How to taste a cigar

Montreal Cigar Club cigar tasting event.

This is a subject that has been touched in many articles and very well done in this article on cigarinspector by Zen Cigar. Instead of repeating what has already been said I will go through my “technique”

I found that sitting down with a cigar, a pen, paper (preferably Moleskin notebook) with a drink and listening to background music is where I feel most comfortable to start tasting. I often suggest the same to people for their first time writing down what they taste. Just write down the first things that come to your mind while thinking about what you are smoking. Close your eyes and just enjoy the smoke. Does it remind you of that desert you use to eat as a kid or that smell in front of the wood shop. Just like anything in life, it is practice that make best. There is no such thing crazy idea or flavours because everyone tastes different.

Here you have a taste wheel to help you get started. I found this one to be very well made. First start by picking the type of flavours you are tasting and match them to the four categories in the middle of the wheel. Second find colour that matches the taste of the cigar and last is to find the body of it (Light, Medium, and Full). These are no definite choices but just ideas to get your going. You can also look at the other wheel I added at the end for more ideas.

After a few times doing this exercise you will be much better at describing and detecting notes in your smokes. Tasting and discussing with friends is also a very good way to learn. I can’t count the amount of time, I have sat down with a friend to smoke the same cigar he says it taste like cinnamon and I just go “That’s it!”

Just enjoy it and make the best out of it. What else is better than sitting down with a buddy smoking great cigars paired with great booze and going back in forth about flavours without having life intervene?

“A wisely chosen cigar to me, is like a weapon against certain of life’s torments, in some mysterious way, a little blue smoke chases them away.” -Zino Davidoff