I love this site. thanks for the question Donk. I too am a noobie and trying my best to acquire the taste buds. Someone mentioned tasting leather the other day in a stick. How can you taste leather...
The statement you mentioned probably would be better interpreted as they experienced the
aroma of leather. Sometimes taste and aroma seem interchanged when discussing cigars.
I too am glad this thread was resurrected. It leads to an interesting point. Granted that when just developing one's cigar chops, what fits today, might not be acceptable in a year; and vice versa. But to those who know what they like, have built up a certain degree of discernment, this thread poses another quandary. If it takes more than a smoke (or even two) to find out if one really appreciates a new-to-them cigar; what does that say about the consistency of the cigar's manufacture? And would a bad-this-time/good-the-next experience indicate that another cigar of this brand and type might be a dud during a future smoke? How important does that make consistency when deciding for which cigars to put out the money?
To be honest, I am reluctant - no,
very reluctant - to smoke another identical vitola of the same brand, wrapper, etc., if I have had a bad experience with one. Consistency is one of the hallmarks of a fine cigar, to me.