So what are the lessons Learned from the Blind Tasting?

[Habanos2000]

Then there is the question of the age of cigars and to what effect it played in the results? For the next series of blind tastings I will select cigars with a minimum age of 5 years and we will see if age actually plays a significant role in selections.

Rob,

just a thought for another tasting; same cigar, different ages. For example, one cigar would have a year's age, another 3 years, another 3+ years. Let's see if we can figure out the age of each AND the cigar.

[cigaraholic]

This was a lot of fun for me, 40 years of smoking Cuban cigars and this was the first time I'd had the opportunity to do something like this.

What I learned/knew.

It's hard to guess a cigar when you haven't tried it before.

I have a very hard time buying Cohiba's. I remember when people looked at me sideways when they found out I'd paid $2 for a cigar. When I look at a Cohiba I see two of something else and being a heavy smoker I usually want quantity. As a cigar the Siglo II was a beautiful creamy smoke, as a Cohiba it was a disappointment. When I smoke a Cohiba I want to feel like I'm smoking a piece of sugarcane, if that doesn't happen I feel like I paid too much for the cigar.

Cuban cigars are a crap shoot. You can have your cigars selected by an expert and still come up with a dogrocket.

I like aged cigars, cigar #3 needs a few years to shine. But if I had the opportunity I would have exchanged it for another box, not enough body there for long term aging.