How long did it take for you to develop your "nose"?

Some of the cigar reviews I read state some pretty funky flavors and tastes that really sound as though the reviewer is taking the piss and living in fantasy land...
For me, some cigars are more tasty than others and i can pick out some of the flavors and, with a bit of imagination i can almost understand some of the funky flavors the reviewers mention - but this took some time to distinguish from the plain old taste of tobacco i got from all cigars when i first began smoking...
For me, I found Gurkha cigars helped to develop my tastes and often have pretty distinctive flavors i can pick out, but now i'm getting flavors on a broad range of 'gars.

So what about everyone else - how much flavor do you get out of a cigar, what are your most tastiest and distinctive cigars, and how long did it take you to develop your nose and start making taste distinctions?

I've been waiting 40 yrs. to taste chocolate in my cigars. Hasn't happed yet and I doubt it ever will. Tobacco tastes like tobacco. Some folks have vivid imaginations and are influenced by publications such as Cigar Aficionado. If my memory serves me correctly, no one else did either before those idiots started writing their drivel.

Doc.

I don't really read Cigar Aficionado or any other publications like that. It's also hard to trust retailer "tasting notes" as they're trying to sell you something.

That said, I can identify essences of different flavors when smoking tobacco. Mostly spice, leather, oil. Beyond that there's the texture of the smoke, the aftertaste of the flavors, and how well they blend together.

YMMV

Will

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Originally Posted by badwhale

I don't really read Cigar Aficionado or any other publications like that. It's also hard to trust retailer "tasting notes" as they're trying to sell you something.

That said, I can identify essences of different flavors when smoking tobacco. Mostly spice, leather, oil. Beyond that there's the texture of the smoke, the aftertaste of the flavors, and how well they blend together.

YMMV

Will

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What Will said. I have found things in cigars that remind me of things, cigars that make me feel like I am or should be sitting by a camp fire, earthy notes, woodsy notes. Like Will said I have found things like spice, leather, and oil, every once in awhile I may find a smoke that feels nutty or creamy but it really isn't that the flavor is there but it's just the way you feel about the smoke, it's the best way you can describe that particular cigar I guess.

I would point out two things to you gentlemen. If you weren't a cigar smoker prior to CA's inception, you've been influenced whether you read the rag or not. And two, from what I've read and personally experienced, Cuban and Cuban Americans think we're nuts for tasting the things we think we taste in cigars.

Doc.

I smoked a cigar last week that tasted like a Big Mac & French Fries :smiley36:

I smoked a java once. I tasted coffee.

I believe it is 90% marketing and 10% people sucking at talking. But scientifically it is possible for the same molecule that is responsble for say, the taste of citrus, to be found in a cigar. Whether this happens at a discernable level is a matter of debate (obviously). Again, marketing and people talking out their ass. Also, complex flavors like leather and oil are more difficult to describe than one dimensional flavors. I love the art/science barrier. Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar.

Dammit, if you're not tasting freshly mown hay with an aftertaste of mint-cherry frappachino cheesecake, you're not living.

Cubans....pffftt what do they know about tobacco?:smiley36:

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Originally Posted by badwhale

Dammit, if you're not tasting freshly mown hay with an aftertaste of mint-cherry frappachino cheesecake, you're not living.

Cubans....pffftt what do they know about tobacco?:smiley36:

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I don't know what kind of engineer you are but you might be interested to know that I'm having a similar argument on a audiophile board about folks who think they can hear wire.:smiley36:

Doc.

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Originally Posted by badwhale

Dammit, if you're not tasting freshly mown hay with an aftertaste of mint-cherry frappachino cheesecake, you're not living.

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Will, shoot me a PM with the link to those cigars. I love mint-cherry frappachino cheesecake and have been waiting for a long time to find a cigar that tasted like it. :smiley2:

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Originally Posted by Devil Doc

I don't know what kind of engineer you are but you might be interested to know that I'm having a similar argument on a audiophile board about folks who think they can hear wire.:smiley36:

Doc.

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He's really a frustrated Architect. :smiley3:

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Originally Posted by denver24

Will, shoot me a PM with the link to those cigars. I love mint-cherry frappachino cheesecake and have been waiting for a long time to find a cigar that tasted like it. :smiley2:

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delicious cigars

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Originally Posted by ashauler

He's really a frustrated Architect. :smiley3:

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:smiley28:

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Originally Posted by badwhale

delicious cigars

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I couldn't find them in a fat tip so I think they're sold out! :smiley7:

Whew!

For a while there I thought there was something seriously wrong with my palate so I'm VERY glad to see this thread.

I don't detect a lot of the flavors the CA folks state they do for cigars I've tried that they have reviewed and I thought it was me. (just for the record, my wife bought me a one year subscription to CA in April of 10 for my b'day, I've not renewed it....lol)

I can, and do detect stronger flavors like spicey, leathery and woody.

I find some cigar smoke has texture to it as well. Some can be kind of heavy and oily. When someone here refers to a cigar as being "toothy" I always assume they mean it's got a heavy/oily kind of texture to the smoke. I've also discovered "creamy" which I like a lot too. The Rocky Patel Vintage 1990's to me have a nice creamy texture to them for example.

But some of the stuff I've read in reviews in CA have had me shaking my head.

I'm glad to see it's not just me!

I know what I like and what tastes good to me and I've tried in the past to sit and really taste a cigar to see if I couldn't find all these other interesting flavors and was disappointed when I couldn't. Now I can stop worrying about it and just relax and continue to enjoy a good cigar without feeling like I'm lacking in something, or losing out on something.

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Originally Posted by denver24

I couldn't find them in a fat tip so I think they're sold out! :smiley7:

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delicious cigars with fat tips

Anything for you, bro!

Well, I'm certainly not a sophisticated CA type of guy, but I've experienced flavors/aromas that are reminiscent of wood, leather, and pepper in cigars. I also agree with the mouth-feel aspect of the smoke....some is creamier than others...lighter or denser...etc. Most often a good solid nasal exhale enhances the "delusion" I guess. No madagascar vanilla...or black cherries....or buttered toast here though.

To each their own.

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Originally Posted by CptnBlues63

Whew!

For a while there I thought there was something seriously wrong with my palate so I'm VERY glad to see this thread.

I don't detect a lot of the flavors the CA folks state they do for cigars I've tried that they have reviewed and I thought it was me. (just for the record, my wife bought me a one year subscription to CA in April of 10 for my b'day, I've not renewed it....lol)

I can, and do detect stronger flavors like spicey, leathery and woody.

I find some cigar smoke has texture to it as well. Some can be kind of heavy and oily. When someone here refers to a cigar as being "toothy" I always assume they mean it's got a heavy/oily kind of texture to the smoke. I've also discovered "creamy" which I like a lot too. The Rocky Patel Vintage 1990's to me have a nice creamy texture to them for example.

But some of the stuff I've read in reviews in CA have had me shaking my head.

I'm glad to see it's not just me!

I know what I like and what tastes good to me and I've tried in the past to sit and really taste a cigar to see if I couldn't find all these other interesting flavors and was disappointed when I couldn't. Now I can stop worrying about it and just relax and continue to enjoy a good cigar without feeling like I'm lacking in something, or losing out on something.

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You made my day, young fella:smiley20: and have added new vigor and vitality to my crusade against those who would perpetrate their pathologhy, gustatory hallucinations, upon the more rational among us.:smiley36:

Doc.

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Originally Posted by badwhale

delicious cigars with fat tips

Anything for you, bro!

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Sampler! What's better than fat tips? Being able to try all of the varieties of fat tips! Am I threadjacking? Sorry.

If I like the characteristics of a cigar I keep smoking it and smoke more sticks of it. I agree with what's previously been stated in that I can pick up spicy, leather, and sweet or not. Ultimately it comes down to whether I like it or not which is subjective on an individual level.

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Originally Posted by Devil Doc

You made my day, young fella:smiley20: and have added new vigor and vitality to my crusade against those who would perpetrate their pathologhy, gustatory hallucinations, upon the more rational among us.:smiley36:

Doc.

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Sweet, so now you're in a good mood.

Cigars don't all taste the same to me, and I would assume they don't to you either. Is taste not a subjective thing?