Cigars smokers of a few years - how long did it take to develop your palate?

[CigarsAreAwesome17]

Hey everyone,

For those of you who don't know I'm 32 and have only been smoking cigars for a couple years. (Father in law and I smoked my first one before the wedding) I've probably over-eagerly (read: stupidly) overbought boxes of cigars gone through the motions of, "Oh yeah, this is MY cigar. I love it." ... only to smoke something else a couple months later, "Oh wait... THIS ONE is my cigar." etc...

I'm starting to be able to distinguish different flavors, and feel like at a couple years I know what I like.

For those of you with a few years under your belt, do you ever come back to a box that you really didn't like and decide you love it? Or is typical that you just "outgrow" cigars as you learn to taste more?

[jdo2110]

Well.....
Depends on the cigar. If a cigar seems bland or muted in flavor, it’s never been my experience that it suddenly gets a new life as my palate developed or the cigar aged.
ERDM is like that for me (although there are a lot of ERDM fans!).
Conversely, Partagas has had the opposite effect. They were always full of flavor to me, but just not a flavor I liked. But an AGED Partagas.... delicious. Weirdest thing.


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[JohnE1000]

[quote author=CigarsAreAwesome17 link=topic=43231.msg175144#msg175144 date=1509552377]


For those of you with a few years under your belt, do you ever come back to a box that you really didn't like and decide you love it?

[/quote]

Absolutely! Varieties is what make cigar smoking interesting. I don't think I have ever smoked the same cigar twice in a row, no matter how much I liked the cigar. Same thing for wine and spirits.

[zepp69]

I have been smoking for about 5 years now and I am still developing my palate. I know I like creamy, sweet cigars over really spicy ones. I like mild, medium, and strong cigars. For me it depends on the day, mood I am in.

[xrundog]

I've been smoking cigars for 20 + years.  I think I'm experienced, but far from expert.  I think there are varying levels for this sort of thing.  Some people can tell what's good from what's bad.  Others can tell you every little nuance about the various flavors and why it tastes that way and how it was a bad year for wrappers in Ecuador and similar stuff.  That's a skill that has to be nurtured and developed.
I can tell you that a Cuban HdM Epicure #1 is a flavor bomb.  But not necessarily why, or what all the flavors are.  I can usually differentiate a Cuban or Nicaraguan from everything else.  Those are the cigars I like.  In some cases I can maybe even narrow it down to a brand I've smoked a lot of.  That's about as far as I want to go.
I respect the knowledge of people who take it further.  But it's not that important to me.     

[Nihon_Ni]

Yes, my tastes have changed over the years.  Some of the cigars that I loved in the beginning I don't care for anymore, but some are still on my list.  Fortunately, I started by trying a large variety of brands by buying samplers from other members, then 5ers from vendors.  I haven't ended up with boxes of cigars that I had to say, "It's not you, it's me."  I don't think I've revisited cigars I originally didn't like, but it's probably worthwhile to do so. 

[CigarsAreAwesome17]

Thanks for all of the great input. It's very much appreciated.