Cigar Aficionado is absolutely crazy

[elderboy02]

I know they have always been crazy with their reviews (12 year old Madagascar vanilla, etc.), but I was reading their review in the 2009 calendar for the month of July is as follows:

Nub Habano 358
"It's fat and stubby but attractive and draws well. There's an initial cedar blast in the smoke that also shows coffee and a touch of pencil lead flavor"

Now, when was the last time you walked into your local B&M and asked them for a cigar that tastes like pencil lead? :hn How do you even know what pencil lead tastes like unless you ate pencils as a kid? :confused:

[macpappy]

I know they have always been crazy with their reviews (12 year old Madagascar vanilla, etc.), but I was reading their review in the 2009 calendar for the month of July is as follows:

Nub Habano 358
"It's fat and stubby but attractive and draws well. There's an initial cedar blast in the smoke that also shows coffee and a touch of pencil lead flavor"

Now, when was the last time you walked into your local B&M and asked them for a cigar that tastes like pencil lead? :hn How do you even know what pencil lead tastes like unless you ate pencils as a kid? :confused:

Reminds me of the Fuego 777 I tried to smoke this weekend. The first taste I recognized was pencil lead.

[rrplasencia]

think i'll start a new wtt thread, i have plenty of pencils as trade :ss

[ucla695]

I know the taste of pencil lead, but I can't say I've ever tasted it in a cigar. :)

[dunng]

:hm

[Skywalker]

Some cigars seem to put lead in my pencil!!!:r

[BryanB]

I always taste pencil lead right after soggy cardboard. :r

[tunes]

I know the taste of pencil lead, but I can't say I've ever tasted it in a cigar. :)

Nor would I want to ...:ss

[Ashcan Bill]

Did they happen to mention whether it was fresh pencil lead or aged pencil lead?

If it was aged pencil lead, I may have to try one someday. Hard not to like fat stubby aged pencil lead smokes.

[BC-Axeman]

I've seen pencil lead mentioned in wine reviews too.

[borndead1]

I've tasted pencil lead in many cigars. It's a sign of a dog rocket from my experience.

[Footbag]

I hate to admit it, but pencil lead or pencil shavings are in my cigar vocabulary. I associate it with an unpleasant flat mineral flavor. Hard to explain but when you taste it, you know.

But, you should've known you'd find some crazies at the Asylum.:ss At least were proud of it!:usa

[elderboy02]

I've tasted pencil lead in many cigars. It's a sign of a dog rocket from my experience.

Ok... I'll ask. Have you consumed pencil lead before?

[Footbag]

Ok... I'll ask. Have you consumed pencil lead before?

If you sniff a pencil sharpener, you'll know the smell. For that matter, what does barnyard taste like? Or earth?

Most flavors for cigars are more associated with smells then tastes.

[elderboy02]

If you sniff a pencil sharpener, you'll know the smell. For that matter, what does barnyard taste like? Or earth?

Most flavors for cigars are more associated with smells then tastes.

OK. I gotcha.

[pnoon]

If you sniff a pencil sharpener, you'll know the smell. For that matter, what does barnyard taste like? Or earth?

Most flavors for cigars are more associated with smells then tastes.

Exactly. We actually taste with our nose as well as our mouths.

[pmp]

Pencil lead is a common descriptor for cigars and wine. Tire rubber is another one that always threw me. But I have picked up both in wine before and they taste like you would imagine pencil lead and tire rubber tasting. And no I haven't tried either one but I know the smell of both. So you can somewhat infer what they would taste like.

[spooble]

Did the reviewer mention if it was #2 or #3 pencil? In my experience, one is quite tasty... the other, not so much.









yes... I am joking :r

[rizzle]

If you sniff a pencil sharpener, you'll know the smell. For that matter, what does barnyard taste like? Or earth?

Most flavors for cigars are more associated with smells then tastes.

Exactly. I mean how appealling is the smell of a barnyard full of dirty animals, their excrement, and mud. And how appealing is the smell of dirt/earth?

It ain't in my book.

[Footbag]

For me, it's more about finding a word to describe the flavor as opposed to finding a flavor that can be described.

and they taste like you would imagine pencil lead and tire rubber tasting

I have detected tire rubber in a few smokes. I usually like DPG/PJ smokes, but the La Riqueza's have a bit of burnt rubber flavor to my palate. In looking at reviews and descriptions, I notice many describe it as burnt Hickory wood.

I believe that my burn tire rubber = others burnt Hickory. Just goes to show you how important it is to have a wide open vocabulary when describing flavors.

[Scottw]

Some cigars seem to put lead in my pencil!!!:r

:r:r:r

[karmaz00]

nothing like pencil lead...:)

[jquirit]

Early 80s pencil lead is far superior to the pencil lead from the 90s.

[RottenZombie]

Early 80s pencil lead is far superior to the pencil lead from the 90s.

I have to disagree with you on that one.Depending on the country of origin and the specific region it was made, some of the 90's pencil lead is top notch.:D

[Scottw]

Isn't the Monte #2 in fact named after the #2 pencil?

[Cigargal]

If you smell a pencil sharpener I think the predominate smell is the wood shavings-probably cedar. Many people lick then end of a pencil when writing to darken the print...I think every kid in the world has put the lead end of a pencil in their mouth. It isn't a bad taste when connected to cigars-just an attempt to put a name on a taste.

[BC-Axeman]

FWIW, pencil "lead" is a mixture of graphite and clay. Pencil shavings do have a slightly metallic smell to them.

[Only Fuentes]

WTF are they smoking????!!!! oh right, pencil lead:ss seriously though I prefer # 1 lead taste in the morning for a lighter smoke. I usually go for a #5 or #6 taste after a big dinner. :ss

[BC-Axeman]

During the cigar boom, there were a lot of pencil lead cigars out there. :D

[BlackIrish]

Isn't the Monte #2 in fact named after the #2 pencil?

:r
Posted via Mobile Device

[TheRiddick]

FWIW, pencil "lead" is a mixture of graphite and clay. Pencil shavings do have a slightly metallic smell to them.

Graphite it is. And as already stated just above, many of us used to lick the pencil when we wrote (wow, I am how old?). This taste note applies and is used in many a Pomerol wine (right coast of Bordeaux) and is actually imparted by specific barrels used to age wine. Actually helps to id some wines blind although lately some Napa guys are using same barrels to same effect.

I have yet to come across a cigar that said "pencil lead/graphite" to me, but then I've seen page after page of reviews in Wine Spectator where a reviewer used one particular tasting note (say, blueberry stems or whatever) across a couple dozen wines being reviewed. I guess they just get fixated by some tasting flavor on some days and this spills out into reviews somehow.

Don't forget that some CA reviewers also review wine and if, by chance, they smoked tha cigar while also drinking a particular wine, then I could easily see them "taste" pencil lead, no big surprise there.

[MithShrike]

I hate to admit it, but pencil lead or pencil shavings are in my cigar vocabulary. I associate it with an unpleasant flat mineral flavor. Hard to explain but when you taste it, you know.

But, you should've known you'd find some crazies at the Asylum.:ss At least were proud of it!:usa

Yep, I've tasted pencil lead and I have never enjoyed a cigar that has that flavor. The Nub Habano was definitely one of those cigars and I also thought it was bitter. No bueno, no gracias.

[ActionAndy]

I think the Zino Platinum Scepter series definitely has a pencilish taste on the exhale. I like those though, so I guess I can't even say it's a bad flavor to have. If it was anything more than subtle, though, I see how it could ruin the smoke.

[Kreth]

So do Cuban pencils have that particular twang to them?

[groogs]

Some cigars seem to put lead in my pencil!!!:r

Thanks for sharing.:rolleyes::r

[Nick]

I've always been a little put off by the descriptions some people have about tobacco. I just taste good old tobacco; maybe creamy, peppery, or spicy. Certainly not buttery, fruity, or reminiscent of pencil led.

[nofeardiver]

I have had many of these cigars, actually one of my favorites, love the nub brand, but don't remember them having any pencil hits or flavors to them.

[gbum]

i love #8

you guys are hilariouss

:wo:wo:wo

[yourchoice]

WTF are they smoking????!!!! oh right, pencil lead:ss seriously though I prefer # 1 lead taste in the morning for a lighter smoke. I usually go for a #5 or #6 taste after a big dinner. :ss

You sir are clearly not a connesuir of pencil lead. A #1 is typically heavy and full strength. A #5 or #6 is lighter and more refined. Darn noobs! :D

[BlackDog]

Some cigars seem to put lead in my pencil!!!:r

:r :r :r

[JJG]

I like to keep my descriptions pretty simple. (salty, sweet, leather,cocoa, etc) but I have to admit, I've tasted and used the descriptive 'pencil lead' for cigars many times.

As others have mentioned, its sort of like the smell right after you sharpen a pencil, not necessarily the lead itself. It's not an unpleasant taste either, unless its really overpowering. I think the only cigar that I remember having a predominantly 'pencil lead' flavor was an RP edge from like 3 years ago. :td yucky.

[wrench turner 85]

I like a #2 dickson pencil to smoke every once and a while. :r

[Darrell]

Pencils don't use lead, they use graphite.

Just sayin'. :r

[cbsmokin]

Did the reviewer mention if it was #2 or #3 pencil? In my experience, one is quite tasty... the other, not so much.









yes... I am joking :r

I heard that #3 is really internet purchased 2nds of #2 and therefore, inferior.

[TheTraveler]

I'm thinking of splitting up my last box of ultra rare #14 lonsdales from 1994 into fivers. You should see the plume on these bad boys! :dr

Anyone interested?

:D

[timo]

So that's where all the lead from my pencil went

[Caymus]

I've tasted wet cardboard in wine before, and sometimes Alsatian or Loire French white wines have some pencil lead aromas to them, but I've never tasted that in cigars.

However, I'm better at tasting wines than cigars, AND Cigar Aficianado's older brother is Wine Aficianado so maybe they share the same thesaurus.

[Prospector]

I saw that in the CA calendar as well.

However, I far prefer the CI calendar:D