Kennel Palate

[mwaller]

Many years ago when we were wine tasting in Eastern Washington State, a winemaker told me that he always made a point of ordering foreign wines at restaurants.   This was essential to avoiding "kennel palate," which he described as a state of only recognizing and appreciating the limited range if flavors offered by local wines.  

When I first became interested in cigars, I would visit local B&Ms and pick out a few well reviewed Dominican or Nicaraguan sticks.  More often than not, I thought they tasted nasty, except for a few goodies from Padron and Davidoff.  While on vacation, I had a chance to try my first CC - a Cohiba Siglo II.  I was hooked.  For the past year or so, I've plunged deep in the CC world.  

There have been plenty of great smokes, but also plenty of stuff that was "not ready." Tonight, I decided to venture back into my small NC stash that have been sitting, unloved, for the better part of a year in a humidified Ziploc bag.  I grabbed an enormous My Father's Bijoux 1922.  Gaudy double bands, wrapper as tough as rawhide.  When I clipped the cap, I found half a dozen stems the size of toothpicks.. !  But then, I lit it.  Explosion of flavors, perfect draw, perfect burn.  Fruit, nuts, cream, coffee, chocolate.... The whole nine yards.  Perhaps I had started to suffer from kennel palate.  

So, what NCs do you Habanos die-hards enjoy?

[AlohaStyle]

None.  I enjoy my kennel.

[bman75]

5 hours ago, mwaller said:

This was essential to avoiding "kennel palate," which he described as a state of only recognizing and appreciating the limited range if flavors offered by local wines.

This is why I still smoke NC's.  After I saw the light on CC's and smoked them exclusively for a while, I felt I was becoming desensitized to some of the CC-specific nuances that made me love them so much.  I went back to smoking 3-4 NC's a week (Davidoff, Fuente) and that has made me appreciate my CC even more.

[Guest Nekhyludov]

This thread helped me discover a couple of new NCs ...

 

[bigfunkyg]

Once in a blue moon I escape the kennel and try something on the outside and usually end up  running back into the safety of kennel as quickly as possible.  Has a Oliva Serie V Melani while in Vegas last month.  It was terrible and tasted like something you would find on the floor of the kennel.  

[Corylax18]

I enjoy very few NCs anymore. About 14 years ago, thats all I had access to, and I was ok with that. It only took one Monte. 2 to ruin that for me.

There are very few NCs in my possession now, and I have only purchased about 50-60 in the last 5 years. Except for a select few cigars, they just dont do it for me anymore. I think there is more than enough different profiles within the multiple Cuban Marcas to keep my taste buds on their toes. 

[HavanaSunday]

While my general preference is CC's, variety is the spice of life.  Especially with some age on them its hard to write off NC's altogether.  Some of my preferred NC's are:

Illusione Epernay le Grande

Illusione Singulare 2010 through 2015

Illusione ECCJ  15th and 20th

Padron Family Reserve (Natural)

FFOX - Aged (3+ years) only anymore

Fuente Don Carlos Personal Reserve

Ashton VSG (Aged as recent years have been almost terrible - VSG from 2005 are great right now)

Ashton ESG - Aged (3+ years)

Smoking a variety of different marcas (I feel) allow you to catch nuances that strike your palate more than others.  And you'll find your tastes will change over time as well.

[Notsocleaver]

Unbanded box passes are fun for that. Get someone to trade you a few mixed in with some CCs, see if you can guess whats what.

[Fugu]

Frequent use of a blow-up doll will keep you appreciate your wife....

(I love a striking logic)

[mwaller]

8 minutes ago, Fugu said:

Frequent use of a blow-up doll will keep you appreciate your wife....

(I love a striking logic)

Woah... I did NOT see that coming!

[mygar]

1 hour ago, Fugu said:

Frequent use of a blow-up doll will keep you appreciate your wife....

(I love a striking logic)

Now thats funny lol

[BellevilleMXZ]

I'm headed to the good ole USA in april, will have to try a find a few NC to try and compare

[RickHendeson]

The Dog Rocket jokes write themselves

[investandprosper]

I keep a box of Padron 1964 Coronas (Maduro) around for that reason.  Sometimes you just want a change of pace, a spicier kick, etc.  Smoked the last one out of that box today, aged a few years by now, and it was stellar.  Creamy, spice, earthy, much like a CC but heavier and with that Padron profile.  Replacement box is on order.  Compared to most NCs, these never disappoint. 

[mwaller]

1 hour ago, investandprosper said:

I keep a box of Padron 1964 Coronas (Maduro) around for that reason.  Sometimes you just want a change of pace, a spicier kick, etc.  Smoked the last one out of that box today, aged a few years by now, and it was stellar.  Creamy, spice, earthy, much like a CC but heavier and with that Padron profile.  Replacement box is on order.  Compared to most NCs, these never disappoint. 

I'm with you on the 1964 Maduro - never had a bad one.  Unfortunately, I didn't have the same experience with the Padron 50 Years Family Reserve I tried tonight.  Flavors were uninspired, and it was way too strong.  I made it through the first third and that was plenty.  A fancy dog rocket to be sure!

[Knilas]

Ever once in awhile I get a hankering for a non cuban, and I agree that one style helps you to appreciate the other.

Sent from my XT1585 using Tapatalk

[mrretrohale]

Apart from being gifted a haul of cigars from the big smoke most of my NCs come from Adam at Nat Shermans in NY. That guy is legendary. Their No.2 is a go-to. Had a Fuentes Fuentes Opus x and a la Palina the last time I dropped in 

[TomF]

I have some NC's stashed away in a forgotten humidor, and once in a while I go in and pull out a Tatuaje, a Diamond Crown, or a Padron. It rarely ends as well as I had hoped it would, and I usually come away reminded of why they are stashed away in a forgotten humidor.

[TomF]

OK, so this thread inspired me to take a look at my forgotten humidor and I realized it's been a year since I bought that Hamlet Sampler Rob put up on the 24:24 last March. So I pulled out one of the Petite Coronas to have with my morning coffee and it's OK, but it again confirms that I much prefer the flavors of Cuban tobacco. That said, this is a very nice cigar. Earthy, leathery, peppery. Not bad at all.

[cigcars]

     I'll tell ya...I like nearly anything with an Ecuadorian wrapper. Ecuadorian wrappers have that rare smoothness, body and flavor that Connecticut shade grown wrappers seem to be getting shorter and shorter on these days. Peruvian tobacco too is also VERY flavorful IMHO.  Anybody try Mitchell Orchant's secret Inca blends cigars out from a few years ago?  I SWEAR it was like smoking the BEST doggone Habana seegar ever, Ever, EVER!!! And his Secret Incan blends are stock full on Peruvian tobacco. Just my humble 2 cts. 

[Islandboy]

On March 16, 2017 at 5:54 AM, HavanaSunday said:

While my general preference is CC's, variety is the spice of life.  Especially with some age on them its hard to write off NC's altogether. 

I agree. 

Admittedly I’m a newb, being in this for only 2 years, and enjoying CC’s for less than a year, but my personal observation is that a CC will almost always start out in at least the “good” category right out of the box, whereas more often than not, the NC’s I’ve purchased only reach “good” after a fair bit of humidor time. I’ve got a half box of My Father Le Bijou 1922’s that started out pretty awful in the bitterness department, but after sitting for a little over a year now, they’re a completely different and enjoyable experience. The exception has been Padrons....they seem to be consistently good to go right off the boat.