Are you tasting what you think you are?

[Snake Hips]

Originally Posted by Emjaysmash

Well I cant attest to the Pepper vs. tannin statement... I do have a question, however.

If Padrons were to be aged, like CCs, would this ripen more tannins out, or does this need to be done before the process of rolling?

That needs to be done far before rolling. It needs to be done in harvesting. Or possibly in fermenting and/or curing at the latest.

Anyway, I don't know if I agree with The Riddick for my taste. What I personally take as "pepper" doesn't taste like it isn't supposed to be there; I hate it for violating the laws of good taste and smoking enjoyment, but it never seems "wrong" to the blend. I've tasted "green" cigars (I'm looking at you, Mag 50 >:0) and it isn't a pepper thing. It just tastes like smoking raw leaves - it's bitter and "plant-y." Pepper to me has always come off as something that appears to be part of the blend, rather than a product of improper processing. What I usually attribute to improper processing often gives me a sensation similar to biting into a grape seed - a tart bitterness that strikes the very back of the tongue, independent of other tastes (either shows through other present "proper" tobacco flavors, or stands alone a taste vacuum). Like I said before, it tastes "plant-y" and actually brings to mind "green" as a taste, because I immediately think of the taste and smell of a raw tree branch. Perhaps this pepper thing is true of tannins in wine, but pepper often doesn't seem out of place in cigar blends, and according to manufacturer and retailer descriptions, usually it's there because it's supposed to be.

I do definitely agree with him about the "dryness" and courseness on the palate. I often get cigars that I describe to have a "gritty" taste, or a "dry" taste, and it doesn't seem consistent (as in it doesn't seem intended with the blend). This is indeed unripe tannins, and there's no arguing there - this is the cause of the "green" tastes I described above. I get this a lot with Dominican tobacco (Dominican tobacco can go straight to Hell anyway, but this just adds to its sins).

[Zanaspus]

Always beware of people asserting objectivity to taste.