Saturday, August 13 2011
By Gary Korb
As much as you love smoking cigars, do you ever feel like giving yourself a break? If I had to guess, I'd say those who smoke cigars on a daily basis would most likely prefer to leave their regimen as-is. Like most habits, it's hard to break. I'm also reminded of a recent news story about a study in which researchers took away the cell phones from a group of participants. A number of them exhibited acute withdrawal symptoms similar to those exhibited by alcoholics and drug addicts. (I actually know a few people who would probably react the same way if they went without their cell phones for just a few hours.)
So, do you think you could go at least two days without smoking a cigar? I have, mostly the weekends I spend with my sons. For the most part, if the cigars are out of sight, they're usually also out of mind. But not for long. I've noticed that I tend to be a little more irritable on that first day. Though I have no empirical evidence, it appears that regular cigar smokers, not unlike cigarette smokers, acquire an addiction to nicotine (mouseover image of brain below to see how this works). Moreover, I know cigar smokers who smoke up to 8 or 9 cigars a day. Now THAT'S a habit! I don't think I could ever smoke that many cigars in one day for reasons I'll touch on later.
I've discovered there are times when I just have to give my palate a break. That said, unless I've got a cold, the break is usually a day to two, because I really miss smoking my cigars. So, there you have it:
"My name is Gary and I'm a cigar addict."
The longest I ever intentionally went without a cigar was a few years ago when I stopped smoking cigars for an entire week prior to attending the IPCPR convention. The idea was I wanted to sample all those new cigars with a "clean" palate. What made it tougher was being surrounded by my cigar-smoking colleagues at work, but I prevailed.
Presuming that you take an occasional break from your cigars, sickness or certain conditions notwithstanding, there are several factors that may necessitate a nicotine hiatus. It could be that you're smoking too many "cheapo" cigars. Lesser quality tobaccos tend not to taste as good due to inferior fermentation and curing. Additionally, because the cigars are cheaper, you may tend to smoke more of them, too; which leads me directly to another cause - you're smoking too many cigars. I've also noticed that a lot of cigar smokers who tend to over indulge also tend to "lose their palate" or sensitivity to the nuances and/or complexities of the cigars they smoke. Of course, there are exceptions to everything.
Before preparing this article, I took a little in-house survey on palate burnout, and the first thing that came to mind for a lot of people was smoking too many full-bodied cigars. This has often been the case for me, and is one of the reasons I prefer to mix it up between mild, medium and full-bodied cigars. Mood plays a factor, too, but I've also found that if I buy a box of cigars and smoke through the box within a month, I get bored with them, even if they're a regular favorite, and I may not order those cigars again for months.
There's another phenomenon that I call "literal palate burnout." That's when the tip of your tongue feels irritated each time you puff. As I write this article I'm smoking an Oliva Cain Serie F 550 Habano. It's only the second cigar I smoked today, but though I love the flavor of this cigar, my tongue is starting to wear out, and as I take the cigar out of my mouth after each puff, it feels like I've burned it. Maybe I should puff less often, or not keep the cigar in my mouth while I'm writing, because hitting on a cigar too often tends to make it turn bitter. Though this Cain F doesn't taste bitter, my tongue seems to have had it. One would think I might simply put it down and let my tongue rest, but it tastes SO GOOD I can't stop. That said, I've found that if I let the cigar rest a bit longer, my palate revives itself to some degree.
In closing, I've found that if I haven't smoked cigars for a couple of days, they tend to taste better - especially that first one. Mmmm.
Have you had similar experiences? Am I off-base, or did I touch a nerve? I'd really like to get your take on this, so, I hope you'll leave a comment. By the way, I wound up nubbing that Cain F 550.
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