Do you Retrohale??

One of the mysteries of cigar smoking, this is the key to flavor and really tasting a cigar fully. It has changed my opinion of so many cigars over the years. I find most dont or havent tried it before. To me it is the only way to discover the difference between flavor and strength. For those that havent there are youtube videos how and plenty of forum postings. So do you or why dont you??

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boydmcgowan

Krieg:
it doesn't take much to pick up the flavors. I blow 90% of the smoke out my mouth and 10% through the nose (over the course of the cigar)

I'm around this ratio as well, sometimes more sometimes less. Cigars are all about relaxing for me, so I try not to stress about anything at all, including the way that I'm smoking it. The only thing I'm careful about is cutting and lighting, after that all bets are off. haha. Typically though, if I'm smoking a cigar for the first time then I will make sure to retrohale a few more times than normal, just to make sure I get the whole experience before developing an opinion on the cigar.

For me honestly, it hasn't been the game changer that is often described. It's not a negative experience at all, but I don't find that I'm picking up THAT much more in terms of flavors. Admitedly though, that could be me. I do not have a real highly developed palate. It also could be that i'm still learning the proper methods for retrohaling (I've been doing it around a year or two though). I would be interested in hearing people's impressions where retrohaling made a big impact.

robbyras

I do and I'm probably at a 70:30 mouth to nose

rgalyon0911

I retrohale every 3rd or 4th puff. Once I started doing it it really opened the flavor up.

shamrocked

i'm having an extremely hard time getting the smoke to come out of my nose. i've tried to push my tongue against the roof of my mouth as suggested but are there anymore tips. every once in a while i seem to accidentally retrohale and the smell/taste is amazing. thanks for the help.

JCizzle

shamrocked:
i'm having an extremely hard time getting the smoke to come out of my nose. i've tried to push my tongue against the roof of my mouth as suggested but are there anymore tips. every once in a while i seem to accidentally retrohale and the smell/taste is amazing. thanks for the help.

Just force the smoke towards the back of your throat and exhale out your nose.

R_M_G

I would be surprised if anyone would even enjoy a cigar without doing it... most of your sense of taste is based on your nose... i mean, ever tried to enjoy food when you have a cold and can't smell? I do it, but I've never really thought about it before now, I just do, I don't think I could smoke without doing it...

ndhaon91

shamrocked:
i'm having an extremely hard time getting the smoke to come out of my nose. i've tried to push my tongue against the roof of my mouth as suggested but are there anymore tips. every once in a while i seem to accidentally retrohale and the smell/taste is amazing. thanks for the help.

As strange as it sounds, it's really done more with the throat than the nose. You can push air out your nose all you want, but if you haven't opened up the back of your throat the smoke has nowhere to go.

When I first started, I found that it helped to blow most of the smoke out my mouth first, hold the remaining smoke in the mouth while inhaling a breath through the nose, and then starting the retrohale with a full breath of air.

kuzi16

shamrocked:
i'm having an extremely hard time getting the smoke to come out of my nose. i've tried to push my tongue against the roof of my mouth as suggested but are there anymore tips. every once in a while i seem to accidentally retrohale and the smell/taste is amazing. thanks for the help.

i got started by only having a tiny bit of smoke in the mouth and puffing my cheeks out. then i would exhale through the nose while emptying the cheeks out. now i can turn it on or off as i please.

Fourtotheflush

I do it as often as possible.

If it is a stick I am loving and the flavors are nice and smooth, I retrohale every puff.

If its fairly spicy then I retrohale every few puffs.

If its really spicy then Ill only retro a few times duuring the cigar to see if the profile has changed and my sinus can handle it.

cooch36

robbyras:
I do and I'm probably at a 70:30 mouth to nose

Redtailhawkoz

due to past issues that basically destroyed my sinuses and left me with what the Doctors call Swiss Cheese sinuses retroihaling has more Bad effects to me than good, I do occasionaly but not often depends on the smoke, Its not a good thing for me to do..... LOL

zeebra

still trying to learn this!! will attempt again tonight, hopefully. I've watched videos and read as much as I can on retro hailing...nothing so far and I'm getting frustrated!

This could use a bump anyways!

jfaciane

I'm trying to learn how to do this. Every time I try I either inhale smoke or it just burs like heck. I'm still new to this hobby and learn more and more each time I smoke. Heck I've only smoked sticky before this and never had cigarettes so I'm pretty fresh to this smoking thing.

lcpleel

Every puff leaves out my nose.

kuzi16

lcpleel:
Every puff leaves out my nose.

not all of every puff, but some of 90% does.

OchoZacho

It's rare if I don't on every puff.

Rhamlin

Almost always, but I have found some cigars do have a better flavor just using the mouth.

lcpleel

kuzi16:
lcpleel:
Every puff leaves out my nose.
not all of every puff, but some of 90% does.

Matt I'm at 110%!!!!

camgfs

To be honest, I was retrohaling a good 25 years before I ever knew it had a name

I never even gave it a thought, and the first time I saw the word "retrohale" was on this forum, and I had to look it up, lol.
Somehow it just came naturally to me. I found that I could pick up on things in the cigar that I would have been missing all those years. I have never smoked cigs, so I didn't learn it from that. No idea why/where I learned how to do it, but it has always been a part of my cigar experience.

Un_Sub

I started doing it on my first cigar, thought it was kind of weird, but I could taste more that way. Maybe I'm not quite as weird as I had originally thought....though still pretty darn weird!!!!
Considering the fact that I didn't know there was a certain way to light a cigar and was burning it hot as h3ll, you can imagine the burn I was experiencing!!!

BigT06

I retrohale at least a portion of every puff I take. It differs each time... sometimes I like to swirl more around my mouth, sometimes I like to exhale it through the side of my mouth, sometimes through the center, sometimes primarily through the nose... it always changes. But at least some of it is through the nose every time.

jr_p951

I retrohale a portion of almost every puff. I find that I get a different smell or different flavor when I do retrohale. I encourage everyone to try it! Stick with it and it'll def change your smoking experience.

zeebra

Besides the videos on youtube, where else can I read on how to do this? When I smoked cigarettes, I was able to blow through my noes, only because I inhaled the smoke. But since I don't inhale the cigars, I'm just finding it very difficult to do.

phobicsquirrel

docbp87:
I retrohale on almost every draw. If you are getting nothing but a big burn, then you are expelling too much smoke through your nose. I would say that maybe 3/4s should be expelled through your mouth and only 1/4 through your nose. Just enough to get the smoke through your nose.

YUP! What doc said.

kaspera79

Every single draw leaves through my nose, some times it is coming out as I am drawing in.. I think I must have some sinus defect.

farinahome

Just to confirm, none of it actually gets inhaled correctly? I keep trying, but haven't gotten it yet.

kuzi16

farinahome:
Just to confirm, none of it actually gets inhaled correctly? I keep trying, but haven't gotten it yet.

smoke and lungs never meet. practice make perfect.

Rhamlin

Don't know if this helps but I hold the smoke in my mouth for a sec or two then just exhale thru the nose when smoke starts coming out the I let it start flowing out my mouth till I finally exhale completely.

Gaetano7890

I will say retrohaling is my favorite way to enjoy a cigar. I have become a full body only smoker and it due a lot to retrohaling. Basically if a cigar does not burn on the way out of my nose or make my eyes water I'm not impressed. Currenlty the best cigar for this is MOW PA I had one last night and it's a rush. I do find that if I swallow and let the moke pour out of my nose it will contiue to tingle pretty much till the nub and it also come with many different flavor than a normal retrohale.