I think I've learned and gained a few very useful things from this experience for sure.
First would be experience reviewing cigars. I specifically remember the first cigar or two that I sat down and reviewed. It was hard for me to pull out certain flavors and identify them. After getting to sit down and review 10 cigars blind with no other reviews telling me what to try to identify and taste, I was forced to learn to pick the flavors out. This has definitely bled over into my everyday cigar smoking experience and enhanced it more than I ever could've expected.
The second thing is experience with CC's. Previous to this I had not had the opportunity to try a Cuban cigar, so getting to smoke 10 of them while forced to identify flavors while I'm reviewing them was a unique experience. It allowed me get to experience the CC flavor profiles in a way I otherwise would not have gotten to and directly compare them to the NC's that I usually smoke. Cuban cigars are like a heavily advertised product on TV. We're told they're so awesome and all you want to do is try one, and when you finally get to, most people would respond "Man! that was an amazing Cuban cigar!" simply for the fact that it was a Cuban cigar. Tasting the cigars the way I did allowed me to know and understand WHY some Cuban cigars are great and WHAT makes them great instead of just liking them because they are from a specific country.
The third thing I learned is generosity. I know, what does generosity have to do with reviewing cigars? Well, Dan's blind taste package was the first "bomb" so to speak, I received from a CA member since I had joined the forum a couple months prior. What was this forum where people were gladly giving away cigars left and right? I'd read about the bombs being dropped before I got these cigars, but it's different when you're on the actual receiving end. Since then, I've come to realize what a generous and giving group of people this is, and have tried not only to PIF on this forum, but in other places of my life too, and that has been a more rewarding experience than being given and trying any number of cigars. I know this sounds cheesy, but it's 100% genuine and I'm definitely grateful to Dan and the rest of the forum for this
