Browse for techniques on smoking a cigar and try some.

A good start is to properly light it. Any contaminates such as soot, lighter fluid or sulfer from a match will ruin even the best cigar.

Go an extra step and get some cedar spills (sticks) from a humidor or cut up some from a cigar box. Light the spill and toast your cigar by holding the foot just above the tip of the flame. With a spill or even a butane lighter do not let the yellow part of the flame soot up the foot of the cigar. Don't use sulfer matches,

Toasting is like reading the preface of a new book. It can give some insight into what to expect. You don't have to breathe the smoke directly when toasting, it will permeate the air around you. After the foot is aglow, blow on it to make sure it is evenly lit. Now you're ready for the first puff. Puffing is puffing, not sucking like a Hoover. Don't draw so hard that it causes a white hot forge effect. This only causes some chemical reactions that can change the flavors. Just puff, wait, puff, wait, puff.

Remember that tobacco is tobacco. If you don't like the tobacco taste then why are you smoking? Some consider it to be a spice or herb but it is just a plant with nicotine in the leaves. So it should taste like tobacco, not basil, poppy seeds, cumin, marijuana or anything else. The spicyness, leather, wood, earth, pepper, are simply terms to describe the variations of tobacco flavors. IMO the easiest to detect is pepper. A little tingle on the tongue similar to tasting pepper but not actually pepper.

Most importantly, it takes time. Get samplers, try different brands, vitolas, etc. The exact same tobacco rolled in a corona will most likely taste different than in a robusto. Why? A smaller cigar burns hotter than a larger cigar. Back to the puff, wait, puff, wait, puff. Don't rush it, just enjoy it.

I hope this helps. There are many members with a lot of knowledge. Maybe some others will chime in to help out a new friend.