Expert: James Yee - 6/19/2008

Question
Hi James,

I've started smoking a few months ago.
I've been smoking Cohibas,Montecristos,Romeo Y Julietas,H Uppmanns etc...

Now,I can taste the difference between cigars but the reviews I read on cigar sites describe  many different flavours ie. earth,leather,cocoa,wood,vanilla and so on....

I am not good at describing flavours and although I can taste the difference between different brands of cigars

- Wondering that how can a cigar have wood,leather,cocoa etc... taste?

For me cigars are sweet or less sweet or maybe a bit minty or spicey depends on the brand....

I hope you understand my question, I just don't know how those reviews get all those flavours?

Or in the cigar factories they add flavours to the cigars?

Please let me know because I don't seem to taste those "damp earth,wood etc.." flavours.

For me it's basic - sweet, bitter,minty etc...

Kind Regards,
John


Kind Regards,
John

Answer
Hi John,

When reading cigar reviews in magazines or online, its important to remember that "taste is subjective" and not everyone will taste the same thing.  It's very possible that we will all taste similar flavours but it's not a guarantee that we'll taste the exact same flavours.  One person's interpretation of a certain flavour can be completely different for someone else.  

For premium cigars that are not artificially flavoured, cigar factories actually don't add flavours to the tobacco.  Instead, the unique flavours are the result of the different types of tobacco combined in the cigar's filler, binder and wrapper leaves.  This creates a distinct "recipe" that may resemble flavours that we're normally familiar with like chocolate, cinnamon, coffee, pepper, etc.

If you don't taste things such as lavender, saffron, leather, anise, etc. in your cigars, don't worry. Not everyone will agree with the cigar reviews that you see in magazines or on the Internet.  Sure, it's possible that someone will taste something like saffron in a cigar but for someone who has never tasted saffron before, how will they know what it tastes like?

What you should do is smoke as many different brands, from as many different countries, as possible.  By doing this, you'll expand your cigar palate and be able to detect more unique cigar flavours from all these different types of cigars.  This is a great way to hone your cigar senses.

Hopes this answers your question. If you have any more questions, please feel free to just ask and I will be happy to help.

Regards,
James