Inconsistent Cigar Experience

CharlieCordus

I've been reintroduced to cigar smoking for about a year now so I still consider myself very much a noobie. I have found many cigars that I have liked alot only to try another from the same batch and have a very different taste. I try to do all the basics with humidity and aging. Have others here had similar experiences?

j0z3r

Your cigar experience can be profoundly different from one cigar to another based on what you've had to eat or drink...also, I've found that some cigars just work better at a certain time of day than at others, so perhaps that's it.

415

if you smoke outside, humidity and temp. can make two cigars from the same batch smoke different

Russ55

What kinds of cigars are you smoking?

kuzi16

j0z3r:

Your cigar experience can be profoundly different from one cigar to another based on what you've had to eat or drink...also, I've found that some cigars just work better at a certain time of day than at others, so perhaps that's it.

most of this has to do with the pH in your mouth. if you smoke a cigar after eating an orange (acidic) it will be very different than if you have a cigar after eating a bowl of broccoli (alkaline).

CharlieCordus

Russ55 wrote the following post at 10-01-2011 2:23 PM:
What kinds of cigars are you smoking?

Here's a partial list of what I've tried:
5 vegas
Fuente
padron
padilla
my father
nub
Man o' War
gurkha
diesel unlimited
cusano
cohiba
then some cc's:
Behike
RyJ short churchills
Montecristo #2
ramon allones
hoyo de monterray no. 2
PSD 4
lusitania's
trinidad Robusto T
h. upmann mag50

wwhwang

Hope I can help with my input. As far as the non-CCs, flavors can differ depending on which vitola you smoke, how much they've rested or aged, what you've eaten, what you're drinking while smoking, or sometimes you can just get a random (though rare) bad stick.

For the CCs, they've been known to be inconsistent from box to box as the guys south of Miami don't bother trying to blend them to consistency from harvest to harvest or even from vitola to vitola.

camgfs

wwhwang:

For the CCs, they've been known to be inconsistent from box to box as the guys south of Miami don't bother trying to blend them to consistency from harvest to harvest or even from vitola to vitola.

Ummm....I hate to differ. I love mu ISOM sticks, and I have found that a Fonseca tastes like a Fonseca and a Cohiba siglo (pick a number) tastes like a siglo (#), so I have to disagree to a statement that claims that CC's don't care about consistency. I know we all have our opinion, but I've been smoking Cuban sticks on and off for 30 years. Maybe if you buy them in the States and get counterfeits, then the consitency would be way off. Just my 2cents worth.

I do agree that different foods, time of day and severe changes in weather, alergies and humidity can make a cigar taste/burn very differently from the last one you had.

90+ Irishman

camgfs:

wwhwang:

For the CCs, they've been known to be inconsistent from box to box as the guys south of Miami don't bother trying to blend them to consistency from harvest to harvest or even from vitola to vitola.

Ummm....I hate to differ. I love mu ISOM sticks, and I have found that a Fonseca tastes like a Fonseca and a Cohiba siglo (pick a number) tastes like a siglo (#), so I have to disagree to a statement that claims that CC's don't care about consistency. I know we all have our opinion, but I've been smoking Cuban sticks on and off for 30 years. Maybe if you buy them in the States and get counterfeits, then the consitency would be way off. Just my 2cents worth.

I do agree that different foods, time of day and severe changes in weather, alergies and humidity can make a cigar taste/burn very differently from the last one you had.

Certainly not trying to start a flame war of any sort or even trying to make an argument. Everyone has different experiences and there are many factors that go into this as well, here is my very humble opinion that should only be taken with a grain of salt.

From my experience the mind is a VERY powerful thing; if you buy a cuban Cohiba often times simply the mystique and hype/myth makes the mind already looking for things to love about it, and even if it isn't truly a "great" cigar or experience the bias so to speak of a cuban MAKES people love them.

Also in a different aside, I do have to back-up Wayne on this. It has been documented for a very long time now that SOME (not all of course), but some factories in Cuba HAVE had problems with consistency for several reasons. Because of the politics in Cuba after Fidel Castro took over he stripped all tobacco farmers on their land and took it under government control. Due to this, there was very little lack of incentive to do better than they had to to get by. Also, it has been documented that they have been known to rush several of the processes including the growth period, and the fermentation. But the single "biggest" problem that has been documented is that they do not always leave the land to rest after the growing season to replenish to nutrients in the soil.

All of what I have said in this post can be found in several different books, and other very reputable resources, but the most recent one that I read and found this in was "Nat Sherman's: A Passion for Cigars" and I don't believe that any BOTL/SOTL will argue that Nat and his son Joel Sherman talk out of their a$$. Just my two cents, and I am CERTAINLY NOT trying to make anyone look bad or say that one person is right or wrong. --Brett

EDIT: added line breaks and corrected a handful of spelling errors.

camgfs

90+ Irishman:

camgfs:

wwhwang:

For the CCs, they've been known to be inconsistent from box to box as the guys south of Miami don't bother trying to blend them to consistency from harvest to harvest or even from vitola to vitola.

Ummm....I hate to differ. I love mu ISOM sticks, and I have found that a Fonseca tastes like a Fonseca and a Cohiba siglo (pick a number) tastes like a siglo (#), so I have to disagree to a statement that claims that CC's don't care about consistency. I know we all have our opinion, but I've been smoking Cuban sticks on and off for 30 years. Maybe if you buy them in the States and get counterfeits, then the consitency would be way off. Just my 2cents worth.

I do agree that different foods, time of day and severe changes in weather, alergies and humidity can make a cigar taste/burn very differently from the last one you had.

Certainly not trying to start a flame war of any sort or even trying to make an argument. Everyone has different experiences and there are many factors that go into this as well, here is my very humble opinion that should only be taken with a grain of salt.

From my experience the mind is a VERY powerful thing; if you buy a cuban Cohiba often times simply the mystique and hype/myth makes the mind already looking for things to love about it, and even if it isn't truly a "great" cigar or experience the bias so to speak of a cuban MAKES people love them.

Also in a different aside, I do have to back-up Wayne on this. It has been documented for a very long time now that SOME (not all of course), but some factories in Cuba HAVE had problems with consistency for several reasons. Because of the politics in Cuba after Fidel Castro took over he stripped all tobacco farmers on their land and took it under government control. Due to this, there was very little lack of incentive to do better than they had to to get by. Also, it has been documented that they have been known to rush several of the processes including the growth period, and the fermentation. But the single "biggest" problem that has been documented is that they do not always leave the land to rest after the growing season to replenish to nutrients in the soil.

All of what I have said in this post can be found in several different books, and other very reputable resources, but the most recent one that I read and found this in was "Nat Sherman's: A Passion for Cigars" and I don't believe that any BOTL/SOTL will argue that Nat and his son Joel Sherman talk out of their a$$. Just my two cents, and I am CERTAINLY NOT trying to make anyone look bad or say that one person is right or wrong. --Brett

EDIT: added line breaks and corrected a handful of spelling errors.

Thanks for the info

90+ Irishman

No problem buddy, glad to help

CharlieCordus

Thanks for the info everyone, I am a bit surprised but pleased that it could be something I'm doing that is causing some sticks to vary in flavor. This sounds kinda silly but since I don't know... Is there any 'pregame' ritual that helps a cigar taster to avoid these problems?

90+ Irishman

Not sure about anyone else, but I try to not have any strong flavors 1-2 hours before I smoke, that way I'm focused on the cigar and not the toothpaste taste or the garlic, citrus etc etc. Grab a relaxing chair, a couple cold drinks, I tend towards water, amber beer, or a smooth whiskey. Other than that, it is totally up to you and your preference. -- Brett