Where does the taste come from?

[PuffTheMagicDragon]

When I read the reviews on different smokes, I see descriptions about how there is a taste of chocolate or a nutty flavor or hints of vanilla, ect. I was just wondering where do these flavors come from? I mean we are talking about pure, unadulterated tobacco with nothing added, so how does it pick up a flavor like chocolate for example?

[SFG75]

Excellent question A lot of the different hints of flavor come from where the tobacco is grown. Some regions like Panama and Jamaica are notorious for their mild flavored tobacco leaf. In the case of Jamaica(which is home to the Macanudo folks) efforts to introduce powerhouse cigar leaf to the island have been very unsuccessful. Tobacco leaf is very hardy, but takes on the individual attributes of taste that are incurred on the leaf by the leaf's respective growing region. Honduras and the Dominican Republic are widely known as being the exact opposite of Jamaica in this regard. Cuban exile cigar families(most notably the Toranos) experimented and tried to introduce Cuban seed to Honduras and the D.R. Likewise, if you want a spicy taste, try a Mexican cigar, or one that features Brazilian leaf!. Mexican leaf is meticulously grown in the San Andreas valley, and like the hearty geography of the region, gives you a dry, harsh taste. While Cubans are puros, domestic cigars get their unique flavor from the combination of leaves from different nations. The torcedor tries to replicate this over and over again in order to get consistency and a great tasting stogie. Take any cigar-throw in three or four filler leaf from various nations, choose a binder from yet another nation, as well as the wrapper from yet another-and voila!. I'll leave it to others to go on about the different kinds of wrappers and binders.

[CoventryCat86]

I don't Puff, since my taste buds are kind of shot, I personally don't taste much the way the Cigar Aficionado reviewers rate cigars relating their taste to shrubbery, spices and ingredients for a cake.

[chrisboy]

just like wine, where the grapes are mostly responsible for how it tastes, a cigar's taste is influenced by the tobacco leaf itself. now different manufacturer's have different secret methods of processing cigar leaf (time of picking, fermentation, aging, etc.), but it all has to start from a good quality leaf to make a good quality cigar.

it does not mean that when a premium cigar tastes chocolatey or nutty that it has been flavored with such (exept of course for flavored cigars). these are simply observations and associations made by smokers, which helps them describe what they are tasting. now if you cannot detect these flavors, you can simply say that the cigar tastes good, or bad. or that you liked it or not. and this is perfectly fine. it takes time and practice to effectively pick out and describe the complex tastes from a cigar smoke, and associate it with some other taste that you already know. but you do not have to. well, if you have lots of time, like i do, you can always try.

i find that i can relate to most of these flavors as described in cigar tastings. nuts, vanilla, earth, leather, cinnamon, chocolate, cocoa, cream, grass, floral, fruity, etc. among others. now i hope i am not generating any snob appeal here. i just find that i have an easy time picking out the flavors and comparing them to these 'items', and they do make sense most of the time. when i started out, i did not care about what others said about a particular cigar. now, i still don't. i would make it a point to try every cigar at least once, and formulate my own opinion and tasting notes about it.

it is all just about association. next time you smoke a cigar, and it tastes somewhat bitter, stop and think for a while. what does it taste like? it may remind you of a strong espresso, or dark bitter chocolate. if a cigar smoke stings your tongue a bit, it may remind you of slightly spicy black pepper, or whatever else you might remember. this, IMHO, is how some smokers do their tasting notes, which can seem hifaluting and absurd to the un-initiated. it is no big deal. just a fancy way of playing with words.

again, whether you can taste some leather in your smoke or not, is not the point at all. not even close. what matters is that you do enjoy the smoke. you are the one smoking it, and no one else can dictate how it tastes to you. good or bad, fruity or not, is all up to you.

hope this helps.

Chris

[SFG75]

Local gas station has a killer deal on chocolate swishers. Anyone want me to pick a few up?

[cigarsarge]

If you really want to taste the cigar, blow the smoke out your nose. It's like turning up the volume on your stereo full blast. Start with a mild cigar and work up to stronger ones. In short CC..blow it out your nose. You will taste the shrubbery.

[PuffTheMagicDragon]

I don't Puff, since my taste buds are kind of shot, I personally don't taste much the way the Cigar Aficionado reviewers rate cigars relating their taste to shrubbery, spices and ingredients for a cake.

Thanks guys. Your explainations have helped out alot.

[hex1848]

Local gas station has a killer deal on chocolate swishers. Anyone want me to pick a few up?

Maybe, but I would cut them in half lengthwise, empty out the tobacco and refill it with.. ahh never mind reminiscing the college days

[Drake]

Maybe, but I would cut them in half lengthwise, empty out the tobacco and refill it with.. ahh never mind reminiscing the college days

stupid thing i tried: well, i was thinking to myself about 4 or 5 months ago about how crappy swishers taste. but i use them for what they are good for on occasion. i wondered if it could be done with a good cigar. so i cut open a sancho panza and refiled it and it didn't work out. i wasted a cigar.