Happy Monday, folks!
Today’s post is going to be a long one thanks to two Gentlemen that took the time to put their thoughts to paper. Here’s the question before we get started with the information:
What do YOU think about cigar tasting notes? Are they real, random, or made up?
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Rather than compile this information in a regular article, I thought it would be much more fun to get your input!
Background
Rich (Instagram profile linked) and I have discussed tasting notes for almost as long as we’ve known each other. It’s a fascinating subject that spans our abilities to experience, associate, and communicate all at once. And, it’s complicated by the fact that we’re constantly tricked by the colors we see in the cigar and environment, our emotions on any given day, our surroundings and their sentimental value, the perceived value of the cigar, and even knowing the actual MSRP of the cigar.
And then there were several studies of different magnitudes detailing that wine enthusiasts were much less accurate than many believed. Some studied students, some studied professionals, and some studied professed wine drinkers – yet a surprising majority were unable to tell the difference between white and red wine when it was colored, choose the expensive wine over the inexpensive wine when given a choice, or distinguish between the different grapes consistently.
Improve your palate by reading these six tips
These discussions were a large part of why we chose to do weekly Blind Reviews here at Small Batch. There are so many things that affect what we taste, and a truly blind review makes for a more consumer-friendly read as well as a more entertaining one!
As we now approach almost 100 Blind Reviews, Rich had a pretty good sample size to see how cigars stacked up against wine. So, he compiled a spreadsheet with all the pertinent information on cigars and individual tasting notes recognized in each Blind Review and enlisted the help of Yoe (Instagram profile linked), a stellar gentleman and scholar that possesses above average ability on a calculator, as well as most other things. And while Yoe would want me to disclose that he isn’t a statistician, I believe the results speak for themselves.
Thanks Gents!
The Setup
Using a flavor wheel, Yoe determined that there were approximately 21 flavors that a reviewer could use – although as he put it, “it is rather problematic since gustatory reception is a subjective perception.” He also assumed that the reviewers were “honest and only took notes of flavors they perceived, and they noted every flavor they perceived.”
Then, Yoe set out to answer an important question:
What are the odds that the flavors detected by each reviewer are NOT random?
Yoe broke it down with several methods:
- Determine the chance of selecting the same random notes as another reviewer
- Comparing reviews in which all three reviewers found the same number of tasting notes
- Comparing reviews in which the number of tasting notes found were significantly different
Learn what affects our perception of a cigar's taste here
*Only 51 cigars were used in Rich’s spreadsheet and subsequently Yoe’s statistical analysis. Looking at the data, it appears to be the most recent 51 reviews at the time of their discussions.
What are the odds that cigar tasting notes are completely random?
To answer this, Yoe took the mean number of tasting notes (7) found by reviewers and found that the “odds of a second reviewer having the same seven notes with 21 possibilities is far below 1% and is significant at all acceptable statistical levels (a = .10; .05; & .01).
He adds that introducing a third reviewer would further diminish the chances of completely random results, to the tune of about a .000000007% chance.
Reviews with a similar number of tasting notes:
Here, Yoe listed several tables that I think are worth copying and pasting altogether. Let’s take a look!
Bold = all three reviewers described the same tasting note
Underlined = at least two of the reviewers described the same tasting note
Regular Text = only one reviewer described that tasting note
Crux Limitada IPCPR 2018: 7 notes each
Wisconsin: Wood, Pepper, Cinnamon, Baking Spice, Fruit/Citrus, Nuts, Cream
California: Wood, Pepper, Cinnamon, Baking Spice, Fruit/Citrus, Bread, Cream
Oregon: Wood, Pepper, Cinnamon, Baking Spice, Nuts, Bread, Leather
Statistically, Yoe says the odds of three reviewers choosing four of the exact same notes for Crux’s Limitada IPCPR 2018 would be 1 in 35,820,225. Even two reviewers choosing the same four notes is a 1 in 5,985 chance.
Develop your palate with these Classic Cigars for Iconic Tasting Notes
Aganorsa Leaf Signature Selection: 7 notes each
Wisconsin: Pepper, Nuts, Tobacco, Cream, Fruit/Citrus, Anise, Floral
California: Pepper, Nuts, Cream, Coffee/Espresso, Leather, Bread, Caramel
Oregon: Pepper, Nuts, Tobacco, Fruit/Citrus, Coffee/Espresso, Leather, Cinnamon
Sombrero de Copa: 6 notes each
Wisconsin: Fruit/Citrus, Wood, Pepper, Baking Spice, Honey, Floral
California: Fruit/Citrus, Pepper, Cinnamon, Nuts, Chocolate, Cream
Oregon: Fruit/Citrus, Wood, Cinnamon, Nuts, Bread, Leather
Dunbarton Tobacco & Trust Sobremesa: 7.7 average number of notes
Wisconsin: Fruit/Citrus, Wood, Earth,Cream, Tea, Nuts, Chocolate, Floral
California: Fruit/Citrus, Earth, Cinnamon, Bread, Cream, Coffee/Espresso, Baking Spice
Oregon: Fruit/Citrus, Wood, Cinnamon, Bread, Coffee/Espresso, Tobacco, Pepper, Leather
Develop your palate with these Classic Cigars for Iconic Tasting Notes
My Father La Gran Oferta: 6.7 average # of notes
Wisconsin: Wood, Pepper, Baking Spice, Fruit/Citrus, Cream, Nuts, Chocolate
California: Wood, Pepper, Baking Spice, Bread, Cream, Vegetal/Herbs, Caramel
Oregon: Wood, Pepper, Fruit/Citrus, Bread, Coffee/Espresso, Floral
OneOff +53: 5.7 average # of notes
Wisconsin: Pepper, Fruit/Citrus, Nuts, Chocolate, Floral, Cream
California: Wood, Nuts, Chocolate, Tobacco, Vegetal/Herbs, Anise
Oregon: Wood, Pepper, Fruit/Citrus, Floral, Cinnamon
Bespoke Basilica A: 5.3 average # of notes
Wisconsin: Fruit/Citrus, Nuts, Cream, Wood, Bread, Coffee/Espresso
California: Fruit/Citrus, Pepper, Nuts, Cinnamon, Vegetal/Herbs
Oregon: Fruit/Citrus, Pepper, Cinnamon, Cream, Wood
Develop your palate with these Classic Cigars for Iconic Tasting Notes
KFC Sweets: 2.3 average # of notes
Wisconsin: Wood, Earth
California: Vegetal/Herbs, Fruit/Citrus
Oregon: Wood, Tobacco
Yoe explains that this review’s significance is not the notes, but rather the lack thereof that creates its own statistical significance. He also states that “if two reviewers were to randomly choose 2 of 21 possible flavor notes and have none of them be the same, it would be about an 86% chance of picking none alike if it were random.”
Reviews with Differing Amounts of Tasting Notes:
Here, Yoe selected cigars where one reviewer found at least 7 more notes than another reviewer.
Bold = all three reviewers described the same tasting note
Underlined = at least two of the reviewers described the same tasting note
Regular Text = only one reviewer described that tasting note
Wisconsin: Wood, Baking Spice, Pepper, Earth, Fruit/Citrus, Nuts, Cinnamon, Caramel, Chocolate, Leather
California: Wood, Baking Spice, Vegetal/Herbs,
Oregon: Wood, Vegetal/Herbs, Pepper, Earth, Bread, Coffee/Espresso
Wisconsin: Earth, Baking Spice, Grass/Hay, Wood, Pepper, Caramel, Coffee/Espresso, Chocolate, Nuts, Cream, Leather
California: Earth, Baking Spice, Vegetal/Herbs
Oregon: Grass/Hay, Wood, Pepper, Caramel, Coffee/Espresso, Tobacco, Bread
Develop your palate with these Classic Cigars for Iconic Tasting Notes
Wisconsin: Pepper, Chocolate, Wood, Leather, Vegetal/Herbal, Coffee/Espresso
California: Pepper, Chocolate,
Oregon: Pepper, Wood, Leather, Tobacco, Cinnamon, Nuts, Caramel, Cream, Floral
Wisconsin: Wood, Pepper, Coffee/Espresso, Leather, Cinnamon, Earth, Salt, Fruit/Citrus, Nuts, Chocolate
California: Wood, Pepper, Floral
Oregon: Wood, Pepper, Coffee/Espresso, Leather, Tobacco, Caramel
On this set of reviews where the amount of tasting notes identified were dissimilar, Yoe says, “Overall, these discrepancies showed that while there was a difference in number, the distinctions were still in the same directions as the other reviewers and often lined up. All this to say that it's probably not random, and likely there are objective reasons we get certain flavors in cigars.”
Summary
I believe the data shows conclusively that the tasting notes identified in a cigar by our Blind Review Panel are far from random. I also believe that, since we haven’t been professionally trained, this conclusion extends to the broad majority of cigar reviews.
As Yoe says, “likely there are objective reasons we get certain flavors in cigars.” And Rich adds, “…as broad categories, I think we now have ample evidence to say that cigars provide similar subjective flavor experiences to different people. I don’t think that’s ever been done before.”
Tell Us! What do YOU think?
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Comments
I am a big believer in the effect of environment as well. A cigar smoked in a freshly cut field on a gorgeous day with a sunset will no doubt have an impact on a review over the same cigar smoke in an apartment.
Overall I would say the majority of casual cigar smokers will be able to safely call primary aromas and flavors. However I always begin to get a bit more suspicious and critical of the reviewers when I see very specific calls on nuances.
Smoke what makes you happy.
A few people stated it below but a larger sampling size would be awesome. Also, Travis said, "In almost every blind test, you said wood, pepper, cinnamon and spice. So, by that logic, you could have 10,000 people picking the same notes. Your science is skewed and inconsistent." That might point to another interesting analysis.
I think most of these cigars reviewed above, have some form of Nicaraguan tobacco. I feel like Nicaraguan tobacco exudes some of those qualities Travis stated - wood (oak, cedar, etc) pepper, baking spices. and cinnamon.
It might be cool to analyze cigars from specific countries. In terms of wine or whiskey, there are certain over-arching flavor profiles that a region or country will inherently shine in. You might find a correlation between overt tasting notes with puro cigars from country to country, or at least with a dominant amount of a country's tobacco in the filler.
All the additional flavor notes would be on the ability of the blender, fermentation process, and QA to ensure differentiated experience from the next.
Travis, while each cigar listed did almost all have W, P, C, and S, the post clearly indicates this was done over fifty cigars. Even if all cigars had W, P, C, and S, you discredit results because of the sake of a result, rather than give credit to the possibility that there may exist a fundamental flavor (a hypothesis the data does not support) built upon those four spices. Just because something is perceived a lot does not mean it is wrong. Your oversight of the fundamental nature of participant-observation statistical analysis makes your argument, in fact, erroneous.
This is the very object of the initial hypothesis, that there exists some support that there are objective flavors to be found in a cigar. But hey, I'm just looking at numbers and maybe the numbers are skewed and inconsistent.
It's always stated that taste is subjective, but I do feel there is a standard when it comes down to notes/tastes/flavors. Usually there's a common ground that all can agree on.
Adam pointed out that different countries can provide different flavors, this truth is the same for coffee. My favorite coffees come from Africa (Ethiopia specifically) because they tend to have very berry-like or fruity profiles. Where as coffees from Asian countries tend to exhibit more herbal/spice profiles and South American countries exhibit Chocolate/cocoa notes. However, I do believe that in much of coffee/hipster culture there are those “aficionado’s” that just can’t help but taste the crazy notes. Some are probably real... “toasted marshmallow” could definitely be a thing. But I also believe most is for show.
As a statistician, I see many issues. Biggest one is that the descriptors in the flavour wheel are not independent. E g, nutty will occur much more often with coffee.
Secondly, look at the results: pepper is in almost all reviews. So, the frequency is not equally distributed.
Point is: I can make a random review and you wouldn't know with any accuracy.