DBall smoking blind NCs...

[DBall]

I’m not an NC smoker… I haven’t had any in quite some time that really did anything for me (aside from NC Davis). This should be a fun experiment.


Thanks to jonumberone (Dom) for granting my wish for such an exercise in the NC MAW.


Here are the cigars:

[DBall]

Cigar #1:

Pre-draw is super chocolatey…



1st/3rd:

Lighting it… I’m used to habanos… typically aged or mild. Therefore, I like to push a LOT of smoke out of my nose… gotta be careful during this tasting run.

The flavors here are pretty tasty, though I can’t quite discern them. Bitterness on the back of the tongue as well, but not bad. This cigar is fairly strong and, to my palate, the flavors are a bit muddled by that strength. Ash is a couple shades lighter than coal… hahaha… very dark. I’m trying to sip this and it is not making much difference.

The benefit to this blind run is that, considering I don’t smoke NCs, I have no idea of profiles or what’s out there. I couldn’t guess what any of these are if I had to.

I am getting some chocolate out of the first third. As an aside, the ash doesn’t like the cigar and continually succeeds in escaping it.




2nd/3rd :

By ‘muddled’ I mean… imagine if you took rainbow sherbet, vanilla ice cream and chocolate ice cream and mixed them all up. You know you’re eating something cold, like I know I’m smoking a cigar. Every now and then some flavor pops in. That’s this cigar.

I feel like I’m having an incredibly hard time picking out flavors. In the interest of full disclosure, this is my second cigar of the day… perhaps that has something to do with it. I also seem to be getting that acidy/bittery aftertaste on the tongue characteristic of ever time I try to enjoy an NC. It tastes like my mouth is made of yuck. Don’t misunderstand, though… the smoke itself is good. The palate-coating ‘flavor’, however, not so much. On the sides of my tongue on the back it’s that same feeling as when you eat a lemon.

I gotta say, I’m kinda enjoying this. Especially now as I’m noticing the overall bitterness slipping away after the halfway point (aside from the back/sides of the tongue thing that’s still there and noticeable… especially when I’m not actively smoking it).
I’m going into this with a fully open mind… as I said, it’s been quite a while for me and NCs… if there’s a band on it, though, I may try to tie it in with things I’ve heard in passing about them as some of my friends I get together with weekly smoke NC’s pretty much exclusively.

At this point, the cigar seems to be mellowing out a bit, but there’s still spice to it… something meaty about it… definitely stronger than what I’m used to smoking. That ‘back of the tongue bitterness’ is still present and driving me nuts when I’m not actively smoking it.




3rd/3rd:

Burn is perfect, construction is great and the draw is effortless. I do smoke by habit, though, in the sense that I keep trying to push large volumes of smoke out my nose. My nose burns.

The smoke itself, however, still tastes pretty good aside from the spice and bitter. Still, though, I’m not pinpointing anything specific… the chocolate vanished some time back. I don’t necessarily dislike it, though… it’s just hard to explain.

It’s now taking on a bit of a sawdust-y profile… reminds me of woodworking. I do love the size, though… this is comparable to what I typically go to in that regard.




In closing, I’ve definitely smoked worse cigars. Didn’t love it, didn’t hate it... wouldn't really seek them out. While at times the smoke itself was good, it’s hard to get past the lingering bitterness, muddled flavors, the not-so-pleasant aftertaste and its strength. From now on, I will make these testing cigars my first cigar of the day so I might have a fresher palate.

Rating out of 100: 65

[akumushi]

This is going to be fun. That tongue coating nastyness is the biggest reason I switched to Habanos, I find it is worst in Honduran leaf, then lesser in Dominican, and finally pretty rare in Nicaraguan smokes. Do you find it kind of metallic?
I mentioned it a while back in this thread:

[DBall]

Originally Posted by akumushi

This is going to be fun. That tongue coating nastyness is the biggest reason I switched to Habanos, I find it is worst in Honduran leaf, then lesser in Dominican, and finally pretty rare in Nicaraguan smokes. Do you find it kind of metallic?
I mentioned it a while back in this thread:

I did not get any 'metallic' out of it, per se, but it was acrid.

[Brutus2600]

Hehe...I like this thread. Looking forward to seeing the rest of these from Mr. BTT himself

[DBall]

Ohhhh... Dom's here. What did I smoke?

[LostAbbott]

When are we going to find out what you smoked?

[jonumberone]

Dan
You smoked a Viaje Platino Lancero

[DBall]

Originally Posted by jonumberone

Dan
You smoked a Viaje Platino Lancero

Oh? Sweet... I've been hearing a lot about these Viaje things. Thanks for the opportunity to try one!

[jonumberone]

Of the regular production Viaje line the Platino is my least favorite.
I enjoy them but like the Oro and 50/50 better.

[E.J.]

These threads are fun. Look forward to following it.

Thanks to Dan and Dom.....

[357]

Originally Posted by E.J.

These threads are fun. Look forward to following it.

Thanks to Dan and Dom.....

+1

[Doctorossi]

Turnabout is fun play! Thank you for doing this, Dom!

Dan and Clayton, I don't know what kind of NCs you're getting "tongue-coating nastiness" out of. This has never been an issue for me.

[jonumberone]

Originally Posted by Doctorossi

Turnabout is fun play! Thank you for doing this, Dom!
.

This was Dan's wish. He wanted it

[Doctorossi]

Originally Posted by jonumberone

This was Dan's wish. He wanted it

And how, exactly, does that not make you awesome for providing?

Sorry, Dom, it's too late. You're cool.

[akumushi]

Originally Posted by Doctorossi

Turnabout is fun play! Thank you for doing this, Dom!

Dan and Clayton, I don't know what kind of NCs you're getting "tongue-coating nastiness" out of. This has never been an issue for me.

From another thread

Originally Posted by akumushi

The NC sourness I'm talking about is an actually sour taste that I get on my tongue. It may be a more metallic in some smokes, so it may be from some mineral in the soil, but I call it sour because it reminds me of the cloying artififcial sour taste you get from sour-apple flavored candy. The guilty NCs are most often Honduran, then to a lesser extent Dominican, and seldom Nicaraguan. Luckily I haven't experienced it in any DPG, Tatuaje or Illusione products, so those are about the only NCs I still track down and buy. These NCs I'm smoking through are left over from my first few noob purchases, and the biggest guilty parties are anything by General Cigar, most lines from Camacho, and to a lesser extent, a few of the lines by Padilla and LGC. It's purely a function of the tongue, rather than any aroma, and seems to accumulate on the tongue as you continue to smoke. Some of these cigars smell fine on the nose, but the sourness on the tongue is just too distracting to tolerate.

The topic of tasters and supertasters comes up now and then on different boards. The short and long of it is that everyone has a different amount of tastebuds, and that some people with a much higher amount than the average, "supertasters" can pick up certain traces of bitterness or sourness that others simply can't taste. I don't know whether or not I qualify for this status or not, but I do know that I often pick up funky flavors that are unpleasant to me in cigars that a lot of people enjoy without mentioning it. Whether or not that is due to something objective like the supertaster thing, or something entirely subjective such as personal taste, is another story.
I was just happy to hear that I'm not the only one that finds that "tongue coating nastiness" as a hallmark of certain NCs. When I was a newb, I simply wrote it off as part of the cigar smoking experience and powered through it. Now that I know that a cigar doesn't have to taste like you're sucking on a quarter, I stick to my CCs and the handful of Premium NCs that don't have that aftertaste. If I get a cigar that maintains that taste for more than a minute, I pitch it and find something else. Interestingly, I have never tasted it in a CC. I'm not saying I haven't had my share of nasty flavors in a handful of much too young or improperly stored CCs, but I've never had anything with this particular cloying aftertaste from The Island.
/threadjack

[PeteSB75]

Originally Posted by akumushi

From another thread


The topic of tasters and supertasters comes up now and then on different boards. The short and long of it is that everyone has a different amount of tastebuds, and that some people with a much higher amount than the average, "supertasters" can pick up certain traces of bitterness or sourness that others simply can't taste. I don't know whether or not I qualify for this status or not, but I do know that I often pick up funky flavors that are unpleasant to me in cigars that a lot of people enjoy without mentioning it. Whether or not that is due to something objective like the supertaster thing, or something entirely subjective such as personal taste, is another story.
I was just happy to hear that I'm not the only one that finds that "tongue coating nastiness" as a hallmark of certain NCs. When I was a newb, I simply wrote it off as part of the cigar smoking experience and powered through it. Now that I know that a cigar doesn't have to taste like you're sucking on a quarter, I stick to my CCs and the handful of Premium NCs that don't have that aftertaste. If I get a cigar that maintains that taste for more than a minute, I pitch it and find something else. Interestingly, I have never tasted it in a CC. I'm not saying I haven't had my share of nasty flavors in a handful of much too young or improperly stored CCs, but I've never had anything with this particular cloying aftertaste from The Island.
/threadjack

Never heard this reason for it before, but it is one of the main reasons I also smoke primarily CCs now. I seem to also notice it much more when it is there now that I am not smoking NCs very often. I have gotten it from Tatuaje, especially the newer blends/lines but never from any Padron, Oliva or Fuente product. Explains my preferences there. Interestingly, I also sometimes get it from espresso, especially when it is cheap espresso - one of the reasons I avoid most retail coffee places here in the states. When I still smoked them, I would also get it from some brands of cigarettes, but not all.

[DBall]

Cigar #2

This beast looks maduro and is 50rg x 6 7/8” (read: nowhere near anything I smoke size-wise).




1st/3rd:

Prelight draw shows perfect construction, great draw and no flavors to really write home about. Lighting it up… smoke really isn’t too strong, which is good. That said, I just found out that it’s not a good idea to push all the smoke out my nose.

Out the nose, however, when I look past the fire ants in my nostrils, I do get a very woody flavor that’s agreeable. No real bitterness or anything as of yet… the smoke is a good flavor. I just sneezed thanks to my fire ant friends.

There’s something fruity in the aftertaste of this cigar which is very pleasant… like some sweet stewed fruit. This is a decent cigar so far… the size is a bit much, but I think the reason I resist cigars of this size is because I like change. I’ve had some cigars that chance frequently throughout the smoking of it. This experience primarily occurred with CCs… NC’s could have decent flavors, but didn’t really change drastically enough to keep me interested. Perhaps it’s ADD…

As another note, I’m pairing this with coffee… now I’m going to grab some Pellegrino as well.

2nd/3rd:




That tasty fruitiness is so far in the background it might as well not even be there... the predominant flavor now is back to the woodiness, but there is also a sweetness. I’m really enjoying this cigar and, oddly, I believe this would be a good cigar with some age on it. The reason I find that odd is that I haven’t really seen many NCs that benefit from age. I know that’s an unscientific and likely unfair blanket statement, but I’ve had 02 Anejos and just didn’t dig them (and this was when I was smoking NCs predominantly).

After the half, I’m getting a little… something. How’s that for specific, eh? This cigar has some of that muddled-ness I noticed in the last cigar, either that or my palate is just weak. That’s just as likely. Still, though, I’m enjoying it.

I have gotten no bitterness from this cigar, in fact, there’s been a sweet undertone (at times an overtone) throughout the entirety of this stick.

3rd/3rd:




Not really pulling many particular flavors at this point, but still enjoying it. I’m really curious to find out what this is. There a little glue-type taste in the distant background… not enough to make this a bad cigar by any stretch. Strength is definitely picking up at this point, which is typical.

I have picked up the habit lately of finding stems in cigars and tearing them out, often to the detriment of the cigar, but it’s a habit I can’t seem to break. I’ve been holding off on this cigar, but I couldn’t hold off anymore:




Now, it’s simply become a cigar. I’ve enjoyed it thoroughly up to this point… now though, it’s getting a bit rough. At this point, I’m calling the game. The strength at this point is much more than I enjoy.




I’d rate this cigar an 89 and am curious as to what it is.

[kelmac07]

This should be fun to watch!!

[akumushi]

Here's another really interesting article on the ability to taste bitterness.

"PTC tasters may be more sensitive than non-tasters to compounds in tobacco and vegetables in the cabbage family."