"Oh, I love trash!
Anything dirty or dingy or dusty
Anything ragged or rotten or rusty
Yes, I love trash"
- Oscar the Grouch, I Love Trash
... But one man's trash is another man's treasure. Ever think you'd take a manure tasting note as a whetting of your interests? It's not a bad thing entirely, in & of itself, & not for nothing -- to read that descriptor in say, a cigar review. I can make a case for spotting buffalo chips in coffee, too. It really rounds-out a profile; fills in its corners, does feces. While granted, I've never snacked on the stuff, much of what we (I) do is metaphorical. Much of what I do is poetic. Much... I smell manure. I digress.
The topic of this Notes on Notes installment is Fusty, Musty, Dusty. They were a Borscht Belt comedy team of the 1930s, born Irving, Moshe, & Sidney Moskowitz... fuck if I don't need another digress. Why do I bring "manure" to the table? To illustrate that none of the notes mentioned herein are inherently bad (mostly). Some are quite good (mainly). A malty note is most excellent (subjectively) but rarely ever seen sans at least "Fusty, Musty, Dusty."
- fus·ty /ˈfəstē/ adjective smelling stale, damp, or stuffy
- mus·ty /ˈməstē/ adjective having a stale, moldy, or damp smell.
- dust·y /ˈdəstē/ adjective covered with, full of, or resembling dust.
SMELLING:
"Olfactory receptors (ORs), also known as odorant receptors, are expressed in the cell membranes of olfactory receptor neurons and are responsible for the detection of odorants (i.e., compounds that have an odor) which give rise to the sense of smell." - Wikipedia
Fusty, musty, dusty happens predominately in the nose. Actually, in the order, top-to-bottom. It's the aroma, but also it's there through the schnoz via retro-hale. In the latter, mainly post-pepperiness in cigars. In beverages (former), when you stick your nose in the cup/glass. Off the fresh pour or a steamy cuppa, in the background or underneath -- dependant upon your linguistic orientation.
STALE:
(Again) not an inherently bad word (I Love Trash). Ever hear of malty notes? I feel this is where those reside w/in Flavor Country. Particularly look toward sweet attachments -- ie: honey & chocolate. Or (perhaps more frequently), as vice-versa attachments to them notes.
DAMP:
Less of a not inherently bad thing. It could be "spitty*" & often is. Let's talk astringency in beverages. Dry notes in cigars. Those bits balance -- if not -- there is an imbalance. Imbalance is inherently bad. If sought-after by artisans, this is a sort of novelty... Pepper-bomb smokes; over-hopped IPAs.
STUFFY:
Typically caused by the fatiguing pummeling of linear offerings. A bombardment of singular note. Nuances dug so deep as to suffocate canaries. A building of barnacles on the palate. Cloying-so, in such sweet cases. Ain't no sunshine (when she's gone.)" OK, inherently bad.
MOLDY:
Cigars: "Toss out all moldy sticks. Quarantine non-moldy ones stored with them, in a separate & different humidor. Wipe infected humidor guts w/ 90%+ rubbing alcohol. Leave propped open to dry. Then reseason. Expensive moldy stick? If foot tobacco is moldy, ditch (sry). If only wrapper is, wipe with booze, dry box, smoke; I would not. Epstein didn't kill himself." [used with the express written consent of myself via my Facebook profile.]
Coffee: "Baggy." Beans stored incorrectly or for too long.
Tea: leaves not roasted regularly as aged.
Beer: "Skunky."
Wiminz: "Skanky."
DUST:
I spoke to dusty notes in Notes on Notes "Pepper: Flavor or Body?" pt. 1: https://bit.ly/2X0mq7i
This is a thing which breeds at its best, a refrain... a restraint. At worst, mottling, muting. But, again, when delivered well, it allows the light of other flavors through stronger notes. It then can be seen as responsible for a greater amount of complexity.
I am too tired from exploration to wrap this installment up well. Will the last one out please get the lights? thx
FOOTNOTE
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If you don't appreciate this "Notes on Notes" series, please blame its sponsor, the Dapper Cigar Co. You can contact them at dappercigars.com
