Tobacco Leaves

[mrtr33]

Some wine enthusiasts can detect the most subtle of tastes. My wife is one of them. I've known sommeliers who can place wines in regions with just sips and swirls of wine in a properly-suited glass.

How in-depth are cigar aficionados? Can they tell the type of tobacco leaves that were used in a specific cigar blend? Does it get that in-depth? I can just imagine a group of cigar aficionados sitting around critiquing - "The Florida Sumatra wrapper wasn't aged long enough." I've looked online, but have yet to see anything like this.

I probably won't ever have this kind of palate, nor is it something I think I would strive for - I'm just trying to figure out how deep this rabbit hole goes.

This might be a good question for James Suckling.

[chefchris]

Go check out the PotPass Contest I held. You had to guess what region the puro was from.

I'm pretty good at being able to tell what kind of wrapper or what region a cigar is from. It helps to look up info on the leaves used first, then keep that in mind as your smoking it. It's like when you smell something and it reminds you of your grandma's kitchen from when you were young. I experienced it last week at work. I smelled something familiar and then the image of my kindgarden school popped into my head. My point is, if you know what you're smoking while you smoke it, it'll be easier to pick it out later.

[ashauler]

Go check out the PotPass Contest I held. You had to guess what region the puro was from.

I'm pretty good at being able to tell what kind of wrapper or what region a cigar is from. It helps to look up info on the leaves used first, then keep that in mind as your smoking it. It's like when you smell something and it reminds you of your grandma's kitchen from when you were young. I experienced it last week at work. I smelled something familiar and then the image of my kindgarden school popped into my head. My point is, if you know what you're smoking while you smoke it, it'll be easier to pick it out later.

Pot pass was cool. Since it ended, I have been trying to use the Puros to help me identify the different components within a blended cigar. Seems to be helping.

[mrtr33]

Thanks for the input. I read through the PotPass thread, that's interesting stuff.

I've been told that 75-80% of the flavor of the cigar is in the wrapper. Are other components of the cigar detectable as well?

My question was more pointed towards the different kinds of tobaccos used in cigars: Little Dutch, Comstock Spanish, Long Red, Pennsylvania Red, Lancaster Seed Leaf, Glessnor, etc. etc. I found this site, and was just wondering if these tobaccos are distinguishable enough in taste.

[ashauler]

Thanks for the input. I read through the PotPass thread, that's interesting stuff.

I've been told that 75-80% of the flavor of the cigar is in the wrapper. Are other components of the cigar detectable as well?

My question was more pointed towards the different kinds of tobaccos used in cigars: Little Dutch, Comstock Spanish, Long Red, Pennsylvania Red, Lancaster Seed Leaf, Glessnor, etc. etc. I found this site, and was just wondering if these tobaccos are distinguishable enough in taste.

Well, I don't ever expect them to be for me. I just want to be better able to pick out the profiles of different tobacco producing countries and be able to pic them out of a blend. If I tried to analyze it to the degree your asking about........all the fun would get sucked right out of it.

For example.....mexican tobacco is used as binders in a crapload of cigars, more than I ever would have thought given the bad wrap that mexican sticks get and, frankly, I don't really enjoy the Mexican puros a whole lot though some are O.k......but, if I smoked a few and got really familiar with the profile, flavors, etc...would I be able to pick that component out when smoking another cigar that uses Mexican tobacco? That is my quest.

[mrtr33]

I just want to be better able to pick out the profiles of different tobacco producing countries and be able to pic them out of a blend.

but, if I smoked a few and got really familiar with the profile, flavors, etc...would I be able to pick that component out when smoking another cigar that uses Mexican tobacco? That is my quest.

Interesting. Thanks for the input. That would be a neat trick, to pick a country out of a blend. I know that wine aficionados are aware of the grapes used in certain wines, beer connoisseurs can be particular about the type of hops used, but I didn't know how deep the cigar rabbit hole went.

I won't ever get there, either. I was just curious, having stumbled across that site offering different tobacco seeds and plants. Thanks for the input.

[chefchris]

For example.....mexican tobacco is used as binders in a crapload of cigars, more than I ever would have thought given the bad wrap that mexican sticks get and, frankly, I don't really enjoy the Mexican puros a whole lot though some are O.k......but, if I smoked a few and got really familiar with the profile, flavors, etc...would I be able to pick that component out when smoking another cigar that uses Mexican tobacco? That is my quest.

Well, from what I've heard you get no flavor from the binder. So that might explain it.