varietal comparos

[webmost]

I find four diff Nics at LO. The Esteli, Jalapa, Ometepe and Condega. Didn't know which to get. So I scored a quarter pound of each, then rolled a test corona out of each. Paced round the garage smoking alll four simultaneously while watching last year's Eagles/Patriots fabulous superbowl. Brady at his best ever and Foles in a different dimension altogether. Night and day between that SB and this latest. Anyhoo, back to the subject: Hard to evaluate the diff. Condega possibly edgier. Jalapa possibly pepperier, Esteli a tad rounder, Ometepe milder. But I would smoke any one of them. In terms of rolling ease, owing to smooth texture and flatness, the other three have it all over the Condega; specially the Esteli and Jalapa. But trying to evaluate any diff in flavors... once I coated my mouth with one I couldn't compare the next.

What do you guys think? Which is your fave Nic? Why?

 

[Jimmy_jack]

I'm new to this and trying to understand. You rolled a test Corona out of just the leaf from each region?

Sent from my Pixel 3 XL using Tapatalk

 

[webmost]

I'm new to this and trying to understand. You rolled a test Corona out of just the leaf from each region?

Sent from my Pixel 3 XL using Tapatalk

Yes.

Sent from the gentleman's reading room using the throne

 

[Jim D]

Yes.

Sent from the gentleman's reading room using the throne

Funny, that's where I'm reading this...

 

[blisscigarco]

I find four diff Nics at LO. The Esteli, Jalapa, Ometepe and Condega. Didn't know which to get. So I scored a quarter pound of each, then rolled a test corona out of each. Paced round the garage smoking alll four simultaneously while watching last year's Eagles/Patriots fabulous superbowl. Brady at his best ever and Foles in a different dimension altogether. Night and day between that SB and this latest. Anyhoo, back to the subject: Hard to evaluate the diff. Condega possibly edgier. Jalapa possibly pepperier, Esteli a tad rounder, Ometepe milder. But I would smoke any one of them. In terms of rolling ease, owing to smooth texture and flatness, the other three have it all over the Condega; specially the Esteli and Jalapa. But trying to evaluate any diff in flavors... once I coated my mouth with one I couldn't compare the next.

What do you guys think? Which is your fave Nic? Why?

Gonna guess you are talking about secos here? I don't have the secos, only the ligeros (and in the case of the Jalapa, the viso). If you're talking about ligeros, then I could give my input.

 

[webmost]

Gonna guess you are talking about secos here? I don't have the secos, only the ligeros (and in the case of the Jalapa, the viso). If you're talking about ligeros, then I could give my input.

Si, sorry, shoulda specified. Soy secomaniacal seco sicko.

 

[Snowboardin58]

My favorite leaf yet, tied with WLT Nic Habano ligero, is the LO Jalapa ligero. BUT, my fall order was nothing like my summer order. The pound from the fall was mostly medium brown, faint aroma. The leaf I LOVED, even as a single-leaf blend, was very dark brown-black. Much smaller size (definitely a very high priming), and very oily. I'm going to be periodically ordering 1/4lb samples until I get something like that delicious, dark Jalapa ligero.

Also, the Ometepe ligero was pretty good. It has the appearance and texture of leather. Very thick. I liked it, but in a blend.

 

[blisscigarco]

Please let a brother know when they get something like the summer order back in stock.

 

[Snowboardin58]

Will do. It was magic. Couldn't keep it dry enough here in humid Michigan summers.
... That is, I'll order a few pounds, then post . I miss that leaf so much... What I have now isn't a shadow of that. The stuff from the summer was pretty much the very tot, corona priming. And sooooo oily and dark. Disappointed, now. But at least I've learned that's how it is!

Please let a brother know when they get something like the summer order back in stock.

 

[blisscigarco]

... That is, I'll order a few pounds, then post .

Yeah, I know that game.

 

[John]

Please let a brother know when they get something like the summer order back in stock.

I got some jalapa ligero within the last 2 months and it was great

 

[ras_oscar]

Do you find sampling component leaf allows you to anticipate the flavor of a completed blend? I always speculated that it would be kind of like tasting tomato sauce, beef, garlic, and cheese separately and speculating on the taste of lasagna. I believe something magic happens when leaves are put together that goes beyond the mere components.

 

[blisscigarco]

Do you find sampling component leaf allows you to anticipate the flavor of a completed blend? I always speculated that it would be kind of like tasting tomato sauce, beef, garlic, and cheese separately and speculating on the taste of lasagna. I believe something magic happens when leaves are put together that goes beyond the mere components.

Yes and no. As with tomato sauce, been, garlic, etc. we can say that certain elements of flavor dominate each ingredient: sweet, sour, salty, bitter, savory. So if we are going for some kind of balance or bias, we can guess at that based on our interpretation of a given leaf's accent. All of them are going to taste like burning tobacco leaf, tho. So it's a bit simpler than garlic and tomatoes, which don't taste very similar. So there is magic, but also, maybe, science, similar to the science of making perfume and flavors.

 

[ras_oscar]

I know that a food flavor is considered "complex" if it hits all 5 taste buds and " bland" if it hits only one. Since most of the sense of taste is in the nose, and since most of the cigar taste in in the retrohale, I assume the same sensors are used to enjoy the flavor of a cigar.

 

[Dominican56]

I knot that a foo flavor is considered "complex" if it hits all 5 taste buds and " bland" if it hits only one. Since most of the sense of taste is in the nose, and since most of the cigar taste in in the retrohale, I assume the same sensors are used to enjoy the flavor of a cigar.

I’m finding that a cigar right off the rolling table may be quite good yet after it matures at least a few months it can be almost a completely different cigar.

 

[John]

I’m finding that a cigar right off the rolling table may be quite good yet after it matures at least a few months it can be almost a completely different cigar.

Yes it makes a huge difference. When I 1st started I would always smoke a blend right away to see how it was but now I always wait 2-3 months. I figure I got enough store bought sticks to last me a lifetime I might as well wait it out.

 

[ras_oscar]

I seldom smoke sticks ROTT.

 

[Dominican56]

Yes and no. As with tomato sauce, been, garlic, etc. we can say that certain elements of flavor dominate each ingredient: sweet, sour, salty, bitter, savory. So if we are going for some kind of balance or bias, we can guess at that based on our interpretation of a given leaf's accent. All of them are going to taste like burning tobacco leaf, tho. So it's a bit simpler than garlic and tomatoes, which don't taste very similar. So there is magic, but also, maybe, science, similar to the science of making perfume and flavors.

You make great points. I’ll add to your comment. While tomato, garlic are heavy, bold flavor, some leaf adds subtle flavor akin to how bay leaf adds subtlety to a stew.

 

[Dominican56]

I seldom smoke sticks ROTT.

Mores the pity., or something like that.

 

[ras_oscar]

Mores the pity., or something like that.

I tend to moisten my leaf a bit more than perhaps I should. ROTT gives me too many burn problems.