Cigar descriptive lingo

[Jwrussell]

OK, this may need to be moved to the review section, but I'll start it out here. For those of us who are newer to the hobby, how 'bout some of you FOGs explain some lingo for us?

I'll start off with two and everyone feel free to add on:

Spice (from N2)-descriptive quality of flavors (ie pepper, anise, etc...)
Twang (most often used when talking about a habano) (from N2)-amount of nicotine
body(from N2) - descriptive quality regarding how bold the flavors are
complexity(from N2) - number of different flavors you taste throughout
flat, bland, one dimensional(from N2) - opposite of complex, may have good flavor or bad but very few of them
'varnished' and 'un-varnished'(from N2)-Refers to the boxes. Either has varnish or not.
Tooth(from 1F1Fan) - Toothy - taken from http://www.theorudman.com/cigar_terms1.htm

"TOOTH: Is found on the wrapper. It is the little "mountains and valleys" you feel when you pass your fingers through the surface. This is good for the wrapper to have and is the pores of the leaf and indicates maturity. Usually, the more tooth, the better the burning quality. Tooth is the most outstanding feature in identifying African Cameroon wrapper. If you close your eyes and gently run your fingers across any cigar with real African Cameroon you will experience the mottled feel of these tiny bumps (tooth) in the wrapper."

I'm looking for a description of what you are talking about when you bring these up.

 

[chinaboy]

hi bob!

 

[Jwrussell]

'Sup Mike! Welcome!

 

[Wasch_24]

I always think of strength as a description of how big the buzz is as in...if it is really strong I get nausous and the cold sweats.

 

[Jwrussell]

Ok, see I always thought spice referred to the tingling on the tongue you get with some cigars.

 

[mike toro]

how about 'varnished' and 'un-varnished'? that always throws me.

 

[mike toro]

Refers to the boxes. Either has varnish or not.

cool. thanks.

 

[Mali]

I've always wondered about "toothy" wrapper....

 

[1f1fan]

Toothy - taken from http://www.theorudman.com/cigar_terms1.htm

"TOOTH: Is found on the wrapper. It is the little "mountains and valleys" you feel when you pass your fingers through the surface. This is good for the wrapper to have and is the pores of the leaf and indicates maturity. Usually, the more tooth, the better the burning quality. Tooth is the most outstanding feature in identifying African Cameroon wrapper. If you close your eyes and gently run your fingers across any cigar with real African Cameroon you will experience the mottled feel of these tiny bumps (tooth) in the wrapper."

 

[Jwrussell]

I saw this one. Tooth are little bumps in the wrapper that are most often found on cameroon and maduro wrappers. The bumps apparently contain the oils, so the more tooth, the more taste (most likely). Very small though. The best way I've been told to see it is right at the base of the burn you'll see lots of little white dots.

 

[Wasch_24]

JW...now you need to keep all these organized in you orignal post for posterity. :smt023

 

[Jwrussell]

Good idea Wasch.

 

[Mali]

Cool! thanks guys

 

[David]

I never thought of twang as the amount of nicotine (not sure what Mark is smokin) but more along the lines of that distinctive taste (twang) that is only supplied from a Cuban cigar. To me, it is that twang that would be the dead give away after 2-3 draws from a stick that would let me know that it was indeed of Cuban origin.

 

[hawkan2580]

When I review cigars or make a concious effort to "analyse" a cigar, I think in musical terms. Let me explain.
A cigar is made up from different building blocks the same as a piece of music.
One flavour only can still be good the same as one person singing acapella if the melody is good. However, it is when you mix several voices and instruments it generally becomes more interesting.

I make analogies to a choir.
the base in the choir is represented by the earthy elements in a cigar.
the barritone is the leathery elements
the tenor is the woody elements
the alto is the spicy elements
the second soprano is the bean elements
and the 1st soprano is the floral elements (or herbacious elements).

The more complex a cigar is.. the more parts are singing at the same time....
This does not necessarily mean that it is in harmony.. one part maybe owerpowering the others or may be out of key (I.E not a nice flavour. It is there but is having the same effect as eating lemon and drinking milk at the same time).

Strength of the cigar is the volyme.. how loud is it? and richness is how's the texture of the smoke or..how thight is the choir?

So lets look at those elements and decipher what they are.

Earthyness.... think of damp soil, sandy, dusty, leaf, grass etc these flavours can be found... I am not stating that I go and taste all these things.. so it is a triggered association I get when I accounter these nuances..

Leathery elements.. is it a new car leather seat, and old saddle or a fine leather jacket.....any kid have probably chewed on one thing or another made out of leather and the nuance made up of imagination and actual encounters.

Woody elements.. an easy one.. you only have to smell the cedar in any cigar box .. light up a peice of the cedar sheet separating the rows of cigar... same goes for a lot of different woods...sandal wood.. pine..birch.. all have their distinct nuance.. yet again.. apart from cedar.. It is mere associations or perceptions you get when smoking

Spice.. not only pepper .. it can be anised, nutmeg, cumin, jalapeno.. you name it.. if it is in your spice rack.. you can probably find an association in certain cigars to.

Bean.. coffee, vanilla, cocoa, nuts, etc.etc...But I also put creamy nuanes in here.

Floral/herbacious.. also self explanitory.. I don't think you have actually chewed on many flowers but you have probably taken a sniff of them at one point or another.. and since we humans taste flavours more with our nose then with our mouth..I can see the justification of having this one in a common terminology...

When reviewing a cigar myself.. I think it is important to use descriptions that most people can relate to with their associations... what good is it to a reader if I describe say.. the woody elements is as of black gum tree bark... the black gum is a native tree only growing in Queensland in Australia.. not many readers of the review would have any idea what I actually referred to... Even if that was the association I got, I would probably have used, exotic wood (a whole range of woody elements can hide under this label and the reader would know that it is a "uncommon woody element".

Twang.. now that is an interesting one.. to me it is a bit of thickness/richness of the flavours...and a certain zest.... one that is hard to put your finger on but easily recognized when you have tried a few cubans.. no n/c in my experience have the same twang as the cubans.. they can still have it.. but it isn't the same.....
Just my 2 cents guys..

 

[jordon]

Wow! That might be the best post I have ever seen - thanks Hawkan

 

[Jwrussell]

Great post Hawkan.

 

[Viper139]

Very descriptive post Hawkan. That is the first time I have seen that analogy, it is very appropriate for the description of the cigar.

 

[GuyMcBeerdrinker]

I disagree about twang being directly proportional to the presence of nicotine. you can fire up a very potent cigar (i.e lfd double ligero) and it be completely devoid of twang. I believe nicotine tastes more like white pepper. which gives you that tingle in the back of your throat.

 

[1f1fan]

Great post Hawkan!

I'd have to agree with DWavs on the twang thang....when I think of twang I think of the taste only provided by a cuban cigar. However, not all cuban cigars have the same level of twang.