Drink pairing = Artificial flavor?

[wayner123]

Originally Posted by tsolomon

The question I have is when do you ever have a clean palate to start your tasting from?

Pretty much every time I smoke. I try to always have a clean palette when smoking a cigar. I do this by gargling, using sparkling water or club soda. But that's just me, I personally like the way a cigar tastes by itself.

To those who have said the first time they smoke a cigar it's with water or nothing, do you then recommend a person to that same cigar(s) based off the initial tasting? Or is the recommendation from more than that one cigar?