hey, after reading descriptions like, "if you enjoy costa rican cigars, you'll like these" on cbid 'gars, i wonder: what's up with that? does CR tobacco have a certain taste or something that's markedly different from, say, honduras or nicaragua?

It is a bit difficult to pinpoint flavors, because peoples tastes vary. I will give you some of my humble opinions on what I have experienced in general, as far as variuous tobaccos tastes. To me, Honduran tobaccos tend to be a bit grassy and peppery. Nicaraguan can be chocolate, coffee or espresso, and nutty. Dominican may seem floral, or sometimes even tasting of fruit. Mexican is sort of bready and grainy with slight nut-like undertones. Costa Rican tastes fairly mild and slightly of bread toast, with a taste of light cocoa and light cinnimon. As far as a Cuban cigar, they taste ... well ... Cuban ... LOL !!! And a good one makes you feel full in the chest and tummy, like you just ate a huge meal. Anyhow, fellow cigar smokers, thanx for listening to my taste test. The best taste test, however, is to smoke one yourself. "KoS"

agreed. I find Nicaragua and Costa Rica to have the tastes I like in a cigar. I catch the sweetness(chocolatey) in Nic. stuff, and complete smoothness(nutty) in the Costa Rica cigars.

Tony, I saw a very interesting article about Tony Borhani(Bahia), and his Costa Rica production. I apologize for not having the link, but I will find it and e-mail it to you.

Dave

Re: Tony Borhani and Bahia. His cigars were produced by Don Douglas at Tabacalera Tambor in Costa Rica, but are not representative of Costa Rican cigar production.

Costa Rican cigars are represented by Don Ursulo, Flor Real, Don Tuto, Suenos Oro & Azul, Cumbres Gold, Picos, Don Benigno, Jibaro, Purisco, and Vegas de Santiago. Most are blends of Central American tobaccos and Costa Rican, but some like Don Tuto are Costa Rican puros. The Don Tuto tobacco is also grown by the manufacturer in Costa Rica.

well, i thought i was hooked on dominicans and nicaraguans primarily, but i had a don tuto puro and LOVED it. i usually like much spicier cigars, but this had a pleasant sweetness to it -- just a hint, though. not cloying and not like a fake sweetener -- just a natural insinuation of sweetness that i enjoyed quite a bit.

so i guess i'm wondering what that "costa rican quality" is that would justify advertising "if you like CR cigars, you'll like this." is it the sweetness?

thanks, all for the comments! i very much enjoy getting to know others' takes on taste matters. smelly, i'd love to read that article -- thank you, bro!