Sensitive Palates?

shilala · 06-26-2010, 06:21 AM

I think Moses is right on the money. It's hard to describe some smells, or things I sense. In most cases, it's not even a smell, but seems more like a combination of smell and taste.
I can put words to most things, but with new cigars come new flavors.
I smoked an old SFO Lancero yesterday, and the best I could describe the predominant flavor is "It tasted a lot like pine tree, but right before the pine smell shows up".
Today I can describe it better, because I thought of where I smelled the smell before. It's very earthy and thick like standing in the hemlock trees in a creek bottom around here. You don't get the pine smell, but everything that comes with it.
That's over-descriptive, but it's accuarate.
To describe it, I'd say earthy and musty, but nice.

I get what you're saying about food, too. I can pick out ingredients, and I always know just what to add to fill in the empty spaces in a dish. If you rely on your taste and smell to analyze food, it's kind of like you'll do with a cigar.
With a cigar, there are more ways to experience it. How you take the smoke changes things. You can snork, retrohale, and sniff the smoke from each end of the cigar, and all provide different things.

For me, describing it to someone else is way down on the scale of importance. If I'm smoking with others, I'll make a comment, and if the flavors are special enough, I'll ask them to try the cigar. If I'm by myself, I just get drawn into the cigar and pay attention to it. It allows me to relax and not think about anything else.
If anything, I match the flavors with other cigars so I can tell guys what they'd like based on what they like already. That becomes pretty easy because there aren't a lot of variants.
Personally, I look for flavors that aren't like any other cigars. Those are the ones I talk about most and suggest most so that guys can have new experiences.

06-26-2010, 09:22 AM

I seem to have read this somewhere else.

macsauce13 · 06-26-2010, 10:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hockeymaniac

I seem to have read this somewhere else.

Yep, I was really curious about this last night...Like almost obsessing over it and decided to post it on both the boards I trust!

Good to see you over here, BTW!

And thanks for the responses. Shilala its very interesting what you said about relying on taste and smell...That may be something that I have to work on...Looking for explanation outside of the 'norm'.

06-27-2010, 07:50 AM

Mac, don't obsess over it. Just enjoy our cigars. I used to do that also and it took away from just enjoying the cigar. For me the more I focused on trying to figure out what tastes or spices I was tasting the more they eluded me. It will happen if you just let go and enjoy the cigar. Stop thinking about it and you will discover what you are looking for.

06-26-2010, 06:21 AM	#1
shilala Dear Lord, Thank You. Join Date: Oct 2008 First Name: Scott Posts: 13,721 Trading: (252)	Re: Sensitive Palates? I think Moses is right on the money. It's hard to describe some smells, or things I sense. In most cases, it's not even a smell, but seems more like a combination of smell and taste. I can put words to most things, but with new cigars come new flavors. I smoked an old SFO Lancero yesterday, and the best I could describe the predominant flavor is "It tasted a lot like pine tree, but right before the pine smell shows up". Today I can describe it better, because I thought of where I smelled the smell before. It's very earthy and thick like standing in the hemlock trees in a creek bottom around here. You don't get the pine smell, but everything that comes with it. That's over-descriptive, but it's accuarate. To describe it, I'd say earthy and musty, but nice. I get what you're saying about food, too. I can pick out ingredients, and I always know just what to add to fill in the empty spaces in a dish. If you rely on your taste and smell to analyze food, it's kind of like you'll do with a cigar. With a cigar, there are more ways to experience it. How you take the smoke changes things. You can snork, retrohale, and sniff the smoke from each end of the cigar, and all provide different things. For me, describing it to someone else is way down on the scale of importance. If I'm smoking with others, I'll make a comment, and if the flavors are special enough, I'll ask them to try the cigar. If I'm by myself, I just get drawn into the cigar and pay attention to it. It allows me to relax and not think about anything else. If anything, I match the flavors with other cigars so I can tell guys what they'd like based on what they like already. That becomes pretty easy because there aren't a lot of variants. Personally, I look for flavors that aren't like any other cigars. Those are the ones I talk about most and suggest most so that guys can have new experiences. __________________

06-26-2010, 09:22 AM	#2
hockeymaniac Guest Posts: n/a	Re: Sensitive Palates? I seem to have read this somewhere else.

06-27-2010, 07:50 AM	#4
hockeymaniac Guest Posts: n/a	Re: Sensitive Palates? Mac, don't obsess over it. Just enjoy our cigars. I used to do that also and it took away from just enjoying the cigar. For me the more I focused on trying to figure out what tastes or spices I was tasting the more they eluded me. It will happen if you just let go and enjoy the cigar. Stop thinking about it and you will discover what you are looking for.