Refining Your Palate

Wow, that's some pretty heavy info. I am trying to pick up scents and flavors myself, and the last cigar I smoked (before reading this topic), I suppose I had done some of these things instinctively. While smoking, I drank water, I smoked fairly slow as I smoked the first 2/3, but when I got down to the last 1/3 of the cigar I would draw quite a bit more frequently, leaving a burning sensation on my tongue. But I just kept smoking, it tasted so good!

As I was smoking on the second of the thirds, I would keep trying to exhale through my nostrils, in an attempt to pick up more flavors. At one point I had taken WAY too much smoke in through my nostrils, and had a painful experience, close to the pain of a brain freeze, but for smoke-filled nostrils.

All in all, I was able to discern 2 flavors from the cigar I smoked, and I am still searching for ways to improve this sense. I believe reading reviews will probably help the most, as I hadn't done done so BEFORE I smoked (as opposed to after), and I also found that one of the flavors I picked up on this particular cigar were not to be found in ANY of the reviews I had read! I don't know if this is just a mistake on my behalf, or if it can turn out differently for everyone, especially those with an unrefined palate.