I’ve had cigarettes (chemical tasting things that burned my lungs) and pot (smoother taste - still a bit uncomfortable in terms of the inhale, but it felt more natural and greener - I think if green had a flavor, it would taste like pot), but I’ve never smoked a fine cigar. I’m curious. How does it taste and feel in comparison?
It isn’t really a describable flavor. Cigars taste like cigars; there really isn’t much of an analogue. They certainly taste nothing like cigarettes or marijuana.
Feel is a bit easier: Tingly. Cigars make my lips quite tingly, and the inside of my mouth somewhat tingly. I imagine that’s the nicotine.
I really wish I could allow myself to smoke cigars again, if I had the money and weren’t worried about oral cancer. I can’t say I’ve ever had a truly memorable meal, where I think about it years later, but I have had a number of memorable cigars.
One thing to keep in mind is that you don’t inhale with a cigar…the smoke stays in your mouth and a tad in the throat, but not in your lungs. As such, you get a lot less of that “harsh” feeling in the back of the throat that I have gotten from pot (even through a bong, pot smoke was so hot and harsh in my throat I would have a five minute coughing fit from one hit…probably why I never got into it.)
But cigars…man, a good cigar is so smooth and mellow, yet still full of flavor. And a lot of cigars have flavors added, so they can be a good stepping stone to start to get into cigars and learn about the types, countries of origin, and how different tobacco blends feel and taste, but not get overwhelmed. Then you can slowly taper off and get ones that aren’t flavored and get a good appreciation for them.
Think of it like drinking some whiskey sours before going full bore with scotch on the rocks.
mmmmmm. An hour with a great cigar, fine music, a little scotch to sip on and maybe a little piece of bittersweet chocolate (try it).
Murphy’s law dictates that you can never find another of the same brand from the bundle of cigars purchased to sample because you lost the label.
Vagina.
(Dated I know)
Since the OP has smoked cigarettes, a cigar doesn’t taste like a cigarette, but it is somewhat similar to taking a puff of a cigarette and not inhaling. Capturing all the flavor of the smoke in your mouth without diluting it with outside air. I think the comparison of a whiskey sour to scotch rocks is probably the closest you’ll get without trying one.
If you just want to know what they taste like in general go pick up a 5 pack of Grenadiers and take a few puffs. Yeah, it’s no Arturo Fuente, but you’ll get the gist of it…or you could just go pick up an Arturo Fuente Short Story for six or seven dollars and try it.
A cigar tastes like … nothing you’ve ever tasted before.
No, it’s not because cigars are unique, but because the nature of a cigar requires you to use your sense of smell and sense of taste at the same time. Unlike food, you’re not tasting mostly. Unlike scents, you’re not smelling mostly. It’s a cross between the two.
Some cigars are mild–almost air, really; with a very light taste and aroma (Cuba’s Flor de Cano, for example, or Don Juan Urquiho, from the Phillipines.) Others are strong enough to punch you in the face, and the seasoned cigar smoker asks them to come back and do it again (Cuba’s Bolivars, or the mixed heritage Gurkhas).
What is important is that you do not inhale. The cigar blender has worked to create a specific flavour and aroma, and there is nothing gained in trying to inhale. Just enjoy the flavour and aroma.
A good cigar is quite wonderful. They envelope the sense of taste and smell completely, and the effect can be enhanced by a good drink. It’s unfortunate that everyone in the same room who’s not a cigar smoker is wishing they didn’t have to breathe. Were that not the case, I’d smoke them all the way to the poor house.
A good cigar tastes great when you are smoking it. The next morning…not so much. The next morning your mouth feels more like the ashtray than anything else. After smoking cigars for about 10 years, I cut back til I don’t even bother anymore.
Cigar smoke is thicker and tastier than weed or cigarettes. Cigarettes are just plain nasty.