Beginner's Corner: A rough guide to brand flavours

[CaptainQuintero]

  The recent thread by @Tollickd asking about cigar suggestions brought up an idea of putting together a very rough list of flavours that each brand/marca usually aims for. This is tastes though so remember it's completely subjective!

Bolivar Malt, barley, coffee bean, sugar cane. Usually medium/full bodied and come out swinging with big flavours.

Cuaba Ok so this comes with a big disclaimer; THEY SUCK. At least this is what that majority of people will say instantly when you bring up the C word. Generally it has a grain of truth (Possibly more) in it. I think it's mostly down to the blend being a very dry smoke, it stands out abruptly to most Cubans. They can also suffer from being rolled with sometimes less than great tobacco and Cuba's on-off issue with rolling non straight-sided cigars. You need to get hands on or hand picked to get the most out of them. The Distinguidos however seem to be the stud of the bunch, by a long shot. They are big, rich sweet and creamy. Lot's of raisin, cream, peanuts and touches of leather and fresh bread. A real superstar in a generally lacklustre line. They can go toe to toe with almost anything else. The Divinos are also often spoken of highly by a passionate fanbase.

Cohiba When I first started I was told to not touch these as I wouldn't be able to appreciate them....Ignore this and jump in. Sweet honeyed tobacco, hay and milk. Sometimes cola bean, herbal notes and lemon grass. You want hand picked when you're spending big coin on a box. The Lanceros are a classic, but to be honest there is class everywhere, pick whatever size you like. The Siglo series tend to be a bit lighter and more mellow than the rest of the brand.

Diplomaticos Not much left of this brand sadly, grab boxes of discontinued when you see them. Otherwise you're stuck with the #2. It's still a great cigar, creme fresh and cashews, milk chocolate and well creamed coffee. The only downside is if you don't like the size. Jasmine tea is been sighted on occasion.

El Rey Del Mundo Again the brand has been decimated, it specialised in long and skinny. You're left with arguably the weakest of what the brand produced but there is still a lot of enjoyment to be had. The Demi Tasse is more concentrated in flavour, the Choix Supreme is a very light and mild smoke. Expect floral syrup, tangy peach/apricot/tangerines, fromage frais/cream

Fonseca Soft mellow, a definite sugar sweetness aroma and an undertone of fresh flowers. Sometimes a bit of mushroom. Generally just velvety laid back quality tobacco.The No.1 come out as top contender, generally just good quality tobacco to go (Not unsurprisingly) with port.

Guantanamera A machine rolled travesty. Bite your fingernails or pick your nose as a viable alternative.

Hoyo de Monterrey Essentially woods and cream. If you don't like that cedar/pencil shaving style wood these may not be up your street although the Petit Robusto has the least; a real cream bomb. The Des Dieux has a solid following of those who love rich creamy cigars.

H. Upmann Rich leather, shortbread, coffee creme, sometimes chocolate digestive biscuit. You can't go wrong with any of them in all honesty

Juan Lopez If you like Port then these are going to rock your world. Heavy blackcurrent, hints of dark wood and peat. The selection #2 is probably the most consistent Cuban out there and has been for years. 

Jose L Piedra A budget brand, this doesn't mean bad. Expect rustic typical Cuban tobacco. The Petit Cazadores will surprise you with it's down to earth and honest quality

La Flor De Cano Essentially a high end budget brand now, a shadow of it's former premium self. Generally a sweet grape core, hints of floral, sometimes bread and butter pudding. Better off looking into RE releases to get a premium offering.

La Gloria Cubana Class, pure class.Sweet and rich like syrup and honey folded into porridge and cream. The #4 is a stunner, grab whatever number comes available to you.

Montecristo Coffee creme. You're going to get it in spade with these. Milk chocolate raisins and vanilla come into play more often than not. The #3 is a stunner that doesn't get much talk. The Especials are more concentrated and darker; delicious. The Open series are a marmite selection. I don't know anyone who likes them but who knows you might be one! They aren't Montecristo, it's like an introduction to mild tobacco and that's about it. I don't see the point of them beyond an experiment to see what a cigar shouldn't be.

Partagas Big flavours! Sweet spiced cream, some say paprika, I lean more towards nutmeg. Leather abounds although this tends to fade with age. Perfume and floral notes can come and play

Por Larranaga Sweet toasted tobacco, berry fruits and caramel. The Petit Corona is a stunning cigar, big and brash when young, with age they settle down into caramel sticks. Occasional roast chestnut, blueberries, rosemary. They come in a 50 cab and you will find yourself wondering if you will smoke them all. Hint- you will, and you will start picking up a fresh box when you're only half-way through the current cab.

Punch Sweet dark fruits, oak smoke and forest floor, sometimes nuts. You need a good box or they can get a little exhaust-pipe like.

Quai d'Orsay Pure subtle class. Rich custardy and nutmeg. People say they need age to develop this and while it certainly intensifies with age, I find it there from the get go. The Corona is what Cuba is all about, it gives Cohiba a run for the money. If you see the Panetela jump, don't hesitate! The new bigger releases are fine but you are doing yourself a disservice if you don't try the Corona which started it all.

Quintero A budget offering like the Piedra but a lot more sweet. The Panetela is all rich hay and sweetness, it will surprise you, grab some. The Brevas are brash and in your face.

Rafael Gonzalez These hit you from left field, my experiences start off fruity coffee bean which moves to well roasted beef and then smoked cheese. Yes smoked cheese.

Ramon Allones Stewed plums and cream. Age bring these out to the fore but young you are still in for a treat. Christmas pudding in a cigar

Romeo y Julieta One of the classics. Normally the spectrum ranges from herbal and vegetal right over towards turkish delight and sickly sweet nectar-like berry/cherry jams. The best give you the full range.

San Luis Rey Sweet dark honey, stone fruits (Peach/Nectarine) and leather. If you are a fan of fruit salads then here you go ladies and gents.

San Cristobal de la Habana Buttery, rich and fragrant/floral perfume. Flies under the radar but given the chance all of the marca will give you a massive smile when you light up and see how different they are to most Cubans

Sancho Panza Talking about different to most Cubans...these are probably one of the most unusual cigars you'll ever try. Bitter high percentage dark chocolate, cream and sea salt. Yep the salty nature is probably not as surprising nowadays as salted caramels etc are all the rage but you'll love the change of pace. Pick up the Molinos if you ever see them.

Trinidad Coffee creme, cashews, creme brule, jasmine tea, walnuts. The Fundadores, Coloniales and Reyes show stunning character and intensity of flavour

Troya A machine rolled cheapie, nice and sweet, a step up from Guantanamera.

Vegas Robaina Rich tobacco, earthy cocao powder and mocha goodness.

Vegeros A relaunched economy range, decent little smokes but don't expect them to blow you away, bit of a mix between Piedra and Quintero while not particularly exceeding the best of either. Essentially basic Cuban tobacco in a range of fashionable sizes.

 

  Weeding out those flavours.

  Sometimes you just won't taste much, people all have different tasting abilities, anti histamines etc can effect it, as well as what you have recently drunk or eaten. A few helpful suggestions:

  Smoke slow, draw and as slow as possible and try to not get the cigar hot by taking fast and frequent drags. Hot = grubby and tasteless

  Grab a note pad. If you pick out a flavour write it down and next drag see if you can delve further into that flavour and see what you can identify. You might get sweet to start with, the second or third go you might pull out cotton candy or honey etc.

  Thinner ring gauge usually means more concentrated flavours, thicker means more mellow and softer. Simply put the thicker cigars have more filler tobacco used. There's a reason why Lanceros and petit coronas/dalias etc have been around for such a long time and only recently fallen foul of fashion trends. 42rg and under will generally give you a lot more intense flavour than larger cigars. If you're struggling with pulling flavours from a Cohiba Robusto then next time reach for a Lancero/Siglo 2/Corona Especial etc

  Feel free to add your own tastings! These are just from my notes and how I taste things.

---------

As of 2021 there is now a Part 2 to Beginner's Corner!

Beginner's Corner: A rough guide to ageing and aged Cuban cigars

 

Enjoy!

[beanaux]

Excellent, sir. Thank you very much

 

 

 

 

 

[Tollickd]

Amazing thank you so much! One question what cigars are longest to smoke? Long with smaller ring gauge or large ring gauge smaller length?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Chef]

Excellent little tutorial. I appreciate the effort.

[teewinot]

awesome. Thank you

[SwissPEP]

Thanks for this tutorial Captain

[AbasCigar]

Wow thank you so much @CaptainQuintero!!!! You're a living legend

This is worth pure gold. Or tobacco leafs:D 

[Tollickd]

Maybe this should be pinned to the top so if never gets lots in the forum!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[irratebass]

I like it! Thanks......I will use this for reference for future purchases. 

[CaptainQuintero]

37 minutes ago, Tollickd said:

Amazing thank you so much! One question what cigars are longest to smoke? Long with smaller ring gauge or large ring gauge smaller length?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

  I've found that length is generally the thing which determines time until you get into Double Corona territory. Eg a Corona and Robusto roughly take me about the same time. A Double Robusto is roughly about the same as a Lancero etc. Thickness does play a part though, eg if there's two 6 inch cigars and one is 42rg and the other is 55rg then the thicker one will take me longer. Maybe by a third?

  But I smoke very slowly, everyone is different

[Islandboy]

“pick your nose as a viable alternative” LOL!

Very well done! Thank you

[Jimm902]

Excellent ... many thanks

[cigaro]

Fine, have my upvote. 

[soonerwings]

Thank you so much for this! I have a box of RASS coming tomorrow and I’m going to see if I can pick out the plum/Christmas pudding flavor. Last summer I was fortunate enough to work in Europe for a few weeks and the RASS blew me away. I just picked out the “big” flavors like fruity sweetness, spice, and floral (probably mostly from the aroma).


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[bsubtown]

This is a great thread! Does anyone have rough estimates to how long boxes from each House benefit from being put down or is it more specific to the size and shape of the cigar? 

[LarryH]

Thank you, great write up.

[Lomey]

Excellent write up. Thanks!

Sent from my SM-N960U using Tapatalk

[shippers]

Brilliant! Key takeaway for me is to give Trinidads another go. Only ones I’ve had were a bit muted and didn’t pick up much (only had a few reyes)  so I didn’t get the fuss. But the flavour profile sounds like something I would love. Perhaps a Fundy next.

[CaptainQuintero]

Thank you for the kind words all, I remember seeing something similar when I first got started and it helped so hopefully it's an ok stepping stone

7 minutes ago, bsubtown said:

This is a great thread! Does anyone have rough estimates to how long boxes from each House benefit from being put down or is it more specific to the size and shape of the cigar? 

 It depends what you're after really. I know for example that for me:

  Monte no.3 from 4 years onwards start to get heavy raisins and vanilla, before that it's mostly coffee creme and bits of citrus.

  Partagas from 8 years looses a lot of the body and kicks up the sweet cream.

  Upmann from 6/7 years, the leather is starting to be replaced by cream.

  I've not noticed the size of cigar affecting the rate of ageing. It could do but it's just not something I've noticed personally (I haven't particularly thought to see to be honest!)

  I think generally you see most of what a cigar has to offer at around 3 years, from then on you're probably searching for the last 20% or so to change (If you're looking for those changes). There are exceptions of course. I know some people don't touch RyJ Churchills until a decade has passed, but they are looking for a very specific trait/smoking experience. The Asia Pacific REs seem to be blended to start to show their best from 5+ years.

  I wouldn't get too hung on age, you'll star to have aged stock eventually just as a by product of chasing boxes. Nowadays most Cubans, if not all, smoke exceptionally from just a year or 18 months sleep. Some are amazing fresh eg the PLPC. It really is just a case of trying and finding what you enjoy.

[Raskol]

Great write up  Thank You!! CQ

[GP]

You hit the nail on the head so many times here. Very enjoyable reading. Well done sir


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[JeffreyLebowski]

4 hours ago, CaptainQuintero said:

Guantanamera A machine rolled travesty. Bite your fingernails or pick your nose as a viable alternative.

???

[Rrm7284]

This is awesome. Even as someone who thinks he has figured most of this out, just reading it again is making me re-arrange my short list of things to try again. Well done!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[MigsG]

This is fantastic. How to bookmark this post?

[Bri Fi]

Thank you for taking the time to write this up. Very helpful.