Who are you and what do you taste? Part I, by Adam Estrem

Embarking on this cigar journey has been both a pleasure and a burden. I am not sure how many people actually read my blog (http://newbiecigarblogger.blogspot.com/), with any regularity, but I find myself constantly being an observer. Not only an observer of cigars, or people in the cigar shops, but in life as well. I just read an article in the Cigar Press magazine by my friend Teresa Merchant. She is the face, body and soul of a blog/company called the Smoking Hot Cigar Chick (catchy... right?). I have never met Teresa face to face, but I do know she is a young woman (at least younger than me by a few years), that has a passion for her pallet. Not only does she indulge in cigars, but food and drink as well. Like Teresa, I find myself constantly analysing what I am tasting. I cooked for 65 people last night, and had a night of tasting and tasting. I constantly found myself looking for what was missing. What am I missing? I am by no means a chef. Chefs create new flavors and textures that compliment each other beautifully. I am a student of life. Constantly searching out the best that life has to offer. What I should have been focusing on is not what I am missing, but what flavors are there that I can compliment. In Teresa's article, she expresses the art of tasting, and how we taste. We know what we like to taste, but do we know what we are tasting? For instance, take a simple vanilla ice cream. What do you taste? Inevitably you will say, "I taste vanilla ice cream." But what you are tasting are combinations of flavors that when combined tell your mouth, nose and eyes, you are tasting vanilla ice cream.
Lets pull out some of those flavors. Obviously we taste vanilla, the dominant flavor. But what about the cows milk. Can you taste what the cow was eating? If you are in Europe, their cows are mostly grass fed. Their milk has more earthy, grassy and sweet flavors. Here in the states, we feed out cows grain, and their milk tends to have more of a bread cereal quality. What about the sugar in the ice cream? Can you tell where it came from? This may be more far fetched and easier to write about than actually taking to practice. But I am trying to illustrate a point that Teresa has been trying to make. Taste your cigar. No, I mean really TASTE your cigar. As a newbie in the cigar world, I challenge you to try and pull out at least three flavors in the smoke that coats your mouth. Woods, fruits, sweets, and textiles. There is no limit on the flavors you can taste. Take the time in your day to not only experience life, but to taste it as well. I think you will be surprised what you taste.