How long does it take to acquire a full appreciate for specific tastes

[reg]

I am a noob. Got my first shipment from the czar in not too long ago and theyve been sitting in the humi for almost 2 weeks. Maybe this wasn't long enough, but had to try em anyway

Anyway, I hadn't spent much time on the forums before making the purchase, so I went the unexperienced route of Monte #4s and PSD#4s. Smoked a monte tonight. Construction, draw, aroma was all better than the NCs I've smoked, but I still mainly just taste tobacco. Now I have no idea if the box just needed more time in the humi, or more time in general, its a MAR09 box, but I wasn't able to taste any of the delicious flavors I read in various reviews. Could be a bad box even, I don't know.

Let's assume the cigars are fine. How long did it take you guys to learn to appreciate cigars to the fullest potential? I'm guessing its a bit of an acquired taste, you don't just suddenly become an expert.

[Ken Gargett]

it may have helped to give them just a touch longer before trying but you'll find that the more you smoke and the more variety you smoke, the more you pick up. you'll find differences that become more apparent. no set time. everyone different. try and smoke a wide variety of different smokes. also, never hurts to record your thoughts. pist them if you want but even if just for yourself, it does help.

[shrink]

Hey, Reg

There are a number of reasons why you might not be impressed with the first stick out of a recently purchased box of Monte 4's...

They haven't had enough time in your humidor to stabilize.

This cigar is mass produced and is just too inconsistent.

You just might not like the Monte profile.

Now, pull out a PSD4, and smoke it to the nub.

If that doesn't knock your socks off, you better give up on Habanos!

[MrGlass]

For what it's worth, I'm only starting myself, but I know it took me many cigars before I began to pickup on some of the flavours people associated with certain cigars. And even now, it is still only a gradual thing. I can't smoke something and immediately associate the taste with something else. But each time I smoke a cigar, I seem to detect just a little bit more flavour somewhere. And it's so exciting that first time when you smoke something and you realise just how much you can detect.

Nick.

[Colt45]

Just to add a little to what's already been mentioned, I think sometimes expectations can be a bit high when it comes to Cuban cigars. That aside, if

you drink alcohol, do you remember the first time you ever tasted what is now a favorite beer, wine, or spirit? What did it taste like? It was more

than likely an acquired taste. For me, cigars are very similar in that respect. Enjoy the journey.

[FlyingFossil]

Exellent questionn and even better answers good going guys

Any bit of help to the new smokers is allways appreciated

Keep them tidbits of info coming

[El Presidente]

30 days is the bare minimum. I know it sounds narky....but allow them to rest.

Secondly check your humidity. Most of the reviews here with cigars humidified somewhere between 61% - 65% RH. If you are running higher humidity then dry box the cigars for a day before trying.

[reg]

30 days is the bare minimum. I know it sounds narky....but allow them to rest.

Secondly check your humidity. Most of the reviews here with cigars humidified somewhere between 61% - 65% RH. If you are running higher humidity then dry box the cigars for a day before trying.

The master speaks, I listen

But yeah, I didn't wait as long as I should have, but it was too tempting! My box is running at about 64%, and I dry boxed for about half a day. Will definitely try to be more patient. Luckily it is winter and it isn't easy standing outside for so long!

I really do look forward to trying some more cigars, and some more complex cigars. I do have the PSD4s to try, as well as a box of Punch RS11 06's in the mail. Plus I've been putting together a little wishlist of singles that I want to try. Reaching about 20 cigars that seem like must tries. And now Prez's top 25 list will probably double what I want to try

[smll2]

Reg,

I've been smoking CC's for a year or so. Success can be had with the 30 day rule. However I have found that my recent arrivals have smoked better with several months on them in my winecoolers. The more month's resting the better...overall.

[OZCUBAN]

Hi Reg

Just my 2 cents worth, i would imagine it would take a life time to fully develop ones palette the others have given sage advice, leave them as long as possible when you get them let them rest ,and smoke as wide a variety as possible to further develop your taste,and to wok out which flavor profile you prefer

Happy smoking

cheers Oz

[reg]

Appreciate the comments. Top notch as usual. Just for the record, here is a rough draft list of singles I want to pick up

Coro

Partagas P2

Partagas 898 varnished

Monte 2

Bolivar BF

Upmann 46

Upmann connie 1

Dip 4

Siglo IV

Por Larranaga Petit Coronas

Punch Punch

Punch Del Punch

Punch RS12

RASS

and newly added thanks to the top25 list, the monte especial

Should probably throw the lusitanias on there too

[finecigar]

As much as it is exciting to purchase new cubans and try them out, always remember to let them rest. Aging is important with these delicate friends of ours . Over time everything gets better, if taken care of properly.

Btw, I give kudos for your profile picture. Leon The Professional is an incredible film. Hope you have seen it and appreciate it-

[PADDYWHACK121272]

Check out the Cigar Flavour Wheel in the review section:

http://www.friendsofhabanos.com/forum/inde...showtopic=95707

I find it really useful. Flavours that are described as 'chocolate', 'grass','tea' or whatever are used to describe sometimes quite subtle nuances of flavour and in my experience are a useful 'shorthand' way to describe the character of a flavour rather than a literal description...am I making sense here?.....

[Ellery]

Check out the Cigar Flavour Wheel in the review section:

http://www.friendsofhabanos.com/forum/inde...showtopic=95707

I find it really useful. Flavours that are described as 'chocolate', 'grass','tea' or whatever are used to describe sometimes quite subtle nuances of flavour and in my experience are a useful 'shorthand' way to describe the character of a flavour rather than a literal description...am I making sense here?.....

I second the flavor wheel. I am fairly new to CC and use the flavor wheel when I am reviewing a cigar. It helps me put a name to a flavor instead of trying to "figure-out" what I am tasting.

[reg]

As much as it is exciting to purchase new cubans and try them out, always remember to let them rest. Aging is important with these delicate friends of ours . Over time everything gets better, if taken care of properly.

Btw, I give kudos for your profile picture. Leon The Professional is an incredible film. Hope you have seen it and appreciate it-

of course, seen it and love it. Pick up the blu ray if you don't have it already

[stargazer14]

You may also consider that the Monti #4 DOES taste like tobacco, at least for me anyway.

I get lots of different flavor hints from lots of cigars, but that smoke to me is just a fine tobacco taste.

Now the D#4 should be different for you. I hope. If not, keep working at it!

[thechenman]

With the M4, I definitely tast the tobacco...sweet tobacco, sometimes the sweetness is quite pronounced, but I also get slight hints of chocolate and coffee in this smoke. While it can be inconsistent due to the quantity produced, I find it a great cigar when on. Not entirely without complexity...and defintelyoffers up more than just tobacco flavor, at least to my palate.

[samb]

Ive been smoking on and off for about 3 years and more regularly for the past 6 months with Cubans for only the last 4. I can definitely taste different flavors, but Im still unsure how to place them to other flavors. Its a bit tough for me to pick out specific flavors in the smoke.

[Professor Twain]

I have several comments on how you might accelerate the development of your appreciation of specific tastes. I think that you can create a climate that will enhance your ability to notice and label tastes. For one, try to smoke in the company of one or more friends who are smoking the same cigar, and compare notes. It can help if this friend is an experienced cigar smoker and taster. Another suggestion is to put yourself in a mindset of focus much of your attention on the tastes of the cigar, instead of putting your attention toward whatever else might be going on (sports, hot babes, or even conversation). Try an occasional blind taste testing, where you smoke unbanded cigars with a friend. That will really focus your attention on discovering and labeling the tastes.

Enjoy the journey...

[Van55]

I agree with most of the above advice.

You violated the 30 day guideline, and you might have paid for that violation by smoking a cigar that needed to acclimate longer to your preferred storage conditions.

The cigar is less than a year in the box. Generally speaking, smoking after a full year in the box is better -- or gives the cigar a chance to reach a better state of maturity.

Monte #4 are inconsistent simply because so many of them have to be produced to meet demand that they are made even if the perfect blend of tobaccos is not available for them.

Finally, I am convinced that those of us who regularly smoked non-Cuban cigars before venturing into the world of Cuban cigars have had our palates "conditioned" to expect the typical tastes and textures of non-Cuban cigar smoke. Cuban cigars are considerably different from that expectation, and I think it takes far more than one Cuban cigar for someone who is used to non-Cuban cigars to "get it" about Cuban cigars.

Be patient. Take notes. Smoke in solitude sometimes and really concentrate on the experience. Take in a mouthful of smoke. Close your lips and open your mouth. How does the smoke feel and taste on the back of your tongue and at the roof of your mouth. If you can, expel some smoke through your nose and study the aromas and tactile sensations.

Finally, keep in mind that there are genetic differences in people's senses. My wife can tell from a floor away if the cat has peed on the floor upstairs. I can't. Some people just have more sensitive senses of taste and smell. So if you can't discern hints of mushroom stems and cardamom seed in a cigar, that might be just you. Don't sweat it. Smoke what you enjoy and enjoy what you smoke.

[gfoster]

I'm at the beginning of this journey as are you. However, I do have the benefit of having gone through sensory training for beer judge certification where we learned to identify and name all sorts of crazy flavors in beers. I have found that this sensory training really helped me to get a leg up on conditioning my cigar palate.

From what I've experienced thus far, flavors I've encountered in cigars aren't so much "flavors" as they are "hints and feelings" so to speak. Just like when I taste "stonefruit and green pepper" in a beer, I'm not truly tasting a ripe peach or a crisp bell pepper, so much as the taste I get hints at those things and calls them to mind. With the last cigar I smoked I got hints of milk chocolate, vanilla and gingerbread spice... now it didn't taste at all like a christmas cookie, but the buttons that got tickled in my palate were the same ones that get tickled by those more identifiable things.

One of the things we do to calibrate our palates beer-wise and during sensory training is to read other people's tasting notes and to discuss what we are tasting in a group. I encourage you to do that as well when you're starting out with a cigar. Read what other people have gotten from it, and that will help you build up your vocabulary. Write down what you are experiencing and tasting. Share it with others. Then, at a later date go back and smoke the same cigar in isolation and see what you can come up with before going to your notes and see how much you can pull out on your own.

Without having the vocabulary built up in the first place, it's really hard to describe what you are tasting and experiencing.

-- Gary F.

[LeafLover]

Reg,

I asked the forum what CC's to try off intially before committing to buying boxes. And, the list you posted here is pretty consistent with what was suggested to me in my thread. I bought five singles of the following cigars from the list and I list them here ranking them from best to not the best:

1) H Upmann 46- bought a box

2) RASS- bought a box

3) Hoyo De Monterrey Epicure #1- next box purchase

4) Punch Por Larranaga- next box purchase

5) Punch Punch- will not buy a box

Of course, before this I've already tried and bought boxes of Monte #2's, Partagas Serie P and have quantities of Bolivar Belicosos Finos and Cohiba Siglo VI's. FYI, if given the choice, buy boxes of cigars vs. buying packs of 3.

Leaf Lover

[PigFish]

There has been some pretty significant input from some folks who have smoked enough cigars to know what they are talking about here.

I think if you smoked a truly excellent cigar you would know it to be excellent; excellence being an absolute. Just how good it was would require previous experience. In your case it does not appear that this has happened. I mean if you like cigars and you like good tastes, then you will know when you smoke an excellent cigar, or you should be able at least to say that you liked it with no additional experience required! Perhaps you don't like what CC have to offer. Perhaps, you smoked an average or below average cigar! There could be many reasons.

The myth that the Cubans don't make a bad cigar... well that is bullshit! Cigars, like people are all different. Most are average, some excel, and some are below. I believe in a cigar Gaussian model, meaning that most cigars are average and to a lesser number, excellent or poor. Many of us choose CC's because we believer the Gaussian for CC's is shifted to the better when superimposed over that of the NCC. On average we believe them to be better. The amount of the shift is commonly argued here. I believe the shift is enormous; so much so that I won't smoke NCC's. Others smoke NCC's and believe they have a place based on their tastes.

It is up to you to decide who you are.... not any of us. We can comment about cigars in general but I don't think we can explain them to you. There are reasons however that any cigar does or does not perform. The key is to try more and see for yourself. Then... come back and tell us what you have found and share your experiences with others. Good or bad we are here to discuss it all. The biggest mistake (IMHO), one that has been alluded to already, is that it takes more than one taste to discover the magic or the myth. If you take anything from this post as worth noting... it would be just that!

God's speed on your journey! - Piggy

[finecigar]

of course, seen it and love it. Pick up the blu ray if you don't have it already

I am a true fan of that film and yes the blu ray looks terrific. Just got a new blu ray player not too long ago.. a nice one by Samsung.