bitterness in cigars?

jeff_connors

What can cause a cigar to go sour? Does smoking in a high humidity environment change the taste of a cigar?(its 100% here now and 22 degrees C)

j0z3r

Do you smoke fast? That can cause bitterness as you overheat the tobacco. I've noticed a certain bitterness that sometimes happens when the humidity is high, or if the cigar was a little too moist. Could be tar buildup as well, sometimes that happens where a lot of tar comes down to the head and you inadvertantly get some on your lips or tongue.

jihiggs

in my experience, high humidity mutes the flavor of a cigar, as does extreme cold. it seems the hotter it gets the better the cigar tastes. could be cause I drink a lot of water when its hot while I smoke.

kuzi16

ive found that a very dry cigar will have a bitter, ashy, pulpy kinda burnt leaf taste to it.

gmill880

Is it bitter or more of an amonia taste ?

jeff_connors

gmill880:

Is it bitter or more of an amonia taste ?

its a sour taste that just appeared on one of my 5 vegas 'a''s,
they have been aging for about 3 months .
I had one last night,,
it had a sour musty flavor during the first half,
it was really humid out while smoking(90-100%, its muggy as hell here right now, the garden outback is loving it).
they are stored in a vino at 18 degrees C with heartfelt 70% beads.
4 hydros say its on average 68-70
im hoping it was just a bad stick..

cabinetmaker

jeff_connors:

it had a sour musty flavor during the first half, ..

Sounds like a pocket of mold, but more likely just a bad stick. I had a Macanudo Maduro that tasted like it had a piece of plastic rolled up in it once. Just aweful. The rest of the box were fine, but that one actually gagged me to the point of puking.

gmill880

I actually had a Nub with a nylon string rolled in it ....sent it back to Jose Oliva for inspection and he sent some nice freebies ...I posted pics on here some time back ...

j0z3r

gmill880:

I actually had a Nub with a nylon string rolled in it ....sent it back to Jose Oliva for inspection and he sent some nice freebies ...I posted pics on here some time back ...

Gene man, you should have hung onto that....it was the prototype for the new line Nub Tampon that they were going to release if the maduro went over well.

phobicsquirrel

gmill880:

I actually had a Nub with a nylon string rolled in it ....sent it back to Jose Oliva for inspection and he sent some nice freebies ...I posted pics on here some time back ...

It's a new line, Nub, tampons for your mouth!!! lol...

gmill880

j0z3r:

gmill880:

I actually had a Nub with a nylon string rolled in it ....sent it back to Jose Oliva for inspection and he sent some nice freebies ...I posted pics on here some time back ...

Gene man, you should have hung onto that....it was the prototype for the new line Nub Tampon that they were going to release if the maduro went over well.

I know, I blew it by sending it back , damn and I'll never know for sure how long or what it was ...

nightmaremike31

gmill880:

j0z3r:

gmill880:

I actually had a Nub with a nylon string rolled in it ....sent it back to Jose Oliva for inspection and he sent some nice freebies ...I posted pics on here some time back ...

Gene man, you should have hung onto that....it was the prototype for the new line Nub Tampon that they were going to release if the maduro went over well.

I know, I blew it by sending it back , damn and I'll never know for sure how long or what it was ...

LMAO Ever had a hairy Nicaraguan? I've got some Nicaraguan Primeros that have human hair rolled in to them!! Good source of fiber! I'll have to post some pics tonight.

abramsjt

I’m sorry but I’m going to need to drag you all back to the point because this one hits home. As I’ve had many smokes turn bad, acidic or sour. Just last night I pulled out a Gurkha Nepalese Warrior and from the get go it was sour. Over the last year I’m finding more and more smokes like this. I find it tends to be the lighter or Connecticut wrapped smokes that seem to be affected most often. In recent memory I’ve had a Cusano 18, CAO Gold and Gurkha symphony go bad. It doesn’t seem to be my humidor. I’ve had smokes in there for two years and there still sweet as can be. I keep them between 60 and 70. I do smoke fast and draw long and hard. Do you think this would have that much of an effect right at the start of the smoke? Do you think the smokes could have been tainted in transport? The back of a UPS truck isn’t temperature controlled. If you have an idea why this is happening, even a theory I’d like to hear it. I’m really getting tired to tossing smokes out. Regards JT

j0z3r

abramsjt:

I do smoke fast and draw long and hard. Do you think this would have that much of an effect right at the start of the smoke?

I think that can be a lot of the problem right there, even from the start of the cigar. Tell me this, do you get really aggressive with the flame when you light the cigar? If so, you may be scorching the tobacco when you light it and exacerbating that when you draw long, hard and frequently.

abramsjt

Actually yes, I have been known to use up to three matches at once to light a smoke, even letting the flame touch the end. I don’t normally use a lighter.
Is it really possible that I am simply scorching the tobacco?

j0z3r

I've done it as have many on here. It may not be your problem, but it is possible. Food for thought more than anything else.

nsezell

well I had a nasty sol cubano cuban cabinet robusto tonight that I almost put out from the first draw, but kept trying to just cowboy up and get through the sour part...never happened. I always toast first, let it cool, then light it gently. I also try to wait at least 1min between draws, always light draws too. I will say that out of that box, I haven't had another like this one yet, hoping it was the only one...

j0z3r

I haven't had a bad CC yet, so I'm hoping that was the only one too...the only bad one they produced ever, I mean.

cabinetmaker

Smoked a Sol Cubano Artisan (part of the CoTM first month's premiums). It was the prettiest cigar I've ever hated. I mean, seriously, it tasted like I was smoking a cat ****. But it was pretty nice looking. Just AWEFUL...The draw was so tight my head almost caved in just trying to get some smoke out of it. Then the flavor finally hit me....toasty cat ****, with a slight barnyard aftertaste. It's still (mostly) in my backyard on the ground. It's still (mostly) pretty. And I still (mostly) hate it.

smbrink

cabinetmaker:

Smoked a Sol Cubano Artisan (part of the CoTM first month's premiums). It was the prettiest cigar I've ever hated. I mean, seriously, it tasted like I was smoking a cat ****. But it was pretty nice looking. Just AWEFUL...The draw was so tight my head almost caved in just trying to get some smoke out of it. Then the flavor finally hit me....toasty cat ****, with a slight barnyard aftertaste. It's still (mostly) in my backyard on the ground. It's still (mostly) pretty. And I still (mostly) hate it.

I had an Artisan not too long ago. About a quarter inch in the thin maduro wrapper portion cracked and came off. As for the draw and taste I dont remember it being too awful not particularly good but not awful.

j0z3r

I didn't like the taste of the Artisan one bit...to me, it tasted grassy and a bit sour. I smoked the whole thing as I wanted to give a thorough impression of the cigar in a review thread that was being discussed at the time...it was all I could do to get through it.

mattshell

So, if I like the taste of cat ****, do you think I'd like it? :-)

j0z3r

mattshell:

So, if I like the taste of cat ****, do you think I'd like it? :-)

Probably...but in that case, I'd urge you to seek therapy and put cigars on a back burner.

cabinetmaker

mattshell:

So, if I like the taste of cat ****, do you think I'd like it? :-)

I'd just save the money by not buying any cigars, and just picking up a free cat.

gmill880

cabinetmaker:

mattshell:

So, if I like the taste of cat ****, do you think I'd like it? :-)

I'd just save the money by not buying any cigars, and just picking up a free cat.

A shelter cat no less ...they eat faster and make bigger turds so you should be set ...

Lasabar

gmill880:

cabinetmaker:

mattshell:

So, if I like the taste of cat ****, do you think I'd like it? :-)

I'd just save the money by not buying any cigars, and just picking up a free cat.

A shelter cat no less ...they eat faster and make bigger turds so you should be set ...

I prefer Dominican Cats to Honduran.... I find the Dominican to be more toothy with a spicy finish

bbc020

somehow the burros have been dropped...now cat turds?

Fourtotheflush

abramsjt:

Actually yes, I have been known to use up to three matches at once to light a smoke, even letting the flame touch the end. I don’t normally use a lighter. Is it really possible that I am simply scorching the tobacco?

Additional question along this thread.

If you scorch/torch the cigar, how long does it take to recover?

Fourtotheflush

bbc020:

somehow the burros have been dropped...now cat turds?

I think the cat turds are what actually drop......

ha

clearlysuspect

cabinetmaker:

jeff_connors:

it had a sour musty flavor during the first half, ..

Sounds like a pocket of mold, but more likely just a bad stick. I had a Macanudo Maduro that tasted like it had a piece of plastic rolled up in it once. Just aweful. The rest of the box were fine, but that one actually gagged me to the point of puking.

I stinks that there are "bad sticks" out there. Usually, I only buy one cigar if I've never tried a brand before, and I get a "bad stick" I'm completely turned off by it. I nearly puked a month ago when I smoked a Rocky Patel Vintage 1992 and I would never think of smoking one of them again. Perhaps it was a bad stick. I'll probably never know.

jeff_connors

It was a bad stick...I never knew they existed/effected the flavor within a brand, iv had construction inconsistency from stick to stick within a brand. but never flavor....Russian roulette anyone?