Experiment in Tasting
- Thread starter wayner123
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Experiment in Tasting Volt's blind review
Experiment in Tasting by Wayner123
Blues Tiger, Virginia Gent, Mark C, Dennis P – unless you have completed your testing, Wayne may not want you reading my review.
Ok, Wayne brought up some interesting points in “tasting” cigars. In order to prove (what we don’t know yet) he asked for volunteers for an experiment. I was on of the lucky five. I am “young” to cigars, maybe 2 years and don't consider my palette to be very refined. Today I received a box that had some very specific instructions that I followed, some jelly beans, and a “cigar”.
My preparation: I ate dinner, collected up the wife, cigar material, and my beans. and headed off to the bar. Along the way to the bar per the instructions, I ate 3 beans each of each flavor. I had pink colada, strawberry daiquiri, and margarita. I was given 3 of each. I ate all 3 of each at one time. I wanted the full burst of the flavor to be strong in my memory. Not a lot of difference between the strawberry daiquiri and the margarita.
About ½ an hour trip to the bar.
Once I got to the bar I ordered a water (per the instructions and settled in.
1) Aesthetics: Unknown, per the instructions, an inspection of the cigar was not allowed. So all I can really say is it was a cigar with a semi dark wrapper in maybe a 48 or 50 RG.
2) Pre-light Construction: See #1
3) The smoke:
First third: I brought my el cheapo double bladed cutter and my Colibri Executive triple flame lighter. The cut was perfect, the end was just as I like it, no loose tobacco leaves, stems, etc. I toasted the foot for a few minutes and then hit with the first draw, it lit very easily and I was pleasantly surprised at the taste, not bad. Usually I don’t like the first 10 or so puffs of most cigars for some reason, this one was, not so bad.
The draw was a bit loose for me. Not terrible, but not a lot of resistance. It produced a fair amount of smoke through out the burn. Now that we are on the burn, let’s talk about it. In a word, it was terrible. Consistently stayed out of line, would not stay lit. After about the first inch or so it was work to keep it going, at least a hit every 45 to 60 seconds or puff city to get it up and running again. On the whole, even with the extra puffing it never smoked hot. The ash on this cigar never really went much past a ¼ inch without falling off. I really don’t care about the ash like some do, so no issues for me.
Let’s move on to the flavor. Had I been drinking my standard fare, I would have missed a lot. The cigar started out not creamy, but a silky smooth feel. The flavor was hitting me like sweet water, and then I realized it reminded me of eating a watermelon. Not that it had the taste, but that silky wet sensation of eating one. This is hitting me as a mild but complex cigar, what a combo. It faded a bit and came back on strong at the end of the first third. This is an easy smoke to blow through the nose, good for getting a feel for the smoke. Great comments from the other bar patrons on the aroma. I in fact gifted a Padron 3000 (my third gift, I never seem to get to smoke it) to a guy who was enjoying me smoke the one I had.
The ½ mark: Things are a changing. The flavors are muting a bit and it picks up a sugary taste/sensation. It is really starting to pick up a tobacco type taste, no more through the nose and leaving a dry type feel to the tongue. Starting to get a nicotine feel working even though the smoke is still “mild”.
The 2/3 mark: Ok, by the end of the 2/3 mark the nicotine is kicking! I’m thinking thank god for supper. As we can only drink water, no sugars are being taken in. During the ½ to 2/3 time frame there was a short burst of a orange/tangerine (or just call it a citrus) flavor. Maybe 5 – 9 puffs worth.
The ¾ mark: I’m done! I’m an hour and a half into this puppy and the buzz is rocking. Me getting sick on the bar isn’t gonna happen. The taste has gone to a very harsh tobacco taste with no flavors. So it now lies in the ash try with a ¼ to go for someone better than me. Sorry, only so much I can do for science.
4) Aftertaste/Finish: The aftertaste has killed the first immense enjoyment I originally had. Nothing left in the mouth but a strong tobacco taste as when I smoked cigarettes. First third I’m thinking, great complex cigar for a new person to try. Many great flavors and sensations to be experienced. As the nicotine level and harshness increased by the ½ mark, maybe not a beginner cigar.
5) Summation: Would I smoke it again, maybe. I would have stop sooner had it not been for the experiment. I smoked 3 packs of Marlboros a day before quitting, pipes, cigars, chewed tobacco and other hand rolled leaves. This is right up there with an un-filtered Camel cig. I finished the evening with a Joaquim blackberry brandy. It helped with the after taste and was similar to the original flavors I had tasted. Did the beans have any bearing? Not so much as to the actual flavors, but for this cigar, they definitely put me in the right zone to pick out the flavors I did. The water was the other help. A short rest in the humi might have helped the burn, but something tells me maybe not.
Wayne, thanks for letting me participate. It was fun and I learned a bit in trying new cigars. I hope this is some help in your experiment.
Experiment in Tasting by Wayner123
Blues Tiger, Virginia Gent, Mark C, Dennis P – unless you have completed your testing, Wayne may not want you reading my review.
Ok, Wayne brought up some interesting points in “tasting” cigars. In order to prove (what we don’t know yet) he asked for volunteers for an experiment. I was on of the lucky five. I am “young” to cigars, maybe 2 years and don't consider my palette to be very refined. Today I received a box that had some very specific instructions that I followed, some jelly beans, and a “cigar”.
My preparation: I ate dinner, collected up the wife, cigar material, and my beans. and headed off to the bar. Along the way to the bar per the instructions, I ate 3 beans each of each flavor. I had pink colada, strawberry daiquiri, and margarita. I was given 3 of each. I ate all 3 of each at one time. I wanted the full burst of the flavor to be strong in my memory. Not a lot of difference between the strawberry daiquiri and the margarita.
About ½ an hour trip to the bar.
Once I got to the bar I ordered a water (per the instructions and settled in.
1) Aesthetics: Unknown, per the instructions, an inspection of the cigar was not allowed. So all I can really say is it was a cigar with a semi dark wrapper in maybe a 48 or 50 RG.
2) Pre-light Construction: See #1
3) The smoke:
First third: I brought my el cheapo double bladed cutter and my Colibri Executive triple flame lighter. The cut was perfect, the end was just as I like it, no loose tobacco leaves, stems, etc. I toasted the foot for a few minutes and then hit with the first draw, it lit very easily and I was pleasantly surprised at the taste, not bad. Usually I don’t like the first 10 or so puffs of most cigars for some reason, this one was, not so bad.
The draw was a bit loose for me. Not terrible, but not a lot of resistance. It produced a fair amount of smoke through out the burn. Now that we are on the burn, let’s talk about it. In a word, it was terrible. Consistently stayed out of line, would not stay lit. After about the first inch or so it was work to keep it going, at least a hit every 45 to 60 seconds or puff city to get it up and running again. On the whole, even with the extra puffing it never smoked hot. The ash on this cigar never really went much past a ¼ inch without falling off. I really don’t care about the ash like some do, so no issues for me.
Let’s move on to the flavor. Had I been drinking my standard fare, I would have missed a lot. The cigar started out not creamy, but a silky smooth feel. The flavor was hitting me like sweet water, and then I realized it reminded me of eating a watermelon. Not that it had the taste, but that silky wet sensation of eating one. This is hitting me as a mild but complex cigar, what a combo. It faded a bit and came back on strong at the end of the first third. This is an easy smoke to blow through the nose, good for getting a feel for the smoke. Great comments from the other bar patrons on the aroma. I in fact gifted a Padron 3000 (my third gift, I never seem to get to smoke it) to a guy who was enjoying me smoke the one I had.
The ½ mark: Things are a changing. The flavors are muting a bit and it picks up a sugary taste/sensation. It is really starting to pick up a tobacco type taste, no more through the nose and leaving a dry type feel to the tongue. Starting to get a nicotine feel working even though the smoke is still “mild”.
The 2/3 mark: Ok, by the end of the 2/3 mark the nicotine is kicking! I’m thinking thank god for supper. As we can only drink water, no sugars are being taken in. During the ½ to 2/3 time frame there was a short burst of a orange/tangerine (or just call it a citrus) flavor. Maybe 5 – 9 puffs worth.
The ¾ mark: I’m done! I’m an hour and a half into this puppy and the buzz is rocking. Me getting sick on the bar isn’t gonna happen. The taste has gone to a very harsh tobacco taste with no flavors. So it now lies in the ash try with a ¼ to go for someone better than me. Sorry, only so much I can do for science.
4) Aftertaste/Finish: The aftertaste has killed the first immense enjoyment I originally had. Nothing left in the mouth but a strong tobacco taste as when I smoked cigarettes. First third I’m thinking, great complex cigar for a new person to try. Many great flavors and sensations to be experienced. As the nicotine level and harshness increased by the ½ mark, maybe not a beginner cigar.
5) Summation: Would I smoke it again, maybe. I would have stop sooner had it not been for the experiment. I smoked 3 packs of Marlboros a day before quitting, pipes, cigars, chewed tobacco and other hand rolled leaves. This is right up there with an un-filtered Camel cig. I finished the evening with a Joaquim blackberry brandy. It helped with the after taste and was similar to the original flavors I had tasted. Did the beans have any bearing? Not so much as to the actual flavors, but for this cigar, they definitely put me in the right zone to pick out the flavors I did. The water was the other help. A short rest in the humi might have helped the burn, but something tells me maybe not.
Wayne, thanks for letting me participate. It was fun and I learned a bit in trying new cigars. I hope this is some help in your experiment.
Thanks so much for participating Volt. Your review gave me some good insight. I will wait till I have received all the reviews and go over the data before I put down any conclusions.
I will say this much; The cigar you had should not have given you any type of nic buzz. I can only surmise that you normally drink alcohol with your cigars and thus do not "feel" the regular nicotine that comes across in a cigar.
I will say this much; The cigar you had should not have given you any type of nic buzz. I can only surmise that you normally drink alcohol with your cigars and thus do not "feel" the regular nicotine that comes across in a cigar.
Blues Tiger
ChestBeater
Wayner123,
I rec'd your package today. I will conduct the experiment this weekend and post a review Sunday night or Monday if at all possible. This is gonna be fun!
Blues Tiger
I rec'd your package today. I will conduct the experiment this weekend and post a review Sunday night or Monday if at all possible. This is gonna be fun!
Blues Tiger
Blues Tiger
ChestBeater
Okay, I finally had time to sit down and conduct the "test". I followed the instructions and made sure my palate was clean before trying the beans. The flavors I rec'd with my cigar were: Peach, Grapefruit, and Tangerine. I did not inspect the cigar in any way as per the instructions.
I chose to eat all three jellybeans of each flavor instead of one at a time, that is I ate all three of the Peach and so on... After each flavor, I washed my mouth out with water as instructed and moved on to the next. I chose to smoke the cigar immediately after all jellybeans had been consumed.
I cut the cap of the cigar with my Xikar and toasted the foot evenly.
First 1/3: At first, I did not taste anything that I could distinguish. However, after a while I started to notice something. As I continued, I could absolutely taste Peach! I have never been able to discern a flavor like this from a cigar before but there is no doubt that this was Peach I was tasting. I never tasted Tangerine, but as the first third moved into the second third I could still taste Peach and maybe a hint of Orange.
Second 1/3: As I stated above, the second third brought more Peach flavor and a hint of another citrus type flavor that I describe as Orange. I tried to exhale a little out of my nose, and I purged the cigar a few times too. After each purge, the flavor intensified. Honestly, I am very surprised that the flavors are as defined as I tasted them.
Final 1/3: The final third brought an end to the Peach flavor as well as the "Orange", and believe it or not I could now taste a mellow "Grapefruit" flavor. Now I don't know if this is my mind playing tricks on me or if the jellybeans really prepared my palate for this but I am not making this up! The Grapefruit flavor continued until I finally nubbed the cigar.
Overall, I am very excited about what I experienced. I have only been smoking cigars since January, and for the first time I was able to pick out flavors as the smoke progressed. I have no idea what kind of cigar this was, but I enjoyed it immensely and would def. smoke another.
Wayner123, I can't wait to find out what this was, and I can honestly say that I did in fact experience the flavors of the jellybeans except for the Tangerine. Maybe the power of suggestion led to this conclusion, but I hope that this has helped to further "train" my palate to distinguish flavors in cigars.
Thank you!
Blues Tiger :tu
I chose to eat all three jellybeans of each flavor instead of one at a time, that is I ate all three of the Peach and so on... After each flavor, I washed my mouth out with water as instructed and moved on to the next. I chose to smoke the cigar immediately after all jellybeans had been consumed.
I cut the cap of the cigar with my Xikar and toasted the foot evenly.
First 1/3: At first, I did not taste anything that I could distinguish. However, after a while I started to notice something. As I continued, I could absolutely taste Peach! I have never been able to discern a flavor like this from a cigar before but there is no doubt that this was Peach I was tasting. I never tasted Tangerine, but as the first third moved into the second third I could still taste Peach and maybe a hint of Orange.
Second 1/3: As I stated above, the second third brought more Peach flavor and a hint of another citrus type flavor that I describe as Orange. I tried to exhale a little out of my nose, and I purged the cigar a few times too. After each purge, the flavor intensified. Honestly, I am very surprised that the flavors are as defined as I tasted them.
Final 1/3: The final third brought an end to the Peach flavor as well as the "Orange", and believe it or not I could now taste a mellow "Grapefruit" flavor. Now I don't know if this is my mind playing tricks on me or if the jellybeans really prepared my palate for this but I am not making this up! The Grapefruit flavor continued until I finally nubbed the cigar.
Overall, I am very excited about what I experienced. I have only been smoking cigars since January, and for the first time I was able to pick out flavors as the smoke progressed. I have no idea what kind of cigar this was, but I enjoyed it immensely and would def. smoke another.
Wayner123, I can't wait to find out what this was, and I can honestly say that I did in fact experience the flavors of the jellybeans except for the Tangerine. Maybe the power of suggestion led to this conclusion, but I hope that this has helped to further "train" my palate to distinguish flavors in cigars.
Thank you!
Blues Tiger :tu
I'm with you a bit on the beans. I can't deciede if I was able to pick out the flavors I did because I nkew what the beans were or if it was an honest "training" of the pallette. At the moment I'm inclined to think it was honest. I may do a test my self wnd have the wife pull out the beans and not tell me what they are. Thanks for the review.
WOW don't drive OK?
Virginia Gent
Young Ape
First off I thank wayner123 for the opportunity to participate in his experiment. I settled in after lunch with my magic beans, a bottle of water, and my mystery cigar. The bean flavors I received were black pepper, cinnamon, and A&W root beer. I chose to eat all three of the beans at once, giving each flavor about three minutes of mouth time and 10 to 15 minutes and liberal doses of water between each flavor.
The Beans:
Of the sample beans the black pepper was by far the most dominant flavor and took quite a bit longer to clear out than the other two. The flavor was dead-on and my mouth actually felt like I had put a spoonful of pepper in my mouth. The A&W bean started off tasting exactly like A&W but the flavor was unsteady and changed several times. The cinnamon was unspectacular and fleeting.
The Cigar:
The smoke began with a toast and light from the torch. Within the first quarter inch I was hit with a strong black pepper sensation . I say sensation because I can't really say it was a flavor. I got the same mouth-feel and the burning sensation as I got from the bean. It never quite came together into the actual flavor but it was damn close.
After about the first inch the pepper sensation faded away and the cigar lost (or I couldn't identify) any flavor apart from tobacco smoke. It stayed that way until around the final two inches.
At around the final two inch mark I started getting a flavor change. I would pick up a hint of something, something just identifiable as different, and then it was gone again. This kept up for four or five puffs until around the inch and a half mark and then it added a couple new dimensions, just as fleeting. This part of the cigar put me in mind of the A&W bean with it's unsteady flavor. Some of the flavors in this part of the smoke seemed like they were brushing up against some of the root beer bean's but I couldn't hold onto them long enough for them to click into place. It was "yes, no, G*****n it" up until the end.
The Beans:
Of the sample beans the black pepper was by far the most dominant flavor and took quite a bit longer to clear out than the other two. The flavor was dead-on and my mouth actually felt like I had put a spoonful of pepper in my mouth. The A&W bean started off tasting exactly like A&W but the flavor was unsteady and changed several times. The cinnamon was unspectacular and fleeting.
The Cigar:
The smoke began with a toast and light from the torch. Within the first quarter inch I was hit with a strong black pepper sensation . I say sensation because I can't really say it was a flavor. I got the same mouth-feel and the burning sensation as I got from the bean. It never quite came together into the actual flavor but it was damn close.
After about the first inch the pepper sensation faded away and the cigar lost (or I couldn't identify) any flavor apart from tobacco smoke. It stayed that way until around the final two inches.
At around the final two inch mark I started getting a flavor change. I would pick up a hint of something, something just identifiable as different, and then it was gone again. This kept up for four or five puffs until around the inch and a half mark and then it added a couple new dimensions, just as fleeting. This part of the cigar put me in mind of the A&W bean with it's unsteady flavor. Some of the flavors in this part of the smoke seemed like they were brushing up against some of the root beer bean's but I couldn't hold onto them long enough for them to click into place. It was "yes, no, G*****n it" up until the end.
Virginia Gent, thanks so much for your review. These are very good reviews. They answer most of the questions I have. Two more to go. I know DennisP won't be able to do his till this weekend due to a mouth sore, so we have at least until then before I can start wrapping up the data.
OK, just finished my cigar, haven't read any review yet so I wasn't influenced. Thanks for understanding my delay.
Prelight draw: Airy, light hints of flavor can’t quite nail down, maybe woodsy/cedery.
1/3: Trouble getting good amount of smoke, so flavors are mild. Picking up some peppery hints. There is a sweetness I’m tasting, but can’t relate it to something I’m familiar with yet. The pepper flavor is becoming more noticeable and really strong when I visualize pepper. The cigar is now burning a little cooler, slowing down the puffs, less peppery this way and I’m getting a leathery taste. I also had some hints of a citrus taste like orange, but it was mild and faded quickly.
2/3: Entering the second third the cigar is feeling very loose. The pepper flavor is getting more intense and so far I’m not getting other flavors. I’m finding it hard to not keep it from burning hot, which is where I’m getting the pepper flavor. The problem is when I have it cooled I pick up some other flavors, but can’t pinpoint right away, I take another puff and get the pepper.
Home stretch: Really trying to cool this down. When cool I get some of the leather tastes again. The draw is very, very loose and I’m surprised at the volume of smoking I’m getting from such a lightly packed cigar at this point. Getting towards the end I’m picking up some much different flavors now. I’m getting a toasty nut/burn coffee type of flavor.
As is fairly obvious, the strongest flavor I picked up was pepper. I think if this cigar was rolled with a little more tobacco I could’ve picked up more on the other flavors I occasionally tasted. The beans helped in the visualization aspect, but I did not taste any of the flavors in this cigar.
Prelight draw: Airy, light hints of flavor can’t quite nail down, maybe woodsy/cedery.
1/3: Trouble getting good amount of smoke, so flavors are mild. Picking up some peppery hints. There is a sweetness I’m tasting, but can’t relate it to something I’m familiar with yet. The pepper flavor is becoming more noticeable and really strong when I visualize pepper. The cigar is now burning a little cooler, slowing down the puffs, less peppery this way and I’m getting a leathery taste. I also had some hints of a citrus taste like orange, but it was mild and faded quickly.
2/3: Entering the second third the cigar is feeling very loose. The pepper flavor is getting more intense and so far I’m not getting other flavors. I’m finding it hard to not keep it from burning hot, which is where I’m getting the pepper flavor. The problem is when I have it cooled I pick up some other flavors, but can’t pinpoint right away, I take another puff and get the pepper.
Home stretch: Really trying to cool this down. When cool I get some of the leather tastes again. The draw is very, very loose and I’m surprised at the volume of smoking I’m getting from such a lightly packed cigar at this point. Getting towards the end I’m picking up some much different flavors now. I’m getting a toasty nut/burn coffee type of flavor.
As is fairly obvious, the strongest flavor I picked up was pepper. I think if this cigar was rolled with a little more tobacco I could’ve picked up more on the other flavors I occasionally tasted. The beans helped in the visualization aspect, but I did not taste any of the flavors in this cigar.
Forgot to put the beans I had were watermelon, blueberry, plum, grass and dirt.
Interesting that two flavors I mentioned, lots of pepper and few mild hints of orange were mentioned by others and even used as beans for others. I hadn't read anything yet so the similarities are interesting. I'm wondering if we all had the same cigar or not.
Interesting that two flavors I mentioned, lots of pepper and few mild hints of orange were mentioned by others and even used as beans for others. I hadn't read anything yet so the similarities are interesting. I'm wondering if we all had the same cigar or not.
Thanks for the review. I only know one other that experienced the pepper you did, Virginia Gent. And we will get into "why" that may be when the testing is complete. I will say that your review went exactly as I had hoped for though.
Finally did my test tonight. Sorry for slacking, life happened. Since the weather is still awful crappy here, I thought tonight would be a good time to test out another experiment... 'can I smoke in my workshop without getting caught'. The wife'll be back in an hour or so, I'll update on that later
For what it's worth, I have not read any of the posts in this thread since I received the package a week ago. My 'taste package' included 1 unbanded cigar, looked like a maduro with a loose box press, and I'm guessing a robusto but I didn't measure [I did NOT 'inspect' the cigar, but short of smoking blindfolded it's hard to miss size/shape/color]. There were also 3 peanut butter jelly beans, and 2 Dove dark chocolates. I ate the beans first, not what I expected for peanut butter but they were quite tasty. I thought they were more like caramel with a slight nutty flavor mixed in. And the chocolates were excellent (those are a guilty pleasure of mine, thanks!). Then I grabbed a glass of water and went down to my shop to work on a stained glass project.
I fired up the cigar and the chocolate flavor jumped out at me. It was a very smooth cigar, LOTS of thick, dark grey smoke, even burn, good flavor, etc. The draw was a little too loose in my opinion. I'm terrible at guessing body/strength, but I'd say this was a 'full bodied' smoke, but medium strength. The smoke felt thick and heavy in my mouth, though creamy and smooth at the same time. I didn't find any pepper at all, which was a pleasant surprise, I'm not usually a fan of that taste. The first third of the cigar remained pretty constant. I kept looking for that peanut butter flavor, but it just wasn't there for me.
In the 2nd third, the chocolate flavors started to die out and past the halfway mark it started to get a little hot. I wasn't smoking too fast since I had to set the cigar down to work on my glass. At this point another flavor started to take over. I'm not sure exactly what it was, maybe a 'woodsy' taste, cedar maybe? I dunno, but it wasn't a bad thing. Oddly enough once or twice after I set the cigar down and caught a whiff of smoke in the air I thought I caught a hint of that peanut butter flavor, but I may have been looking for it. I also thought I smelled a little vanilla. Probably not 7 yr old Madagascar vanilla, but vanilla nonetheless.
Into the last 3rd, it started to get tough to keep the cigar lit. I had to relight twice and the flavors were the same as the 2nd third, but not as strong. I wasn't getting nearly as much smoke as before either. When it went out the 3rd time I let it die gracefully. Towards the end I started to feel a very slight nicotine buzz, but only just barely and it didn't last long after I let the stogie die.
Overall, I did enjoy the stogie. I think the chocolates in the tasting package helped jog my memory and help identify at least one of the flavors. It seemed to be a fairly simple smoke, while I couldn't identify exactly what the flavors were, it didn't strike me as a complex combination. I'm not even going to begin to guess origin or brand, but I certainly wouldn't mind smoking another one.
Now it's time to go catch up on what everyone else thought!
EDIT - After reading the other reviews, I'll be surprised if all the cigars were the same. Thinking back to that smoke, I can't imagine finding anything that tasted like peach or citrus in the stick I had... then again that could be the point of this exercise. Can't wait to hear the conclusions!
For what it's worth, I have not read any of the posts in this thread since I received the package a week ago. My 'taste package' included 1 unbanded cigar, looked like a maduro with a loose box press, and I'm guessing a robusto but I didn't measure [I did NOT 'inspect' the cigar, but short of smoking blindfolded it's hard to miss size/shape/color]. There were also 3 peanut butter jelly beans, and 2 Dove dark chocolates. I ate the beans first, not what I expected for peanut butter but they were quite tasty. I thought they were more like caramel with a slight nutty flavor mixed in. And the chocolates were excellent (those are a guilty pleasure of mine, thanks!). Then I grabbed a glass of water and went down to my shop to work on a stained glass project.
I fired up the cigar and the chocolate flavor jumped out at me. It was a very smooth cigar, LOTS of thick, dark grey smoke, even burn, good flavor, etc. The draw was a little too loose in my opinion. I'm terrible at guessing body/strength, but I'd say this was a 'full bodied' smoke, but medium strength. The smoke felt thick and heavy in my mouth, though creamy and smooth at the same time. I didn't find any pepper at all, which was a pleasant surprise, I'm not usually a fan of that taste. The first third of the cigar remained pretty constant. I kept looking for that peanut butter flavor, but it just wasn't there for me.
In the 2nd third, the chocolate flavors started to die out and past the halfway mark it started to get a little hot. I wasn't smoking too fast since I had to set the cigar down to work on my glass. At this point another flavor started to take over. I'm not sure exactly what it was, maybe a 'woodsy' taste, cedar maybe? I dunno, but it wasn't a bad thing. Oddly enough once or twice after I set the cigar down and caught a whiff of smoke in the air I thought I caught a hint of that peanut butter flavor, but I may have been looking for it. I also thought I smelled a little vanilla. Probably not 7 yr old Madagascar vanilla, but vanilla nonetheless.
Into the last 3rd, it started to get tough to keep the cigar lit. I had to relight twice and the flavors were the same as the 2nd third, but not as strong. I wasn't getting nearly as much smoke as before either. When it went out the 3rd time I let it die gracefully. Towards the end I started to feel a very slight nicotine buzz, but only just barely and it didn't last long after I let the stogie die.
Overall, I did enjoy the stogie. I think the chocolates in the tasting package helped jog my memory and help identify at least one of the flavors. It seemed to be a fairly simple smoke, while I couldn't identify exactly what the flavors were, it didn't strike me as a complex combination. I'm not even going to begin to guess origin or brand, but I certainly wouldn't mind smoking another one.
Now it's time to go catch up on what everyone else thought!
EDIT - After reading the other reviews, I'll be surprised if all the cigars were the same. Thinking back to that smoke, I can't imagine finding anything that tasted like peach or citrus in the stick I had... then again that could be the point of this exercise. Can't wait to hear the conclusions!
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