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.
