How Do You Taste A Cigar?

While tasting a cigar may seem like a simple enough thing to do, the flavours that we experience when smoking are largely down to how well our palates are developed. We take a look at how we can properly taste a cigar!

What is taste?

Taste is traditionally thought of as one of the five key senses. It is a form of chemoreception, allowing us to detect flavour in the things that we consume. When the sense of taste is paired with our other senses, most notably that of the sense of smell, these flavours are developed further, and we are able to decipher all of the components working together to make the incredible flavours present in each fine cigar.

How do you taste?

To properly taste a cigar, there are three areas which work together to build up this flavourful profile. First is the use of the tongue, to taste; secondly is the use of your nose, to smell all of the flavour notes present in the cigar, and finally is the finish, which is the aftertaste.

The Tongue

The tongue, when picking up taste notes, picks up on five elements;

Bitter

While you may associate the word ‘bitter’ with something unpleasant in taste, when it comes to cigars, a bitter taste can work very well when in combination with other flavours. Tastes which are considered to be bitter include coffee, citrus and dark chocolate.

Sour

Sourness is different to bitterness in that it only refers to acidity. Sour certainly isn’t a flavour profile that cigar makers strive for, but cigars can taste sour if they have been aged incorrectly.

Sweet

While sweet tastes are often considered the most enjoyable, two taste receptors have to be activated for the tongue to detect sweet flavours, making it a difficult flavour to successfully replicate in a cigar. Flavoured cigars, particularly cigarillos, do exist though, which have sugar artificially added to the end of the cigar for flavour.

Salt

Many Cuban cigars have a slightly salty taste, due to the fact that Cuban soil contains a high concentration of lithium, which is close to Sodium.

Umami

Umami is a meaty or savoury taste. This receptor is activated by amino acids, which are things high in protein like meats and cheeses.

Smell

Olfaction, or the sense of smell, is the 2^nd aspect when it comes to tasting your cigar. While our tongue can detect only five distinct qualities, the olfactory system can detect hundreds. Therefore, the smell of a cigar should be of great importance.

When we talk about ‘smell’, we do not mean the aroma in the air from the smoke you exhale, or that wafts off the stogie as it rests between puffs. Rather, the smell is gained in the time at which the smoke is in your mouth, entering your nose in this way. To enhance this smell, the smoke can be introduced more to your sinuses, by breathing through the nose in a process known as retrohaling. If you have never attempted this, then you have been missing out on the full extent of your cigars complex flavours!

The Finish

The final key aspect of fully enjoying a cigar is the finish; essentially a fancy term used to describe the aftertaste. It refers to the flavours that persist long after you have exhaled. When it comes to cigars, the finish should be enjoyable and the longer the flavours remain, the better. Certain flavours are more likely to remain for longer, or give off more prominent tastes at the finish, in particular cigars with cocoa, coffee or liquorice notes.

To really “taste” a cigar, you incorporate the initial tastes from your tongue and sinuses as well as the finish, it’s a function of the sensory organs and time.

With Havana House, you can shop for cigars online so you can sit back, relax and properly taste your cigar – maybe for the first time!

UPDATED: 27/03/18