when bitterness comes to town.

[El Presidente]

Hit that bitter Betty yesterday. It was a 21 BRC  that have been exquisite.  I haven't hit that issue before but pitched the cigar a third of the way through and lit up a Monte 4. God damn awful and akin to smoking a cake of charcoal.  I turfed it. Not one to give up I reached for a SC Principe. Not a hint of molasses to be found. Dry tobacco with a cough medicine edge. 

I realised into the Monte 4 that it was a Covid hangover. The Principe confirmed it. For those who have had Covid, how long does this go on for? 

 

[Huckleberry]

I have heard “long” Covid can last up to six months.  I believe I got the original strain, Delta and omicron weren’t around last January.

In my case it was a solid 6 weeks until I could enjoy a cigar again.  Maybe another month to be able to determine which color sweet tarts I just put in my mouth in the dark

The first cigar I tried smoking was a lightly sweet tipped gem from Steve Saka.  I knew it was sweet but tasted nothing of the actual cigar—it wasn’t very fulfilling.

Hang in there my friend!

[NSXCIGAR]

Always happens when I get a cold. Had one for the first time in 4 years 4 weeks ago. Probably COVID. Who knows. Stuffy nose and loss of smell and taste for about 3-5 days, then slowly returns over the next 10 days. If I smoke before I'm fully recovered cigars taste like burnt cardboard. Usually takes me out of the game for 14 days total and I can't get 100% out of a cigar for 21 days. 

But that acrid, burnt cardboard taste is exactly what happens to me if I'm not fully recovered. 

[HopeUgood]

2 hours ago, El Presidente said:

Hit that bitter Betty yesterday. It was a 21 BRC  that have been exquisite.  I haven't hit that issue before but pitched the cigar a third of the way through and lit up a Monte 4. God damn awful and akin to smoking a cake of charcoal.  I turfed it. Not one to give up I reached for a SC Principe. Not a hint of molasses to be found. Dry tobacco with a cough medicine edge. 

I realised into the Monte 4 that it was a Covid hangover. The Principe confirmed it. For those who have had Covid, how long does this go on for? 

 

For me it lasted months, at first I thought it was the cigars. After 4 months or so my taste seemed to be coming back.... then Omicron got me..... back to square one. 

I hope for you it is brief in nature!

[CaptainQuintero]

  Some in the long covid community still have it getting on two years now but it seems like most have it resolve in a week or two.

  People have been having bits of success with buying a selection of aromatherapy oils and sniffing each one a few times a day to try and retrain the brain/sense of smell in a kind of tasting panel style thing

[Greenhorn2]

Sorry pres but it will last a lifetime.  Might as well send me your collection since you won't be able to enjoy them! Lol.🤣🤣🤣. All serious, it just depends on the individual. I never really lost taste with covid but my wife couldn't taste nothing for 5 to 6 weeks. 

[Zigatoh]

I lost my sense of smell for about a week and a half, taste was still there to some extent but I could huff an onion or stick my nose in the cat food bowl and it was like fresh air, really bizarre.

So only a week and a half.

Sister in law got it over 18 months ago and still nothing tastes right...

[cgoodrich]

Not to make you freak out @El Presidente, but my son had the original version December 2020, and he’s still not fully recovered his acute sense of taste and smell. He loves to cook, now it’s taken the joy out of it.

[Cayman17]

It took me 12 weeks to get my sense of taste back in 2021. Diagnosed in March, didn’t even try to eat a steak until summer. It was awful. I was eating a beautiful filet when my wife and I turned to each other at the same time and both announced that we could not taste what we were eating. That’s when we knew we had it. 

[Bijan]

I guess it depends heavily on the person.

My son got covid Friday Jan 7th, I must have gotten it shortly after. Had cigars on the 7th, 9th, and 10th that tasted fine. Then I tested postive on the 11th or 12th, not sure that whole week is a bit of a blur. Didn't smoke again until last night, when I must have been over the covid. It was an El Principe, it wasn't too sweet for the first half, a bit earthy, but it tasted very very sweet about half way in.

Edit: may have spoken too soon, struggling to taste a monte 4 right now.

[Skypilot]

It was probably 6-8 weeks for me. Taste came back after about 3 weeks but smell took longer and that is really what affected cigars for me. It was odd to me that food tasted normal quickly but the sense of smell was much more important than taste in terms of cigars. I retrohale some but not much….so it wasn’t just that going on. 

[JZBdano]

For 3 days I couldn't taste anything, it seemed like it happened overnight.  Then gradually back to normal over the next couple days.  I had the rona/pneumonia pretty bad in November '21 so I didn't smoke a cigar for about a month.  They taste better than ever after the break.  My wife and couple of my adult children lost taste for 1-3 weeks and still say coffee has a tinfoil taste and some other things aren't quite back to normal yet.

[Troels]

My sense of smell is also gone since a few days - cross my fingers..

ive been wondering if it could change ones preferences if sense of smell comes back with little alterations? Might suddenly like / dislike new things

[CaptainQuintero]

3 hours ago, Troels said:

My sense of smell is also gone since a few days - cross my fingers..

ive been wondering if it could change ones preferences if sense of smell comes back with little alterations? Might suddenly like / dislike new things

  The issues with smell/taste means the virus passed the blood-brain barrier so it's most likely a neurological problem. It still seems like it's quite up in the air at the moment if it's down to viral persistence or damage or something else. If it's viral persistence it might explain why it takes a long time for it to resolve as the brain is one of the areas where a virus can hide from the body really well (As well as the gut, testicles, eyes).

  It does seem like it's temporary for the vast majority though 👍

[Raskol]

Had it on 15th Oct21. Recovered after 2 weeks 29th Oct21... Smell and taste was all over. Certain cigars was OK.. Certain cigars was just smoke and tasted bitter, bland, tasteless mostly... Didn't smoke much after that.. Around after mid Nov21, most I smoke was good.... Everything was tasting back normal after that.. Guess I was lucky to get them back that early... Hope yours will be soon Pres. Speedy recovery to you! Pres. 

[gweilgi]

Had Omicron a few weeks ago.  Two days of cigars tasting bitter and burned, and then everything was back to normal...

[Bijan]

Yeah had omicron last week. First cigar after tasted fine. Next two have been really off and I notice my sense of smell is way down.

It's weird I cut the second cigar and the cigar had a noticeable cocoa smell when cut before being lit. But five minutes later I'm smoking hot air and can't smell much of anything.

 

[Bijan]

14 hours ago, CaptainQuintero said:

  The issues with smell/taste means the virus passed the blood-brain barrier so it's most likely a neurological problem. It still seems like it's quite up in the air at the moment if it's down to viral persistence or damage or something else. If it's viral persistence it might explain why it takes a long time for it to resolve as the brain is one of the areas where a virus can hide from the body really well (As well as the gut, testicles, eyes).

  It does seem like it's temporary for the vast majority though 👍

Unclear some speculate it's something with the cilia in the nose. Would make sense to me as I tasted a cigar just fine after being mostly recovered and then nothing the next time.

 

36 minutes ago, Lord Verulam said:

What were your symptoms like overall? Wondering if severity of the illness has any determination on how long the senses come back

Don't know about length but apparently more likely to have loss of sense of smell and/or taste if symptoms are mild. My symptoms were mild. Cough, congestion, and chills one night.

[Connoisseur Kim]

14 hours ago, Raskol said:

Had it on 15th Oct21. Recovered after 2 weeks 29th Oct21... Smell and taste was all over. Certain cigars was OK.. Certain cigars was just smoke and tasted bitter, bland, tasteless mostly... Didn't smoke much after that.. Around after mid Nov21, most I smoke was good.... Everything was tasting back normal after that.. Guess I was lucky to get them back that early... Hope yours will be soon Pres. Speedy recovery to you! Pres. 

Didn't know you had COVID-19 experience in last year @Raskol. Looks like COVID-19 causes a serious damage to olfactory system based on FOH BOTLs' COVID-19 experience. It's good to hear that you're able to taste CCs like usual nowadays mate!

The Omicron is about to become dominant COVID-19 strain in Korea as well and it's already widespreaded in my hometown too 😢.

I wish your speedy recovery @El Presidente 🙏

[Bijan]

Update smoking an RyJ MF in the bitter cold and its outstanding. Hadn't  had such sweet fruit flavours from this box yet.

[Meesterjojo]

I'm told I've never ever had covid. As a healthcare worker I've been tested this way and that for the previous 2 years, vaxxed to the max. But something happened around this time last year and I experienced a loss of taste and smell which has yet to completely resolve. 

I believe it's related to my neuropathy. 

Anyway, somethings have flavor, others so not. As long as a cigar doesn't taste like an ashtray it's a great start. I've taken to getting a tongue scraper off Amazon. I've got both copper and stainless steel and they seem about thr same. And daily I use a bristled tongue brush which I picked up from Walmart. I change them out monthly. And I can go all the way back without setting off my gag reflex. I really feel like this helps. I've noticed I can now taste cigars in certain areas of my tongue. So while I'm not getting the whole picture, I'm getting something. 

I get most of my enjoyment from smell. I now tend to hold a cigar closer to my chest and face accordingly. Looks strange I suppose, but its lovely to me. 

You are going to need to methodically figure out what works for you. Some folks have yet to recover either taste or smell. 

I would recommend looking into alpha lipoic acid. I think outside the US this can be administered via IV. I've was using it as a capsule. Like 600-800mg once a day. 

Anyway, don't give up. This may be permanent, it may not. But this is a huge deal for someone dealing in cigars. Just figure out what works and what doesn't work. Look at treatments for sensation loss with neuropathy. Teach or train yourself odors and flavors. 

If that French vogue editor can write a book with one eye lid, we can do this.