When exactly do you taste/flavor a cigar?

[Shikar]

Good Evening

When I started smoking cigars about 15 years ago I had no clue on the subtle aspects of cigars, but just found it to be relaxing.

Today I am still at a loss as to all the variations of flavors I read about others experiencing.

I normally "taste"/"smell" a cigar minimally on drawing in the smoke, mostly on rolling the smoke in my mouth. Sometimes I partially exhale a little thru my nose, retrohale and get a different nuance.

I have recently started enjoying the aftertaste of smoke. once completely expelled from my mouth. This has been a more recent appreciation.

Essentially there are many different periods of enjoying the cigar smoke, the above were my experiences.

When, or during which phase, do you get the most flavor from the cigar?

Regards.

[stunod]

I pick up the most flavor after I exhale the smoke. I don't pick up subtle flavors like "lamb or apricots"... lol.., but I do recognize tastes like, coco, vanilla,pepper,cream,sweet.

I am sitting outside on a fine cool night with my Monte PE. Cream... some sweetness.. smooth ... Just frickin fantastic. I can't always explain the flavors because they are unique to cigars and they don't equate to food tastes.

[bradbrennan]

Good topic! I have to take a little smoke in my nose during the draw in order to get the most flavor!

[smokum]

I french inhale. For me its the best way to get as many flavors as possible. I had a decent palate but lost it with an extended time away from smoking. I am practising a lot now to get it back !!!!!!! Some people have a very defined palate and its fascinating to read those reviews with such focused flavor descritions.

[JohnS]

I pick up the most flavor after I exhale the smoke. I don't pick up subtle flavors like "lamb or apricots"... lol.., but I do recognize tastes like, coco, vanilla,pepper,cream,sweet.

I am sitting outside on a fine cool night with my Monte PE. Cream... some sweetness.. smooth ... Just frickin fantastic. I can't always explain the flavors because they are unique to cigars and they don't equate to food tastes.

I concur with what stunod has said here, he's summed up my thoughts precisely.

[garbandz]

depends on the cigar....I start to get flavors in the cold draw prior to lighting,and sometimes I will taste the cap after it is cut off.

Aroma lends itself to flavor,sometimes I get the most flavor in the first half,sometimes the second half.

Long skinnies for me deliver the best flavors in the second half,sometimes in the last quarter........

[CaptainQuintero]

Those first 5 draws on a cigar are the most intense for me, obviously there are flavours after that but hence as clearly defined as those initial ones.

Probably just due to your mouth getting used to the smoke

[Geo17pip]

I get the most flavor from a cigar when I get into the second third up until the end. The first third for me isnt as intense but then again this depends on the cigar.

[DropTopDee]

i get most flavors when i exhale and i kind of chew the smoke.

[bradbrennan]

Those first 5 draws on a cigar are the most intense for me, obviously there are flavours after that but hence as clearly defined as those initial ones.

Probably just due to your mouth getting used to the smoke

I like to keep the wrapper burning ahead of the core. If it diminishes I'll touch it up again and the flavors intensify. Any chance that's why your first draws are your favorite?

[busdriver]

Figuring out these flavors is definitely something I am working on. I have only regularly been smoking cigars for about 2 years. I know what I like but can't even name it. Thanks for or your posts guys I will keep reading now!

[Lamar]

Lol, I've never seen anyone french inhale a cigar. Video please. Do you smoke with Snoop?

I french inhale. For me its the best way to get as many flavors as possible. I had a decent palate but lost it with an extended time away from smoking. I am practising a lot now to get it back !!!!!!! Some people have a very defined palate and its fascinating to read those reviews with such focused flavor descritions.

[GavLew79]

Remember, aroma *is* flavour. Our mouths ('taste buds', if you will) can only discern sensations rather than flavours; salty, sweet, sour or bitter, and some would argue 'umami'. The olfacltory bulb is what discerns flavour and that is all to do with aroma. Try pinching your nose and drinking your favourite wine or beer; you'll taste nothing. As soon as you release your nose you'll pick up the aftertaste.

Anyway, I get sweet sensations when the smoke is in my mouth and a little bit after exhaling, but all the 'flavour' is while/after exhaling. The length of time for the aftertaste, or the 'finish' varies from minutes to 24 hrs or more and I guess is due to the residue of smoke particles on your tongue/mouth walls.

[earthson]

It often begins with the room aroma for me. This is often the most flavorful and delectable moment, and can be accentuated by taking small, short, fleeting sniffs off of the burning foot. The taste usually presents 1-3 base notes upon drawing and rolling the smoke around in my mouth. Upon exhaling and chewing the smoke as it leaves, I get the full depth and breadth of what the cigar has to offer.

I also tend to taste a shape of the flavor (rounded, thin, etc.) and, somehow, there are often colors or textures that I inadvertantly mentally pair with the flavors.

I like cigars.

[CaptainQuintero]

I like to keep the wrapper burning ahead of the core. If it diminishes I'll touch it up again and the flavors intensify. Any chance that's why your first draws are your favorite?

Yeah maybe, I've always put it down to smoke being a massive flavour and entity to introduce to your mouth such overwhelms the taste buds, kind of like a chilli or curry from the hot end of the spectrum; you taste the most initially before the most delicate parts of your tongue and noise are desensitized/burnt out?

[bradbrennan]

The length of time for the aftertaste, or the 'finish' varies from minutes to 24 hrs or more and I guess is due to the residue of smoke particles on your tongue/mouth walls.

I look forward to that long lasting aftertaste that only comes from a couple marcas for me.

It often begins with the room aroma for me. This is often the most flavorful and delectable moment, and can be accentuated by taking small, short, fleeting sniffs off of the burning foot.

The short sniff, nice I try to pull that in with every draw!

[FLB03TT]

The retrohale is critical for me to fully taste the favor of a cigar. Without it the experience would be dramatically diminished. Not sure I would even smoke cigars without retrohaleing a good portion of each draw.

Usually, the best, most flavorful, part of any cigar is the portion from 1/2 inch in from the foot to 1/4 inch before the nub. Often the first quarter inch is hit or miss and too close to the nub can be hot and/or bitter.

[FHFinster]

I pick up the most flavor either through subtle wiffs of the smoke that leaves my mouth and enters my nose. That's generally when I start to recognize the most outstanding flavor of the cigar. I've recently started to retro and MAN what a great feeling and the TASTE is sensational.

[bugg4672]

Ive only been in the cigar world for a few months, I have consumed many cigars since then. I will be glad when the day comes when I can break down what I smell and taste. I have made some steps forward, I can tell the difference in the few cigars that are in my rotation. I can taste the cocos, peppers, vanillas and chocolates, but when you get down to the really seriousness of it and breaking it down into 1/3's I haven't reached that level yet. I have found out that if I inhale really slow and hold the smoke in my mouth a few seconds then I really taste some of the flavors but just don't know what I'm tasting (if that makes any sense). However I have moved up from mild to medium flavor, that's a good thing.... right.

[joeboxer]

Like others have said before me, I get the most taste immediately after exhaling. I sometimes laugh at myself because I am sure that I look like some kind of connoisseur the way I smack my lips and roll my tongue around in my mouth after every puff. In reality, I cannot pick up the very subtle flavors that some people describe, but I do find that the more lip smacking and tongue rolling I do, the more enjoyable the cigar is.