Garwin, or the Evolution of Taste

After a long break, from writing rather than from cigars, I return to reflect on what I've seen to be a pattern both my own smoking habits, and those of a larger general public.

When I first started smoking cigars, I was a bit overwhelmed by the dizzying number of choices I found at the local cigar shop and as such I relied heavily on the advice of the tobacconist who worked there.  He understood that my experiences with cigars had been very limited, and he steered me in the direction of cigars that tend to suit the tastes of people who taking their first steps in the cigar world.  The first cigar I bought from him was an Isla del Sol: a mild to medium bodied Drew Estate creation which I still enjoy to this day.

On a return trip to the shop, I decided to use what I liked about the Isla del Sol as a jumping off point to try to find other cigars which would suit my developing palate.  One facet I most enjoyed was the plethora of smoke it produced, and so I asked for a recommendation of a very smokey cigar.  I walked out of the store with a very large cigar with a very dark wrapper.  To be honest, I was a bit leery of my purchase as it seemed to be more cigar than I could handle, but I masked my skepticism and soldiered on.  When I finally lit up the cigar, I knew immediately that it wasn't really my taste, as it was unmistakably full bodied.  After smoking about half of it I had to put it down.
This experience taught a valuable lesson: everyone's tastes differ, and what one person finds to be an excellent cigar could be distasteful to someone else.  This is important to consider as you continue to explore cigars, and I encourage everyone who reads this blog to do the same.  That's part of the reason why I try to share my smoking experience with others, as opposed to using some kind of metric to assess cigars, as what I would call a perfect ten might seem more like a three and a half to someone who doesn't share my taste in cigars.

This is also why I try to dissuade people from what I call "cigar snobbery."  Far too often I find that people equate expensive, brand named, cigars with quality and assume that spending more money will make their smoking experience more pleasant.  While this may be the case in some instances, a new smoker is likely to get much more pleasure out of an Acid Toast than they would likely get from the Gurkha Beast, even though the Beast is twice as expensive.  Additionally, I've found that I get more enjoyment from a cigar when I pay less attention to the brand name and more attention to the cigar itself.