When cigar enthusiasts discuss their favorite smokes, they speak a particular language. It's difficult to explain what tobacco tastes like. Here is a quick breakdown of what to consider when analyzing a cigar and some helpful terms followed by some of our best selling cigars and their corresponding descriptions.

Strength: A cigar's strength is measured in different ways. First, the cigar's flavor has a particular strength. Is the flavor one that overpowers or overwhelms you when you smoke, or is it perhaps quite faint and subtle? Is it obvious? Is it offensive? Also the strength of the tobacco itself may affect you differently- some tobaccos; often from higher positions on the plant and perhaps lacking sufficient fermentation and aging, may cause dizziness, or nausea because they're so strong. Older tobaccos or those from lower leaf positions, tend to be much gentler. This type of strength is one that is felt rather than tasted but still important to consider nevertheless.

Flavor: Tobacco tastes like tobacco, just like wine tastes like wine. However trying to find hints of other flavors that remind you of what you taste is important as it allows you to "split hairs" and find the unique subtle characteristics that make cigars different from each other. Whether broader descriptions like spicy and earthy, or more specific flavors like orange peel or buttered toast, they should be flavors that you can relate to and can recognize in the smoke you're tasting at the moment.

Body: Body refers to the "weight" or "mouth-feel" of the smoke. While it is most common to have a full-bodied smoke with stronger cigars and a lighter body with milder cigars, there are certainly exceptions. I'll often use words like silky, creamy and velvety to help convey a clearer picture of a cigar's body. Silky evokes a lighter body, one that is mild and simply dances on your palate. Creamy introduces a heavier mouth feel but one that is not overwhelming and suggests a slightly "rounder" character. Velvety would suggest a thick, dense yet still pleasant body- however one that is certainly more dominant on the palate that would linger longer. Most common is mild, medium or full to describe body, but again not to be confused with strength.

Aroma: Aroma is often overlooked yet is such an important part of tasting. Since your mouth only has a limited range of tastes it can detect, it is actually your sense of smell that helps to further determine taste's subtle differences. Often when analyzing a tobacco's aroma, it is the aroma of the tobacco burning. Is it inviting? Is it acrid? Is it pleasantly aromatic or horribly offensive? However, it is equally important to smell the cigar prior to lighting it; smell the wrapper tobacco as well as the foot (open end) of the cigar. Just like smelling your food or wine before tasting it, you may notice something unpleasant like mustiness (moldiness) or ammonia that might make you think twice about that particular selection.

Finish: The finish refers to the cigar's aftertaste, though it is sometimes mistakenly used to describe the "end" of a cigar, or the final third,. The finish is the flavor that lingers once the smoke has been released from your mouth. Some cigars have a short finish, meaning the flavor does not linger much at all while others a long finish, where the flavor remains dominant once the smoke has been expelled. The flavors you may experience on the finish can be similar to those of the smoke itself, but can also highlight a note that perhaps wasn't as obvious with the smoke in your mouth.

What's most important is keeping track- maintaining a personal dossier or ledger of the cigars you experience and what you may or may not like about them. This helps you develop a better understanding about the types of tobaccos and cigars you enjoy, and more importantly helps us as retailers better understand your palate giving us the ability to make better recommendations.

Here are a few reviews of some recent cigars I tasted keeping the above terms in mind.

Always at your service,

Michael Herklots
General Manager
Davidoff of Geneva New York Boutiques at Madison Avenue and Columbus Circle