Drink pairing = Artificial flavor?

[tsolomon]

The question I have is when do you ever have a clean palate to start your tasting from? Your mouth will just about always have some lingering taste from the last thing you ate, smoked or drank. I find that a drink can be a nice palate cleanser similar to having a little sorbet between courses at a nice restaurant. Just like pairing wine with food, the trick is to find a good match between your beverage and the cigar which will enhanced the flavors of the cigar. I start with water when doing a review or smoking a cigar for the first time, but switching to ice tea, coffee or a nice rum later on works well for me.

[DocLogic77]

Originally Posted by tsolomon

The question I have is when do you ever have a clean palate to start your tasting from? Your mouth will just about always have some lingering taste from the last thing you ate, smoked or drank. I find that a drink can be a nice palate cleanser similar to having a little sorbet between courses at a nice restaurant. Just like pairing wine with food, the trick is to find a good match between your beverage and the cigar which will enhanced the flavors of the cigar. I start with water when doing a review or smoking a cigar for the first time, but switching to ice tea, coffee or a nice rum later on works well for me.

Never really thought about it but maybe a tongue scrapper would help out.

[wayner123]

Originally Posted by tsolomon

The question I have is when do you ever have a clean palate to start your tasting from?

Pretty much every time I smoke. I try to always have a clean palette when smoking a cigar. I do this by gargling, using sparkling water or club soda. But that's just me, I personally like the way a cigar tastes by itself.

To those who have said the first time they smoke a cigar it's with water or nothing, do you then recommend a person to that same cigar(s) based off the initial tasting? Or is the recommendation from more than that one cigar?

[KenyanSandBoa]

Originally Posted by wayner123

To those who have said the first time they smoke a cigar it's with water or nothing, do you then recommend a person to that same cigar(s) based off the initial tasting? Or is the recommendation from more than that one cigar?

I actually tend to recommend cigars based on what I found them paired well with...but that's just my preference. I usually try to find cigars that would complement Scotch and coffee mainly, but if I've had a couple of successful smokes from a cigar regardless if it's paired with something or not, I'll recommend something on that too.

[wolfandwhisky]

Originally Posted by tsolomon

The question I have is when do you ever have a clean palate to start your tasting from? Your mouth will just about always have some lingering taste from the last thing you ate, smoked or drank. I find that a drink can be a nice palate cleanser similar to having a little sorbet between courses at a nice restaurant. Just like pairing wine with food, the trick is to find a good match between your beverage and the cigar which will enhanced the flavors of the cigar. I start with water when doing a review or smoking a cigar for the first time, but switching to ice tea, coffee or a nice rum later on works well for me.

Very accurate. This is definitely a determining factor for what type of cigar I may be in the mood for at any given moment. For example, if you have a sweeter lunch - like say Thai food - you may not want an overly peppery or salty cigar, but rather a maduro or rosado.

[jimmyk26]

Originally Posted by tsolomon

The question I have is when do you ever have a clean palate to start your tasting from? Your mouth will just about always have some lingering taste from the last thing you ate, smoked or drank. I find that a drink can be a nice palate cleanser similar to having a little sorbet between courses at a nice restaurant. Just like pairing wine with food, the trick is to find a good match between your beverage and the cigar which will enhanced the flavors of the cigar. I start with water when doing a review or smoking a cigar for the first time, but switching to ice tea, coffee or a nice rum later on works well for me.

I would actually go one step further and say that pairing and palate condition are two different things. Pairing is the act of tasting something else, food or beverage, while smoking a cigar. Palate Condition is the state of your palate before you start smoking. Both pairing and palate condition affect how you experience a cigar but they are different. Specifically, palate condition can affect what cigar you choose and how you experience the flavors and smoke, but it won't augment or change the flavors while you are actually smoking. Where as pairing will have an affect on flavor while you are smoking the cigar.

On a personal note, I honestly haven't had much success pairing much of anything with cigars aside from the occasional coffee or port. As a result, I drink water mostly when smoking.

[tedrodgerscpa]

Typically, I drink coffee when I smoke.

However, if I know I'm about to get into a very mild and/or vintage cigar, I much prefer to pair it with filtered ice water.

However, it's only at a herf or after a third cigar in a day that I'll break my rules, and go with something between cigars that is likely to clear out my palate (like ginger ale or sprite)

I always have a very very very hard time smoking dry. I need something to give me a quick 'refresh'