Blackstone Merlot does in fact taste like black cherry) Cut the cherry in half and place it in a wine glass and smell it. Then pour the wine in another glass and smell it. Notice the similarities. After a while you learn to point out taste on your own.
How does this relate to cigars?
Another good question.
Read reviews. If someone says it has a hint of coffee then smell some coffee while smoking a cigar. I recently red a thread here where someone said they could taste Macadamia nuts. Buy that cigar and some macadamia nuts. Smoke the cigar and eat the nuts. Notice how they are the same. How else are you supposed to identify a taste if you don’t have a reference point? Basically, you need to learn the common smells and tastes of cigars. (Nutty, pepper, leather, and so on)
Develop a smoke strategy. Much like my wine tasting, I have found a way to taste cigars better then when I first started. I feel the cigar, I look at it closely and I spend a lot of time smelling the cigar pre-smoke. Before I clip, I lick the cap. I use the method described in “lighting cigars 101.” (that was a great thread) I make sure to blow at least one puff out through my nose (albeit a small one). All of this helps me understand the cigar better.
Read reviews, buy the flavors mentioned, try the cigar, and decide for yourself. At worst you’ll enjoy a few good smokes.
