DBall's Newb Blind Taste Test #5

[smitty81]

Originally Posted by ApexAZ

You've had 2 out of 5 that you really liked though. Do you like every NC you smoke?

Well lets just say that I have "enjoyed" 90% of the NC's I have smoked so far.

I haven't exactly found any dog rockets but then again, I haven't gone out of my way to look for them either.

It just baffles me that A LOT OF MEMBERS ON CA seem to think that CC's are a lot better than NC's.

I feel like I am missing something, I just don't get whats better about them I guess.......

The NC's I have smoked generally have a LOT more smoke and a deeper more rich spicy flavor.


Don't get me wrong, this is fun and I appreciate Dan doing this but I guess the CC's just aren't what I thought they would be.

Not the Holy Grail that I was expecting.

[DBall]

Originally Posted by smitty81

Not the Holy Grail that I was expecting.

Perhaps that is part of the problem. Based on prior threads, you probably came into this expecting these all to be Cuban and having the expectation of a "holy grail" type experience for all CCs, it would be very easy to be let down (and that is just a general statement, not even accounting for the simple fact that everyone's palette is different).

The only way to do this is to experience it one cigar at a time, regardless of origin (you never know... what if I mixed a couple NCs in there...), and document what YOU think about the cigar for what it is... just a cigar that you are smoking at that point in time.

There's no wrong answers in this kinda thing... you may leave this experience thinking all these cigars you tried suck, and that is totally fine

As far as the spice and depth, I seem to find that on the newer CCs... the older ones are more refined and are my preference (as I am admittedly a mild cigar smoker). A fresh Partagas or Bolivar may put some hairs on your chest and will seem a lot stronger than a 12 year old Hoyo for sure.

I do prefer CC's (and older ones at that), personally, but that is not a result of anything other than trying everything I have over the years I have been in the hobby and the changing of tastes I enjoy. When I first started, I was looking for the strongest damned cigars I could find and then my tastes changed. Hell... my tastes still change all the time. LGC MdO #4's used to be one of my favorite smokes, but every time I light one lately, I'm underwhelmed. A year from now, I may smoke one and be pissed that I wasted all the ones I had when I didn't enjoy them... hahaha.

You're doing just fine... just don't place any expectations on them and take 'em one cigar at a time.

[Brutus2600]

Originally Posted by awsmith4

I am not sure I understand what folks mean by retrohale. is that when you blow out then breathe some back in with the nose?

I just simply take a puff and in the middle of the exhale I close my mouth while still exhaling and the smoke is forced out of my nose.

But don't worry if you don't like Cubans, their are ALOT of other choices out there and no shame in liking what you like.

That's what retrohaling is.

If I retrohale I usually only retrohale about 20% through my nose and the other 80% through my mouth like normal. Even with mild cigars it's still something I'm not completely used to.

Originally Posted by smitty81

Well lets just say that I have "enjoyed" 90% of the NC's I have smoked so far.

I haven't exactly found any dog rockets but then again, I haven't gone out of my way to look for them either.

It just baffles me that A LOT OF MEMBERS ON CA seem to think that CC's are a lot better than NC's.

I feel like I am missing something, I just don't get whats better about them I guess.......

The NC's I have smoked generally have a LOT more smoke and a deeper more rich spicy flavor.


Don't get me wrong, this is fun and I appreciate Dan doing this but I guess the CC's just aren't what I thought they would be.

Not the Holy Grail that I was expecting.

I don't think that a lot of members on CA think that CC's are superior to NC's. I do however think that a lot of members might prefer to smoke CC's over NC's. The general consensus here is smoke what you like and like what you smoke CC's might not be your bag, but as Dan said, if you're used to and enjoy that strong peppery kick that a lot of NC's have, aged CC's might not be your thing.

That's what's great about this whole exercise though. You can come into it being completely new to everything about a CC and derive your own thoughts and opinions about them without "smoking the band" or even unconsciously having somebody else's opinion affect what you think about a cigar