How To Snork / Retrohale

[wayner123]

Originally Posted by NCRadioMan

The smells that go along with what the tongue tastes. That's how we taste almost everything. How do we liken cigars to woody, spicy or leathery when out tongue can't taste that. It's the smell. The olfactory system.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases...1222104909.htm

I have failed to put it properly. I agree that olfactory senses are a very large percentage of what we call "taste". However, I disagree that snorking or blowing smoke out through your nose is the only way or even the best way in some cases to acheive this "taste". Are you holding your nose when you smoke a cigar? No, so by proxy some of the smoke "taste" already enters your olfactory senses. Just as it does with food and drink. If you are looking for more flavor and don't want to, or can't retrohale there are other ways of gaining more flavor.

[NCRadioMan]

Originally Posted by wayner123

I have failed to put it properly. I agree that olfactory senses are a very large percentage of what we call "taste". However, I disagree that snorking or blowing smoke out through your nose is the only way or even the best way in some cases to acheive this "taste". Are you holding your nose when you smoke a cigar? No, so by proxy some of the smoke "taste" already enters your olfactory senses. Just as it does with food and drink. If you are looking for more flavor and don't want to, or can't retrohale there are other ways of gaining more flavor.

Agreed, some does. But you are not getting the "full effect", as it were. The subtle nuances are lost. But, of course, that doesn't mean you can't enjoy a cigar.

[akumushi]

Originally Posted by wayner123

I have failed to put it properly. I agree that olfactory senses are a very large percentage of what we call "taste". However, I disagree that snorking or blowing smoke out through your nose is the only way or even the best way in some cases to acheive this "taste". Are you holding your nose when you smoke a cigar? No, so by proxy some of the smoke "taste" already enters your olfactory senses. Just as it does with food and drink. If you are looking for more flavor and don't want to, or can't retrohale there are other ways of gaining more flavor.

Think of it this way, when you're smelling the cigar from the wisps of smoke coming off the cigar or out of your mouth, the smoke is quickly mixing with the air and puffing out in a big, diffuse cloud, the smoke is just a faint "whiff" of the draw you took into your mouth, like putting a few drops of wine in a glass of water and then drinking it. It can say from experience that some of the more subtle flavors are lost when only using this method. When you're snorking, the smoke is mainlined straight to your olfactory receptors, and an experienced nose-smoker can modulate the dilution and control how much of the smoke, or how intense of a flavor it is that he gets, by what ratio of smoke to air he pushes through his nose. If you look at the drawing of the nose in the video from the OP (did you watch it?) you'll see that the path from the back of the throat hits the olfactory senses more directly and with less dilution of the smoke. That's why you get more flavor. I can tell you as a former mouth smoker who used to think he got plenty of flavor just from sniffing a little bit of an exhale, that the retrohale is a competely different beast. When you do it right, you'll know what we're talking about.

[wayner123]

Originally Posted by akumushi

Think of it this way, when you're smelling the cigar from the wisps of smoke coming off the cigar or out of your mouth, the smoke is quickly mixing with the air and puffing out in a big, diffuse cloud, the smoke is just a faint "whiff" of the draw you took into your mouth, like putting a few drops of wine in a glass of water and then drinking it. It can say from experience that some of the more subtle flavors are lost when only using this method. When you're snorking, the smoke is mainlined straight to your olfactory receptors, and an experienced nose-smoker can modulate the dilution and control how much of the smoke, or how intense of a flavor it is that he gets, by what ratio of smoke to air he pushes through his nose. If you look at the drawing of the nose in the video from the OP (did you watch it?) you'll see that the path from the back of the throat hits the olfactory senses more directly and with less dilution of the smoke. That's why you get more flavor. I can tell you as a former mouth smoker who used to think he got plenty of flavor just from sniffing a little bit of an exhale, that the retrohale is a competely different beast. When you do it right, you'll know what we're talking about.

I personally retrohale quite often, and yes I watched the video. That diagram is not the most accurate but does well to prove and show his point in the video. The research has shown that orthonasal actually stimulates more and different brain activity/areas. But that is not my point either. My point is as I stated above: "If you are looking for more flavor and don't want to, or can't retrohale there are other ways of gaining more flavor."

On an aside note, I doubt very highly that stogiefresh coined the term "retrohale". Stoners use that term and probably even before I was born. I don't want to seem like I am bashing the video. It was very well done and I think it will help many people out.

[bobarian]

As with cigars, if you are drinking wine and not using your nose or your eyes, you are missing out on a good part of the experience. Try drinking the same wine out of several different style glasses. Same as champagne, you see people drinking champagne out of those short flat glasses but to fully experience a good champagne a tall narrow glass concentrates both the bubbles and the aromas.

[Subvet642]

Originally Posted by bobarian

As with cigars, if you are drinking wine and not using your nose or your eyes, you are missing out on a good part of the experience. Try drinking the same wine out of several different style glasses. Same as champagne, you see people drinking champagne out of those short flat glasses but to fully experience a good champagne a tall narrow glass concentrates both the bubbles and the aromas.

And I always thought that champagne flutes were just an affectation; sorta like putting cheap-ass whiskey in a crystal decanter. I still feel weird holding one.

[akumushi]

Originally Posted by wayner123

I personally retrohale quite often, and yes I watched the video. That diagram is not the most accurate but does well to prove and show his point in the video. The research has shown that orthonasal actually stimulates more and different brain activity/areas. But that is not my point either. My point is as I stated above: "If you are looking for more flavor and don't want to, or can't retrohale there are other ways of gaining more flavor."

On an aside note, I doubt very highly that stogiefresh coined the term "retrohale". Stoners use that term and probably even before I was born. I don't want to seem like I am bashing the video. It was very well done and I think it will help many people out.

Agreed, that was pretty cocky of him to say he invented the word
As for other options to increasing flavor in lieu of the retrohale, I'd be interested in hearing them, it's always nice to add a technique to the repertoire