Do your taste buds change.

[snooky]

I havnt been a cigar smoker too long ie less than a year, i started with some good Cuban samples and felt i couldnt appreciate them , i bought some non- cuban [cheaper end ] cigars and were ok for awhile but now getting a slight distaste for them, i feel i need something slightly richer to accompany a columbian coffee or a single malt, i am waiting for some punch coronas and partagas to arrive, along with some Fonseca's. How was it for you when you first started smoking cigars ?

[Stevieboy]

To begin with I only like RyJ and H Upmann and only small panatellas and PCs. I initially tried Cohiba and Partagas and they were WAY too strong. Eventually the situation changed and whilst I still love Upmann and RyJ, I much prefer the stronger RA, Cohiba, Paratagas and in big ring gauges like piramides, robustos and DCs

[G-man]

Snooky
Smoked ny first Monti #2 last nite and It was a well constructed stoogie. I was very impressed. As far as non-cubans there are some great ones out their that U probably haven't tried yet. Don't write all nons off just yet. Our variety in nons is much greater and every couple months their are new releases. Have U smoked any Don Pepins? That my friend rivals any cuban,and the complexity is much different then cubans. So don;t shut the door just yet!

[Lascaux]

i wonder about this because im new to cigars and at the moment i find i can taste more flavours from upmanns and el reys than from stronger cigars, which overpower my taste and disguise the complexity.

id recommend some upmanns and el reys if you do find the others you've ordered too strong.

[Robusto]

I've always been sexed up by the SMELL of very good cigars, and it was really the nasal arousal that got me trying cigars.

At first, I had a nonsense cigar diet of Castellas and Hamlets. (Christ I bet they would be rank to buy and try now).

Then I decided to go beyond King Edwards and started to read around the topic through Cigar Aficionado in maybe 1994 or so, as well as buying the recommended Havana guides, and so on.

Research, therefore, was pre-web - and very much pre-forums.
Self-discovery.

Hoyo de Monterrey was suggested as a debutant cigar, and for quite a while I smoked precious little other than boxes of Epicure No2. This is a cigar I still love.

Then I worked my way up, as it were, via Montecristo, Cohiba, Partagas, Bolivar, Ramon Allones. All of these in no particular order.

I have never been over-faced by any cigar, even when a new cigar might be more powerful than the taste I'm used to. I've recently had a number of quite new (to me) and excellent makes of cigar to try out for the first time. The fantastic thing is - bar a couple of shite cigars that have almost made me wretch over the last year because of their bitterness - there are always new makes and ring gauges to try out.

I'm probably like Stevieboy in that I like the stronger makes of cigar, and I certainly like a 50 gauge stick or bigger in my gob. It just feels good to smoke and to hold in the hand and show the world you are a WINNER with.

Going up size-wise beyond robusto length does not do a great deal for me, I have to confess. No major taste change to me.

I also think punch cutting improves the concentration of the smoke over blade cutting, but the disadvantage is that you can end up with some tar-like crud on your lips. Not nice.

Have my taste buds changed?

Yes, I think a great deal. I prefer stronger cigars, as I said earlier, and that might be because of working up to those makes through milder territories.

I know I haven't flame-thrown my mouth to death by knocking off too many good, strong cigars. If I take a few days off, a Bolivar will give me a backside boot as if I'd never smoked one before.

And that's a boot I love.

Thank God we each have different taste-buds, and different backsides!

[daverave999]

I've only been at it since the start of the year, and I've been going for the more heavyweight smokes all the way along. Anything less just tastes very bland to me. I'm actually hoping I can diversify down, and that my appreciation of the nuances becomes more acute with time just so I have a wider selection to choose from.

[Kdot]

I think your tastebuds develop over the years and begin to appreciate the stronger smokes and lighter smokes.

I like Stevie started with RyJ, Churchills, and can remember finding it difficult to finish a Partagas no 2 as I found it was quite harsh after the half way mark. At the same time I found that I wasnt so keen on Hoyos as they were not strong enough!

However after 3 years of smoking, I am very fond of both brands

[snooky]

Thanks guys ive found your answers useful, one thing i bear in mind is that ive never been a cigarette smoker, maybe a good thing as i dont want to inhale and my taste buds would be fairly neutral to smoke , that is apart from the diesel fumes im used to , and as Robust says its good to have a couple of days off , and not to chain smoke [who could afford to ].

[yankeefan]

sometimes depending on the time of day such as after dinner you may prefer a stronger cigar, or maybe after breakfast you may prefer something light and sweet.