Odd Taste

jlee185
jlee185 Posts: 3 ✭
edited September 2022 in Cigar 101

I've only started smoking cigars since June. I've noticed that a lot of my cigars taste rather lackluster. I've smoked a number of different cigars (e.g., Oliva Serie V, San Cristobal Revelation, RP Sun Grown Maduro, Southern Draw Firethorn—although I recently tried a New World Puro that tasted fine) and they all kind of taste the same: not bad, not great; at times they are a bit bitter. None of them remotely match reviews that I've read online. I have a small humidor in which I use Boveda 65%. Could it be the humidity? Are my taste buds that underdeveloped?

Any thoughts or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

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Comments

  • Yakster
    Yakster Posts: 32,191 ✭✭✭✭✭

    Let them rest for a month or two and try again. Due to demand, many cigars are shipping too early.

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  • jlee185
    jlee185 Posts: 3 ✭

    I wondered if that could be the issue. Some have about 6 weeks or so, but nothing more than that. Thanks.

  • Yakster
    Yakster Posts: 32,191 ✭✭✭✭✭

    Could be the 'rona, also don't trust the BS reviews, you'll get hints of some of the stuff that they mention but it's not going to be rainbows and unicorns, it's a burning leaf. I think your palate also needs to develop.

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  • TNBigfoot68
    TNBigfoot68 Posts: 2,816 ✭✭✭✭✭

    Taste vary with many factors.
    1. Did the cigars rest and acclimate to your climate.
    2. Are you smoking it too fast.
    3. Humidity can effect it
    4. Do you retro hale, that also will open your taste.
    5. What did you just eat or drink?

    Bottom line take your time don't get in a hurry and relax. If you have time between 7pm cst- and 10pm CST join us on the vherf and smoke with a video call with other BOTL's check out the first post of "new vherf" thread.

    I was born a fool, and just got bigger!
  • jlee185
    jlee185 Posts: 3 ✭

    Thanks, y'all. These are good questions and quite helpful. Probably some combination of lack of humidor time, smoking too fast, and an underdeveloped palate.

    Thanks for the invitation. I might try to jump on and join y'all in the future.

  • 0patience
    0patience Posts: 10,665 ✭✭✭✭✭

    Stop sticking them where they shouldn't be. 🤣

    In Fumo Pax
    Money can't buy happiness, but it can buy cigars and that's close enough.

    Wylaff said:
    Atmospheric pressure and crap.
  • Mr Possum
    Mr Possum Posts: 576 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited October 2022

    Gotta use your nose more, puff your cheeks and blow out through your mouth, then close your mouth while still blowing air and it’ll push it through your nose, congrats, you just retrohaled and found a whole new aspect of cigar smoking.

  • whizbang
    whizbang Posts: 7 ✭

    I guess I'm at the other end of the spectrum. I've also been partaking for only about 8 or 9 months. Loved it right away and I always smoke at least one a day. I have probably smoked 250 or so of different brands and varieties and only found one that I truly didn't like.
    I guess my palate isn't very refined because I really don't taste chocolate, cherries, honey, raisins, caramel or any other flavors other than tobacco which is enough for me because I really like the taste of tobacco. Of course some more than others.
    Lucky me...huh?

    "It's easier to fool the people than to convince them they've been fooled" - Mark Twain

  • silvermouse
    silvermouse Posts: 23,959 ✭✭✭✭✭

    Same for me. I think it is more that one is reminded of the flavors rather than distinctly tasting them. For me, the exception is the darker, maduro and broadleaf wrapper that can be raisin-like.

  • whizbang
    whizbang Posts: 7 ✭
    edited January 2023

    Good advice. I'll try letting the tobacco "speak to me" instead of trying to extract any preconceived notions of what's supposed to be there.

    "It's easier to fool the people than to convince them they've been fooled" - Mark Twain

  • Itsfine
    Itsfine Posts: 20,850 ✭✭✭✭✭

    @whizbang said:
    Good advice. I'll try letting the tobacco "speak to me" instead of trying to extract any preconceived notions of what's supposed to be there.

    Just use your imagination. That's what those guys do.

    I am the Troll Jesus. Follow me, my children, or clutch your pearls tightly.

    @ScotchnSmoke still sux lots of large wéiners. And tons of small ones. 
  • Rdp77
    Rdp77 Posts: 8,308 ✭✭✭✭✭

    @TRayB said:

    @VegasFrank said:

    @whizbang said:
    Good advice. I'll try letting the tobacco "speak to me" instead of trying to extract any preconceived notions of what's supposed to be there.

    Just use your imagination. That's what those guys do.

    Holy cow, I checked out Halfwheel reviews. I cant get through the second or third paragraph. It almost seems like satire, like "The Babylon Bee reviews Cigars".

    Check out the “Minato-esque reviews” thread in the Ratings and Reviews section sometime lol

    If it don’t bother me, it don’t bother me. Just leave me alone.

  • Amos_Umwhat
    Amos_Umwhat Posts: 10,024 ✭✭✭✭✭

    This is funny! I guess we've all tried to get the cranberry floral sunshine tastes that others report. It's not just baloney, though. As I've gotten into it, sometimes, for a brief, fleeting moment I think "chocolate, hmm". Or something like that. It's really just my brain trying to assign something known to the momentary experience, I guess. I often taste leather, or coffee, which may be the coffee. Sometimes other things, cashews or cardboard or hay.

    At any rate, when these things happen, they may not necessarily happen again with another cigar out of the same box. I couldn't say "Oh, these are like raisin pudding" or any nonsense like that. I might say "I had one of these and for a second I was reminded of raising pudding". Feel free to insert subjective flavor of your choice.

    "If you do not read the newspapers you're uninformed.  If you do read the newspapers, you're misinformed." --  Mark Twain
  • TRayB
    TRayB Posts: 3,932 ✭✭✭✭✭

    @Amos_Umwhat said:
    This is funny! I guess we've all tried to get the cranberry floral sunshine tastes that others report. It's not just baloney, though. As I've gotten into it, sometimes, for a brief, fleeting moment I think "chocolate, hmm". Or something like that. It's really just my brain trying to assign something known to the momentary experience, I guess. I often taste leather, or coffee, which may be the coffee. Sometimes other things, cashews or cardboard or hay.

    At any rate, when these things happen, they may not necessarily happen again with another cigar out of the same box. I couldn't say "Oh, these are like raisin pudding" or any nonsense like that. I might say "I had one of these and for a second I was reminded of raising pudding". Feel free to insert subjective flavor of your choice.

    When I read "Half-baked banana bread without the banana...", I couldn't take anymore, and I realized it's mostly hogwash. Maybe he really tasted zucchini bread??

  • Rdp77
    Rdp77 Posts: 8,308 ✭✭✭✭✭

    She

    If it don’t bother me, it don’t bother me. Just leave me alone.

  • Vision
    Vision Posts: 10,168 ✭✭✭✭✭

    @Rdp77 said:
    Them

    FIFY

  • Yakster
    Yakster Posts: 32,191 ✭✭✭✭✭

    I had a Caldwell Yellow Cake taste like Chinese hot mustard. It wasn't good.

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  • Itsfine
    Itsfine Posts: 20,850 ✭✭✭✭✭

    @Yakster said:
    I had a Caldwell Yellow Cake taste like Chinese hot mustard. It wasn't good.

    I'm gonna smoke one tomorrow to see if I get that.

    I am the Troll Jesus. Follow me, my children, or clutch your pearls tightly.

    @ScotchnSmoke still sux lots of large wéiners. And tons of small ones. 
  • Wylaff
    Wylaff Posts: 5,491 ✭✭✭✭✭

    I have never once tasted "pepper" in a cigar...

    "Cooking isn't about struggling; It's about pleasure. It's like sǝx, with a wider variety of sauces."

    At any given time the urge to sing "In The Jungle" is just a whim away... A whim away... A whim away...
  • Yakster
    Yakster Posts: 32,191 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited January 2023

    I have a theory about that, just a theory, no offence intended. You have too much knowledge and experience in "pepper" to be able to use it as a primary tasting note. What I'm saying is you don't taste "pepper" because to you pepper tastes like other things.

    I have this going on with "coffee," things don't taste like "coffee" because to me coffee tastes like other things.

    It's like saying something tastes like a cigar, to a connoisseur it doesn't convey much information.

    Also, the sensory abilities of each of us are likely all over the map, I know that mine varies daily with things like the amount of sleep I've had, the weather, what I ate, my health, what cigars or pipe tobacco came before, etc.

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  • Rdp77
    Rdp77 Posts: 8,308 ✭✭✭✭✭

    @Wylaff said:
    I have never once tasted "pepper" in a cigar...

    I have but it has been on very rare occasion and it was more of the aroma on retrohale than actual taste on my palate. We had this discussion one night in Roman’s blind tasting. I believe most people associate the feeling of “burn” with pepper. There is a difference in sensation and flavor.

    If it don’t bother me, it don’t bother me. Just leave me alone.

  • Yakster
    Yakster Posts: 32,191 ✭✭✭✭✭

    I've tasted black, green, and white pepper, distinct from the burn.

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  • Itsfine
    Itsfine Posts: 20,850 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited January 2023

    Most of the time when I taste pepper, it's actually a wood spice like cedar, oak, etc. The only black pepper I've ever gotten had been from a neanderthal and not on the retro. I get white pepper on the pdr 1878 and the monte Cristo white. I occasionally get red pepper/chili on the front of my tongue or lips (excluding the punisher).

    I am the Troll Jesus. Follow me, my children, or clutch your pearls tightly.

    @ScotchnSmoke still sux lots of large wéiners. And tons of small ones. 
  • Rdp77
    Rdp77 Posts: 8,308 ✭✭✭✭✭

    @Yakster said:
    I have a theory about that, just a theory, no offence intended. You have too much knowledge and experience in "pepper" to be able to use it as a primary tasting note. What I'm saying is you don't taste "pepper" because to you pepper tastes like other things.

    I have this going on with "coffee," things don't taste like "coffee" because to me coffee tastes like other things.

    It's like saying something tastes like a cigar, to a connoisseur it doesn't convey much information.

    Also, the sensory abilities of each of us are likely all over the map, I know that mine varies daily with things like the amount of sleep I've had, the weather, what I ate, my health, what cigars or pipe tobacco came before, etc.

    This actually makes a lot of sense to me. For me coffee is a generic term whereas for you, Peter, Edward, John, Bob, and who knows who else, coffee is not at all a generic term. This I understand and agree with. The difference that I notice is people describing a cigar as “peppery” and that the ones they do and associate with pepper have more of a burn sensation whether it be on the tongue, lips, or through retrohale. Is “peppery” a sensation? Or does “peppery” mean it tastes like pepper?

    If it don’t bother me, it don’t bother me. Just leave me alone.

  • silvermouse
    silvermouse Posts: 23,959 ✭✭✭✭✭

    I vote for the peppery meaning burn sensation vs.pepper spice (black, green, red) distinction

  • Yakster
    Yakster Posts: 32,191 ✭✭✭✭✭

    It is confusing, I have had pepper like burn with cigars but I've also noticed less commonly pepper tastes like white and green pepper and even less commonly black pepper.

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