Do you think you know a lot about Cigars?

[TheRiddick]

How does knowing about tobacco and alcohol tax proposal of 1794 make you enjoy cigars more? Or what Churchill called his "paper" trick given the fact that no one else has used it since? Do you know what size and shape was it and HOW it was used meaning just how it fit over a cigar? What kind of paper used? Does the creator of the quiz?

Just curious.

Like I said, even really serious wine drinkers won't pass a well put together wine history quiz, I'd bet 90% fail even on professional level, and yet I have never heard anyone tell me that this lack of wine history knowledge makes them enjoy wine less. I'll even state that 90% of so called "sommeliers" in restaurants know very little about wine based on my experience and interacting with them. Yet I am sure they do enjoy wines tremendously.

It would make more sense if cigar smokers could ID cigar components in a blind taste. THAT is the true enjoyment of cigars, IMO, and true knowledge of a product.

[akumushi]

Again, I wasn't defending the OP, there is a difference between history and trivia. The OP was really just a list of banal trivia, and the answers as such wouldn't help me enjoy cigars more, but it seems like you're saying that knowledge of cigar history doesn't add to the enjoyment of cigars. IMO, studying cigar history gives one a sense of what has come before, and adds to the enjoyment of cigars by giving one an appreciation of the craftsmanship and long work that goes into the making of this subtle thing that is a cigar. Call it food for thought as you savor your smoke. I agree that people should develop their palates, and blind taste tests are extremely fun to participate in and, I think, are essential for any serious cigar smoker's development as a connaisseur. But I would defend the value of history to cigar smoker's enjoyment of the hobby as well.

Originally Posted by TheRiddick

How does knowing about tobacco and alcohol tax proposal of 1794 make you enjoy cigars more? Or what Churchill called his "paper" trick given the fact that no one else has used it since? Do you know what size and shape was it and HOW it was used meaning just how it fit over a cigar? What kind of paper used? Does the creator of the quiz?

Just curious.

Like I said, even really serious wine drinkers won't pass a well put together wine history quiz, I'd bet 90% fail even on professional level, and yet I have never heard anyone tell me that this lack of wine history knowledge makes them enjoy wine less. I'll even state that 90% of so called "sommeliers" in restaurants know very little about wine based on my experience and interacting with them. Yet I am sure they do enjoy wines tremendously.

It would make more sense if cigar smokers could ID cigar components in a blind taste. THAT is the true enjoyment of cigars, IMO, and true knowledge of a product.

Originally Posted by TheRiddick

How does knowing about tobacco and alcohol tax proposal of 1794 make you enjoy cigars more? Or what Churchill called his "paper" trick given the fact that no one else has used it since? Do you know what size and shape was it and HOW it was used meaning just how it fit over a cigar? What kind of paper used? Does the creator of the quiz?

Just curious.

Like I said, even really serious wine drinkers won't pass a well put together wine history quiz, I'd bet 90% fail even on professional level, and yet I have never heard anyone tell me that this lack of wine history knowledge makes them enjoy wine less. I'll even state that 90% of so called "sommeliers" in restaurants know very little about wine based on my experience and interacting with them. Yet I am sure they do enjoy wines tremendously.

It would make more sense if cigar smokers could ID cigar components in a blind taste. THAT is the true enjoyment of cigars, IMO, and true knowledge of a product.

try me

Originally Posted by Robert Mabona

try me

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BwfP2fSjA7U

Sorry, I belong to Adriftpanda and Sonic Mike.

[TheRiddick]

Originally Posted by Robert Mabona

try me

You really think you can do better than the likes of Laube, Heimoff, Parker, Stone and others?

Originally Posted by TheRiddick

You really think you can do better than the likes of Laube, Heimoff, Parker, Stone and others?

I think Huy and Mike can do better than anyone!

Originally Posted by TheRiddick

You really think you can do better than the likes of Laube, Heimoff, Parker, Stone and others?

and you stumped all of them? who are you, michel rolland?

[GKitty]

Well, I'm gonna do a lil bragging for a minute....

I won!!

Has my knowledge of cigar and tobacco history been expanded and enhanced? YES! Will my next stick taste better because of it? Probably not. Do I get to do a happy dance?!?! You betcha!!

I hope everyone who chose to participate had a good time. I know I learned a thing or three.

I now return you to your regularly scheduled shenanigans.

[marge796]

Congrats Crystal!!!








Chris.....

[TheRiddick]

Originally Posted by Robert Mabona

and you stumped all of them? who are you, michel rolland?

No, I simply tasted with them, save for Parker. And watched them falter. Parker's notes are full of technical errors pointing to his obvious lack of understanding how wine is made. Others make errors when trying to guess how a wine was made. ALL of them falter when trying to assign particular flavors and traits to what they believe are choices made in a winery, beliefs that are often in error. I won't even get to the level of wine guys in retail and restaurants, very few are qualified and simply recite some keywords they learned without understanding what they actually mean.

In 2001, just a month after 9/11, I was in Boston on business and happened to be invited to attend their annual Mondavi Dinner. Only the best retail account people and their best customers buying Mondavi wines were allowed to attend (Mondavi paid for it) and the dinner started with a blind tasting, they poured 6 vintages of Mondavi Reserve, and people were asked to pin vintages to each glass. By the time they revealed 2nd glass, only one person in the room had 2 for 2. Let me repeat again, BEST retailers selling the wine.

I can cite many more examples of "professionals" failing miserably and personally observed by me. But hey, sounds like you have them all beat, my hat is off to you.

Anyway, its not a wine discussion thread and we disagree a lot, I see. No biggie to me.

Originally Posted by TheRiddick

No, I simply tasted with them, save for Parker. And watched them falter. Parker's notes are full of technical errors pointing to his obvious lack of understanding how wine is made. Others make errors when trying to guess how a wine was made. ALL of them falter when trying to assign particular flavors and traits to what they believe are choices made in a winery, beliefs that are often in error. I won't even get to the level of wine guys in retail and restaurants, very few are qualified and simply recite some keywords they learned without understanding what they actually mean.

In 2001, just a month after 9/11, I was in Boston on business and happened to be invited to attend their annual Mondavi Dinner. Only the best retail account people and their best customers buying Mondavi wines were allowed to attend (Mondavi paid for it) and the dinner started with a blind tasting, they poured 6 vintages of Mondavi Reserve, and people were asked to pin vintages to each glass. By the time they revealed 2nd glass, only one person in the room had 2 for 2. Let me repeat again, BEST retailers selling the wine.

I can cite many more examples of "professionals" failing miserably and personally observed by me. But hey, sounds like you have them all beat, my hat is off to you.

Anyway, its not a wine discussion thread and we disagree a lot, I see. No biggie to me.

i never said i'm more qualified than any of them. you inferred that. i simply asked you to "try me". one doesn't have to be famous to make valid, accurate statements. but you're spending a lot time entering text, shouldn't you be in the cellar? what labels do you "make-wine" for?
mondavi wines are boring, even at their best?
continuum on the other hand

crystal, let us know what you got and post pics!

[TheRiddick]

Originally Posted by Robert Mabona

... but you're spending a lot time entering text...

So, you're implying TRYING YOU, as you challenged, would not be a waste of time?

Funny... I am nowhere near Central FL any time soon, in any case...

[GKitty]

Her most recent blog entry is about Cigars and Bourbon, a pair I know a few people around here enjoy.

*Edit - Too slow on the keyboard today*