Cigar Tasting... Wish I was there!

[Footbag]

I came across this video of Jose Blanco doing a cigar blending seminar. Basically, he gives the audience 4 cigars. Each one is a puro from a specific region and type of plant. The tasting is blind, so the audience doesn't know what region they are from. He asks the audience to smoke 1/4 of a cigar and describe it. They go through all 4 cigars and compare the flavors and then reveals the region and/or leaf type.

Wow! I wish I was in the audience for that. I've been wanting to challenge myself the same way, with a blind tasting of regional puros, but it's been hard to execute due to a few factors. Primarily, that most non-Cubans are blends and the non-cuban puros of certain regions may not be a perfect representation of that regions flavor sue to it's composition of filler (ligero, seco and viso)and the further issue of differing types of wrappers. Basically, unless you are a grower/ blender/roller (IE Own a cigar company)it's pretty hard to do.

Anyone have any ideas as to how to replicate something like this? Anyone else as interested as I am in something like this?

Either way, the video is very cool, as are a bunch of his other "seminar" videos.

[stearns]

I forget exactly who, but years ago somebody brought a "tasting kit" (don't know what to call it) to Shack that had all of the different tobaccos that were included in the DE undercrown, each tobacco type was rolled into their own individual cigars, so if the undercrown was a mix of maybe 5 types of tobacco, and this came with 5 cigars each rolled with just one type. These were very ugly, since most were intended as binder or filler but were now being used for everything, but it was really cool. Those all came in one pack with a finished product undercrown, and you smoked all together to try to see where each of the characteristics of the final product came from. Don't know how much insight I personally gained, especially since it was in the middle of a dozen cigars that day, but a very cool process.

Not exactly the same as the one you linked, which would be awesome to experience as well, but it's similar. I also have another similar little tasting kit, I'll try to post a picture when I get home later on, that has cigarillos each rolled exclusively with different leaves from the plant. I found it when I started working at a cigar shop about 7 years ago and they were quite old at that point, so I don't know if it would taste like anything now, but I thought it was cool so I grabbed one

[Footbag]

Originally Posted by stearns

I forget exactly who, but years ago somebody brought a "tasting kit" (don't know what to call it) to Shack that had all of the different tobaccos that were included in the DE undercrown, each tobacco type was rolled into their own individual cigars, so if the undercrown was a mix of maybe 5 types of tobacco, and this came with 5 cigars each rolled with just one type. These were very ugly, since most were intended as binder or filler but were now being used for everything, but it was really cool. Those all came in one pack with a finished product undercrown, and you smoked all together to try to see where each of the characteristics of the final product came from. Don't know how much insight I personally gained, especially since it was in the middle of a dozen cigars that day, but a very cool process.

Not exactly the same as the one you linked, which would be awesome to experience as well, but it's similar. I also have another similar little tasting kit, I'll try to post a picture when I get home later on, that has cigarillos each rolled exclusively with different leaves from the plant. I found it when I started working at a cigar shop about 7 years ago and they were quite old at that point, so I don't know if it would taste like anything now, but I thought it was cool so I grabbed one

Interesting. I'd love one of those. I just Googled and found the La Aurora Tasting Kit. Of course, I don't see anywhere that sells it. Maybe I'll do some E-Mailing. That's exactly what I was looking for and more.

[Beagleone]

I've done the blind tasting with Jose Blanco several times here in DFW. It is really eye opening and a lot of fun. Even Charlie Minato from Halfwheel got it wrong at one seminar.

It was probably Steve Saka, who was with DE and blended the original Ligas, that gave that presentation. He is a wealth of tobacco knowledge and I have fun talking shop with him.

[TXRebel]

Gran Habano offered a blending kit a few years ago, but I don't think they sell it anymore.

[stearns]

Took a picture last night of the little pack I have, I know literally nothing about it other than what's in the picture and what the letters stand for (Ligero, Seco and Volado). If anybody has seen something like this before I'd love to hear a little history about it.

[John00]

I am interested in it.