Flavor vs Vitola

[HoyoFan]

Hey guys, as some of you know I come from the world of NCs where very few cigars are puros, therefore the size makes a big impact on the taste given the fact that the filler is often from a different place than the binder or wrapper. Therefore a robusto can taste very different than a corona because of the amount of filler tobacco present.

My question when it comes to CCs is, given that they are all puros and come from the same place, do sizes and vitolas play as big of a role in flavor, or will a toro typically have a very similar flavor profile to a half corona of the same brand?

Thanks!

[Colt45]

Generally speaking, I think overall flavor is a matter of blend. I do feel that the thinner the ring, the more intense the flavor delivery.

[sactochris]

I am of the opinion that the smaller ring ring gauge cigars give you a more intense flavor due to having a larger wrapper to filler ratio.

 

There are lot's of Nicaraguan puros available in the new world cigar market.

[jonescej]

I have been smoking both CCs and NCs for several years and find size/marcas/vitolas to be more important for NCs. Some NC cigars from the same line taste totally different in Robusto versus Churchill sizes. With CCs there will be differences to be sure, but there should still be a recognizable profile for the brand, it's DNA so to speak. Keep in mind that IMHO there is a greater likelihood that a CC will be inconsistently rolled when compared to a premium NC brand. A Padron 4000 is nearly always going to taste like a Padron 4000, while a Monte 2 might surprise you now and again.

[HoyoFan]

I have been smoking both CCs and NCs for several years and find size/marcas/vitolas to be more important for NCs. Some NC cigars from the same line taste totally different in Robusto versus Churchill sizes. With CCs there will be differences to be sure, but there should still be a recognizable profile for the brand, it's DNA so to speak. Keep in mind that IMHO there is a greater likelihood that a CC will be inconsistently rolled when compared to a premium NC brand. A Padron 4000 is nearly always going to taste like a Padron 4000, while a Monte 2 might surprise you now and again.

Any thoughts on why

[jonescej]

Any thoughts on why

It's an interesting question.

I am inclined to believe that your original guess regarding the effect being a puro has on the flavor of a cigar is a good one. While the filler, binder, and wrapper leaves in a CC cigar are certainly different, from the cultivation location to the curing process to even the placement in the cigar roll, it seems to me that having leaves from different counties would amplify that to some extent.

That said, it would be a mistake to assume that just because a cigar is a puro that the leaves are all similar, as that cannot be further from the truth. As I said above, there are different blends for different brands, and for different lines of cigars. I just suspect, as you seem to, that the NC non-puro blends are more different, creating a more pronounce variance when making a cigar fatter/thinner or shorter/longer.

There may be a better explanation, but I suspect the real answer is hidden in the complexities of manufacturing, and well as the random variations you get with any handmade product.

Edit: I also just thought about the differences in culture between CCs and NCs. While things are changing, CCs tend to be thinner on average than NCs. I agree with my friends on the board when they say thinner cigars tend to be more flavorful, but I will also add that in a well constructed and well blended cigar, the longer and fatter the cigar, the more room for variation and variation in formulation. Given a NC line of cigars is more likely to vary in extremes of ring gauges and length, they might consequently vary more in flavor as well. Just my two cents.

[GavLew79]

BTW, Toro doesn't exist in the CC world as far as I'm aware, and large gregarious ring guages tend to be frowned upon by some, if not most. Not casting aspersions, just an observation. 

[ShortFatHokie]

21 hours ago, jonescej said:

With CCs there will be differences to be sure, but there should still be a recognizable profile for the brand, it's DNA so to speak.

I invite you to join in the Blind Tasting next year...

[jonescej]

I invite you to join in the Blind Tasting next year...

Ha! Good point! Blind tasting can be tricky. There is a lot of psychology in our perceptions.

It isn't unusual to see studies where people swear up and down that they prefer one brand of product over the other, only to be found in a blind testing to prefer a competing brand.

Sometimes knowing what one is smoking helps to psychologically prepare for tasting the cigar, and therefor a smoker will identify what was expected. That isn't to say they are making it up or they are crazy, only that our perceptions are influenced by our expectations.

All that said, I stand behind my earlier assertions. On average there is more taste variation between NC sizes in the same line than there is between CC sizes in the same line.