Who can taste chocolate?

[JMH]

I can taste basic flavours like coffee, chocolate etc, and sensations like sweet, spicy, creamy/rich, smooth etc, but I think some people take a bit of poetic licence when describing cigars. Some examples I came across in a cohiba esplendido review are: "Walnut butter rubbed on saddle leather baking in the sun, cinnamon, brown sugar, clay soil, and dried cayenne" (describing the pre-light aroma), and "summer hay, exotic woods, brazil nuts, dried ginger root, shitake mushrooms, coriander seeds, cardamon and white pepper, a beguiling cocktail of coconut milk infused with tobacco leaf and lemon grass" (describing the actual smoke).

[shrink]

» Six kids?

»

» + your wife enjoys cigars?

»

» Does she have a sister?

»

Yes, she has a sister who enjoys chewing tobacco.

She doesn't have any kids... not sure why! ;-)

[El Presidente]

Shrink....do you have a picture ?

[n2advnture]

I believe that there are several more factors that all culminate into one VERY complex relationship.

"Hard flavors" - stuff you can actually go grab and taste (ie cocoa, anise, vanilla, coffee, etc...)

"Soft flavors" - this, I believe, can vary with the individual(s). It's more of interpretation of what the taste/aroma would be if you were to eat it. (ie hay, grass, etc...) But if you were to actually eat grass, hay, etc...it wouldn't be as of a distinctive taste as the flavors in the cigar. If that makes any sense. Kind of like when you smell fresh cut grass in the Summer. Your nose leads you believe that you can imagine the taste.

I also believe a lot of it has to do with the genetics of the individual(s) smoking the cigar as well. I have a pretty good palette but not nearly as good as some.

One last variable is of course proper storage and smoking technique (ie smoking a lancero tastes more finesse to get the flavors out than smoking a robusto). Many people miss out on the subtle flavors by smoking WAY too quickly. Remember the "1 minute rule" between draws. Most of the time longer than 1 minute is better but it's a good start for those who smoke too quickly.

.

[Ken Gargett]

with this debate popping up again, i have pulled out the old thing i did when we first looked at it in case anyone is interested and filed it under 'taste chocolate/flavours in cigars'.

[n2advnture]

For the guys who can't seem to taste the subtle flavors, I would also recommend keeping a cigar dossier. List the vitola, box code and then break the cigar into thirds.

When I first started (on my 4th dossier) this really helped me to concentrate on the flavors and forcing myself to write them down made me associate a tangible flavor with what I was tasting.

Also, grab a smoke from the same box code as 1 that has been reviewed and follow along with the review to try to associate the same flavors. Works pretty well.

~M

[JMH]

» For the guys who can't seem to taste the subtle flavors, I would also

» recommend keeping a cigar dossier. List the vitola, box code and then

» break the cigar into thirds.

»

» When I first started (on my 4th dossier) this really helped me to

» concentrate on the flavors and forcing myself to write them down made me

» associate a tangible flavor with what I was tasting.

»

» Also, grab a smoke from the same box code as 1 that has been reviewed and

» follow along with the review to try to associate the same flavors. Works

» pretty well.

»

» ~M

That's some really good advice n2

[Maverick]

El Prez,

I might be able to learn to taste Chocolate if you hurry up and hold some cigar information (READ: SMOKING) evening, which you can teach some of us the subtleties of the different flavours.

Just a hint.

Regards

Ross...

[Guest hellbub]

Three+ year old RYJ Churchills and VR Don Alejandros bring back fond memories of chocolate.

Have developed a new love for the savory waves of creamy vanilla in seven year old Lusitanias (never really got them till this year) and RA Gigantes, which started off great, and have progressively gotten better, and better year after year after......

I am a true fan of the ageing process and, what it has to offer in flavor and complexity. My only regret is that it's taken me this long to figure it out. (More like stumble into it)

[Ken Gargett]

couldn't agree more re the lusi's.

[cigardawg]

Not sure about true chocolate, but I have definitely tasted raw cocoa before. Then there is vanilla, caramel, black tea, citrus, wood (multiple kinds...mostly taken from the smell of the wood in the real world), toasty flavors, nuts, coffee-espresso, etc. I think there are all types of flavors in cigars.

What we have to realize is that these flavors/aromas all come from molecules or a combination there of. When tobacco burns, many, many different chemicals are created as a result of the combustion. The various chemicals do, indeed, have particular taste and aroma characteristics.

If someone says "I only taste tobacco", I say, "what does the tobacco taste like?" It has a character, a counterpart to the rest of the world.

Just my two-cents worth.:-)

[Loki]

problem with my isp

[Loki]

Ken, I don't think I would smoke, drink , or eat if i wasn't for all the wonderful flavors that exist. I think tasting specific flavor can be learned. I try to imprint pure flavors into memory and then actively try to discern them in my cigars.

I also drink bourbon and can taste flavors such as vanilla and rockcandy.

If I'm looking for chocolate I go with 87' Davidoff #1. The few I have smoked seem to be choclate bombs with hints of tea and cream with a good core of tobacco. Too bad I'm down to the last few.

[strayvector]

» Hey guys, first post. Try taking a piece of chocolate and letting it melt

» in your mouth while you keep your nose plugged. That is what choclate

» tastes like. Everything else comes from its aromas. When I am drawing on

» a cigar I like to breathe in the smoke coming off the burning end. That is

» where I get the most satisfying smells to accompany the actual taste of the

» cigar.

Good point. Have to keep in mind that no matter how many tastebuds you have, the palate can only taste sweetness, saltiness, bitterness, and sourness (spicyness is a sensation). Flavour, on the other hand, is a combination of taste and aroma. Recognizing flavours and being able to describe them comes from experience and what you're used to. Hence, many of us can describe chocolate, honey, cream, toast, and coffee, but not many will describe flavours such as peel, anise, cinammon and nutmeg. As one gains more experience, the more flavours one can describe. The one flavour that I've seen posted many times on cigar boards, but have eluded me and may never gain is the infamous "tastes like sweaty ass".

[El Presidente]

Some excellent points raised here.

It is true that perhaps .1 of 1% of people on the planet share the combined culinary, wine and Habanos experiences that Ken does. His profession is wine tasting and this month alone he will have 10-15 events including lecturing in South East Asia.

The combination of great wines, great cigars, great food and great locations will expand your capacity to determine flavours immeasurably. How allive are your senses when you in a beautiful spot in Portugal, eating glorious food, accompanied by stunning women and drinking 200 year old port?

[shrink]

Chocolate, or cocoa, is an elusive but delightful flavor to discover in a cigar. I have tasted hints of cocoa in a lot of smokes, including Partagas, RyJ, and even Boli BF's, stronger chocolate hits in aged Monte 2's, but the most pronounced cocoa flavors I have yet enjoyed are in the San Cristobal El Principe.

[Elric]

I've had a box of SC El Morros that tasted like hershey bars...thats is NOT an exaggeration.

code was EOG CCNE

[Spud2]

With most cigars I don't find a flavor profile that sticks out, but have had occassions when cigars tasted creamy, peppery, chocolaty, coffee or woody. Have ussually enjoyed these blends and sought out more of the same cigars.

[dysfunctional]

My palet is not that refined...I just put down to I like and I dont like.... basics I can tell..spicy or peppery...but dark chocolate ?? Steak sauce..honey...way over my skill set... I dont want to think too much about my smoke...just enjoy it.... that is what counts

[jay8354]

Cigars are in a way very much like wine where each has its own distinct "flavours".

Now cigars and wine are very much upto the individual on what they like and don't like. More importantly, what and how it taste to each person.

Some people taste a lot of flavours in cigars, others mostly cool tobocco smoke. I find that with cubans, you tend to pick up a lot more of these "flavours". Also, as you learn and smoke more cubans, you tend to find more as you go along. But then again, that's my opinion.

[idesign]

There are certain flavors I can pick up. Chocolate, cedar, spice, pepper, vegetal, honey etc...the easy ones. I can never figure out some that people use like, saffron, white pepper as opposed to black pepper, cheescake, honeydew melon, pork loin, etc.

I love the reviews that state the cigar has strong notes of tobacco...WTF? It is tobacco...:-D

[thschrminm]

Taste is subjective and I think that most of the time the majority of the smokers get the profiles of the many brands and sizes pretty close...

I get most of the impact on the draw for strength and richness and then I get the flavors most of the time when I draw air into my mouth and palate and swish the air around my tongue...

This is when the cocoa, almonds, cedar, pepper etc. come out for me most of the time....

[smk819]

Try a Le Hoyo Des Deiux, it has the most distinct chocolate flavor of any cigar I have smoked.

[El Presidente]

Dragon...why not just adopt Ken and get it over with :-)

Ken works to s simple formulae:

Amount of cigar flavours discrernible = Amount of wine consumed.