Budding cigar amatuer checkin in

P

Picstr

Joined Jan 2006
28 Posts | 0+
Hey all, about 10 years ago(cigar craze was hitting) I decided to go on a quest to see what this cigar thing was all about, I just went to to the local cigar shop and picked out about 7 cigars. I can't remeber all the brands but one was a Macanudo, some flavored conglomeration and of course the oh so steady 858 flor fina(maddy) guess which one I picked.
Right now I'm in the midst of the same quest but thanks to this incredible forum I've got alot of info that I didn't have before.
It kind of started last friday night at a local cigar shop/lounge called the Corona Cigar Comp.(Orlando,FL) a buddy and I decided to go over and find a good cigar.
The whole place is simply a huge walk in humi, simply put it's incredible. Prior to walking in, my fav stick was the 858 FF Mady, I got with the dude in charge and asked for some recommendations based upon what I've liked. He came back with Cusano 18, La Gloria RF, RP 92 and a La Aurora sun grown which I decided to try with my fav beer Red Stripe, while decent it didn't really do anything for me and didn't really stand up to the 858.
A beer or 2 later I decided to get something a bit smaller so I went with a Camacho SLR, I pretty much loved it, very creamy all the way to the end. Thru this week I've tried the others and the only one that stood out was the RP 92 but maybe that was because it was chosen for my Steelers victory cigar.
Tried an AF Cuban Corona today it was OK but got hot and spicy at the end, I think I prefer the bigger ring cigars.
All this babeling has brought me to these questions, how subtle are the differences between premium cigars? Is it subtle?
Would being able to detect minute details in a cigar require me to have the palette of a wine taster? To be honest when I read reviews on a cigar and they say hints of coconut or cocoa etc, then I smoke the same one I'm thinking leather and nuts thats it.
If this is something that must develope over time to be able to taste the characteristics then cool I'll just keep doing what I'm doing. If its something else then I'm hoping you fine people will hit me with the clue bat.
I'm sorry this was so mind-numbingly long but I guess I got on a roll, I appreciate the opportunity to yack.
Regards,
Pic
 
Well, welcome to the forum! :D

It's a great place and there is always more to learn.

Don' t be shy about making new posts!

Glad you have decided to join the maddness! 8)
 
Good deay, and welcome to the circus. Don't worry about the rambling part we are used to it here, we are all a bunch of rambling cigar smoking crazies.

As for your questions, it will take time to develope that palate, meanwhile you can have fun trying some of the literally thousands of cigars that are out there.

Fasten your seat belt and enjoy the trip!!
 
some cigar manufacturers are very different from others, to me a fuente tastes very similar to any other fuente, now compare that to a cao and its drasticaly different. rp and camacho are very different. and there are subtle differences in every blend and size. that will take years to work out. i find the hardest part of explaining the taste of a cigar is to articulate what i am detecting. then i read some one elses post and think, yea, thats exactly it. but i cant think of the comparisons myself.
 
This is a great place to learn. It seems that somebody will answer you in a post.
 
Hey guys thanks for the tips, it looks like I'm heading in the right direction, I'll just keep trying to get my taste buds to mature.
By the way, friday I had a Partagas spanish (rosado?) any way it was a gold band not black, it was the first time I really noticed a big difference between cigars, at first puff there was this really nice hickory scent maybe due to the Madi wrapper?
Any way since my last post I've bought a (I hope) decent humi and am conditioning it now. I also bought samplers of the red, blue, and cuban labels of the cigar.com sticks. For my limited pallette I don't see any real reason to spend more $ than what my pallette can discern, make sense?
Again thanks for the help all.
Regards,
Pic
 
Welcome Picstr!! I am also very new to this forum as well as this hobby; I just started smoking cigars about four weeks ago. I fully understand the situation that you find yourself, and you are definately on the right track. These guys/gal have been a tremendous source of information and advice for me... someone always has the answers to your questions. There are people here in every stage of their cigar smoking adventure, so do not ever be intimidated thinking that your questions are too basic to be asked.

As for palate, I had the same questions. I was not detecting much difference between smokes until I started to try all different kinds of cigars (thank you Brenda!) Now I still do not distinguish nuts and honey, or sugar and spice, but sure see the differences in strength, smoke texture and volume, spiciness, smoothness etc. As every day goes by, I get more and more from my cigars. I also made the mistake of only smoking one cigar of every kind I could get....I would recomend getting at least two or three...sometimes a cigar grows on you, or you find that what you thought was wonderful the first stick, is actually so so after you try others and come back to it...(I thought that Partagas Black Label was IT for me....then after trying some other similar cigars, 5 Vegas A, I find that I still like it, but it is not as good as I first thought (and Vegas is cheaper). I agree with you that while in the early stages of smoking, there are a LOT of low to mid priced cigars that are BIG on flavor and smoking enjoyment. I personally will be saving exspensive cigars (anything over $10 a stick is in this catagory for me) for when my palate can appreciate them. Wow, this is turning into a book....see you are not the only rambler here either :p
Take care, and happy smoking! 8)
~S
 
Hey Spider thanks for the additinal tips, I did find your post a while back regarding the whole taste thing, I spose I should have done a more thorough search before I posted, huh?
Oh well, I still have some coffee looks like it'd be a good time to try out this C10.
Regards,
Pic
 
welcome aboard, if you like the 858 maduro I find the C18 a bit Mild for my taste , I have been a full body cigar smoker for a long time but I do like to drop down to a medium for a change * even a Mild Avo some times, I go for flavor more than power most of the time , but there are times when you just want the knock down punch of a heavy hitter like a Mambacho or a Camacho SLR , I have a creamy light Butera Vintage Lonsdale that I will get to some time today, great flavor but not a lot of power, it will go well with my Sunday Kona coffee. , well it is getting close to noon, time to make a little lunch, a new fresh pot of Kona & head out to the Qtr.Deck for a cigar & some Jazz on the CD player, hummm maybe a little Beethoven instead today ! Enjoy, Vince
 
Welcome to the forum!

Just like you and Spider, I'm new to cigar smoking and my palate hasn't developed yet. So far I've only been able to taste & tell the difference between mild, medium, and strong (bold) cigar strength. I would recommend the new Bolivar for you to try and its a mild/medium stick. Its also very smooth and goes well with a glass of Navan vanille cognac.

Enjoy your time here, its a great place to learn and make friends.
 
Once again hello all,and thanks much for the nice welcomes.
jihiggs, I think with my limited experience I kind of see where you're comming from concerning the AF's, out of the cigars I've tried the AF's seem real consistent in burn and taste.
Vince, I've read quite alot of your posts, when you start describing what you're cooking or planning on cooking, well suffice it to say that after reading I'm pretty full, you know how to live life man.
By the way the humi isn't quite ready to be used yet I think I might have wet it down to much, the digital is reading mid to high 70's so obviously thats not going to work, I figure another night with the humi opened or cracked may do the trick.
Again thanks for all the help.
Regards,
Pic
 
Picstr, welcome. You have come to the right place to learn and not be critisized for it. If you ever have any questions, just post and you will be happy with the amount of replies you will receive.
 
Picstr said:
Once again hello all,and thanks much for the nice welcomes.
jihiggs, I think with my limited experience I kind of see where you're comming from concerning the AF's, out of the cigars I've tried the AF's seem real consistent in burn and taste.
Vince, I've read quite alot of your posts, when you start describing what you're cooking or planning on cooking, well suffice it to say that after reading I'm pretty full, you know how to live life man.
By the way the humi isn't quite ready to be used yet I think I might have wet it down to much, the digital is reading mid to high 70's so obviously thats not going to work, I figure another night with the humi opened or cracked may do the trick.
Again thanks for all the help.
Regards,
Pic
Click to expand...


The high 70's is ok to start putting cigars in , the cigars will suck up the moisture & the humidity will drop, soon you will get readings in the low 60's after the cigars go in ! Enjoy, Vince
 
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