Is my palate broken?

[Sonic04GT]

I've smoked maybe 15 or so cigars since I started a few months ago, a handful being infused. I still cannot really taste a significant difference among traditional cigars. Although enjoyable, they all kind of taste like tobacco, minus the wrapper flavor. I've been "retro-haling" which helps discern tastes a little more but my nose can only handle so much.

It blows my mind when people can describe differences in flavor as the cigar progresses and elaborate on it to the T.

My review goes something like this; Nice construction, great burn, excellent draw, good flavor, bitter towards the end.

Some cigars I feel I have enjoyed a little more than others:

Java Maduro Toro (fav)
Cohiba Red Dot
Acid Kuba Kuba
Punch
Short Story
LGC Serie R

I have yet to smoke a cigar in which I said "this sucks, I won't touch it again." I did not care for the LHC, but it was also the very first cigar I smoked and may have caught me off-guard. However, I typically do research before I jump on a sampler so I've yet to really have a "cheap" cigar to compare. The Acid Cold Infusion Tea was pretty good but after the 2nd one I just didn't care for the potpourri smell of the wrapper.

[Emjaysmash]

Yep. Broken and it can't be fixed!

Nope, you're fine. What you need to more practice! That's how you develop a more nuanced palate. Also try new foods. This will also expand your palate's "known" flavors.

[Sonic04GT]

Originally Posted by Emjaysmash

Yep. Broken and it can't be fixed!

Nope, you're fine. What you need to more practice! That's how you develop a more nuanced palate. Also try new foods. This will also expand your palate's "known" flavors.

Haha this is what I assumed, but I'm colorblind, wear glasses, and hard of hearing at age 24. Figured my whole body hates me

I just feel as if I'm going through these premium cigars and can't truly enjoy them to the point where I can say I like this more than that. I mean what the heck does leather taste like?! Can't say I've ever eaten it.

Don't get me wrong, every one is an enjoyable experience but if you gave me two unlabeled cigars, one costing $2 and the other costing $20 I probably couldn't tell the difference by taste. The main things that stand out to me are burn, ash, and draw, and of course bitterness if it gets too hot. Oh, and volume of smoke, but that probably plays in with draw and burn.

[longknocker]

Like MJ Says, Smoke More, It Will Come! Although I Still Haven't Tasted "Leather", Yet.

[bobarian]

Like anything else it takes time. 15 cigars is what many of us smoke in a week, myself included. Think of it like trying to taste the nuances of any thing, coffee just tastes like coffee until after a while you start to notice differences in richness, bitterness and other subtle differences. Beer, scotch, hot food are some other examples.

I dont do a lot of retrohaling with non-Cuban cigars, singeing nose hair is not pleasant, maybe once or twice for a cigar sometimes none.

The flavor wheel is a good place to start trying to find the flavors.
http://www.cigarasylum.com/vb/showth...t=flavor+wheel

[Sonic04GT]

Thanks for the info

[Sonic04GT]

Odd, I posted that before seeing the 2 above it. Guess they popped up while I was typing.

This is my collection as of a couple weeks ago. Smoked the Cohibas and a couple of others. These are all from sampler deals (got both of my humis that way), and a few were gifted from a couple generous members on here. Bought fivers of Golds and AF SS. Infused from samplers as well.

Sorry for the crappy pics.
http://www.lolzilla.net/images/8800641.jpg
http://www.lolzilla.net/images/2089362.jpg
http://www.lolzilla.net/images/2921418.jpg
http://www.lolzilla.net/images/1369297.jpg

I'm nearly out of room on the traditionals

Edit: Bryan, I'm always hungry for a cigar I usually only smoke maybe twice per week.

[Bageland2000]

Originally Posted by Sonic04GT

Haha this is what I assumed, but I'm colorblind, wear glasses, and hard of hearing at age 24. Figured my whole body hates me

I just feel as if I'm going through these premium cigars and can't truly enjoy them to the point where I can say I like this more than that. I mean what the heck does leather taste like?! Can't say I've ever eaten it.

Don't get me wrong, every one is an enjoyable experience but if you gave me two unlabeled cigars, one costing $2 and the other costing $20 I probably couldn't tell the difference by taste. The main things that stand out to me are burn, ash, and draw, and of course bitterness if it gets too hot. Oh, and volume of smoke, but that probably plays in with draw and burn.

No one is a wine connoisseur the first few years they drink wine. It takes time to develop what you like. I'm certainly still developing my palate. I will say however, that my best experiences (save some... i.e. a certain Padron) have been from some inexpensive but quality smokes. That's why I've aimed at keeping my budget low until my palate develops a little. Again, no one starts by dropping $50 on a bottle of wine consistently. My suggestion is to check out some of the cheap smokes in this thread:
http://www.cigarasylum.com/vb/showth...ighlight=cheap

Personally some that I love:
Mayorga Robustos (amazing and dirt cheap)
Anything CAO (specifically La Traviata and Brazilia)
5 vegas
Some cheaper Fuentes
Some cheaper Perdomos
Brickhouse
And Fuente Opus X

Also experiment with Samplers that go on sale. If you haven't tried it and it's cheap (provided it has some good reviews) go for it!

[ApexAZ]

The more I smoke, the more I am able to discern differences in flavors. I still dont get a lot of the cedar, nuts and cocoa flavors that people describe. I think you just need to smoke a lot of different cigars. I still enjoy a lightly infused cigar from time to time, but am finding that most are just too sweet now.

[Ogre]

It has taken me a couple of years to be able to discern some of the flavors. Just give it time.

practice makes perfect. i also find that sometimes I'm just not in the mood for a cigar. I've actually put some cigars down right after the start simply because i wasn't in the mood. maybe you need some time in between, that why you are "hungry" for your next cigar.

variety is my other suggestion, i started smoking just a year ago, and I spent the majority of that time smoking all kinds of different cigars.

[ApexAZ]

Give some Gran Habano cigars a try. They are some of my favorite go-to smokes when I don't want to burn a hole in my pocket. I can almost always find them for < $3. My favorites are the 3 siglos gran robusto and the Habano #3 Robusto. I didn't like the Corojo #5 very much at first, but the last 2 I've had, which have been sitting for 2 months, have also been very good. The vintage 2002 robustos are pretty good too, but stay away from the churchills. They are terrible.

[CigarSquid]

I am glad you brought this up. I have thought about it and reviewed online. Never posted it on here. Great info.

[kelmac07]

Not broken...just needs more practice.

[maninblack]

Yep what these old geezers said. SMoke more.

Might I suggest smoking the same cigar for about a week in a dark room with some light music to essentially perform sensory deprivation. Maybe even reviewing each third to a recording device.

Your palate will devlop will additional experience; when I first started, everything just tasted like tobacco to me.

[chatboardhero]

retro-haling is definitely the only way to "taste" tobacco, in my humble opinion. however, don't go overboard. expel just slight amounts of smoke through the nose. too much will often overwhelm the olfactory sensation, and all you get is watery eyes, especially with more full-bodied cigars. that technique will also allow you to really decode the very subtle flavors of complex, milder smokes.

[wayner123]

If you really want to geek out about it look here and read some of the journals they reference: http://www.tastescience.com/abouttaste2.html

They also note this:

Finally, Small and her colleagues present strong evidence that the final common pathways of taste and smell go to the non-verbal right brain, which has implications for our ability to report thinking processes related to taste and smell; one of the reasons Titchener - and Wundt before him - only reported four tastes was probably that they had difficulty getting people to talk about taste and smell.

So some people might not be able to explain flavors.

[TheCigarNut]

Nah - your doing perfect! I have been smoking for about 7 to 8 years and I think I have just recently gotten to the point where I can start to 'pick out flavors' so to speak. I know it sounds stupid, but I started doing my own type of taste tests and comparisons to try to shock my tastebuds into recognizing different aspects.

Try to smoke 2 cigars in one day, start with a mild or medium body and then later have a medium to full and see if you can tell the difference in body and the flavors produced ( bad example but lets say hay/grass/sweet/etc for the mild and cedar/leather/earth/etc on the medium/full ). Another thing to try might be to smoke 'similar' cigars IE both Conn. Broadleaf Maduro wrappers or both Dominican filler and see if you can locate the similarities and differences with each. Hoenstly though, best piece of advice - as others have said - just keep with it - some pick it up quickly while others become better over time.

Also as others have said, try to expand your palate - I agree with you on things like the leather quality and yes, I have actually taken a piece of leather ( the dangling part on some leather jackets ) and chewed on it ( tastes like it smells kinda ) and can remember as a kid my older cousin putting mud in my mouth and I relate that to the 'earth' flavor some places describe. Now granted, those are bad examples but as all things with cigars, it is subjective to you.