There are many who say one's palate can be improved. Taste buds as muscles, like biceps being pumped at the gym. Meh. I say this: barring the opposite ends of the 'tastebud power spectrum' of those curiously born sans the ability to taste >>> & >>> the natural-born hyper-tasters. We'll beg to differ perhaps at saying those cover one & two % of the population, respectively. How's bout splitting the diff at 1.5 each?
That leaves us (& I count myself here) 97%ers alone to grapple descriptors of what we taste into cohesive place. Furthermore, my gut tells me that the 97% of us don't really deviate measurably in our tasting capabilities. No matter our workout routine. Try it this way: I'm saying 97 out of 100 people have basically the same ability to taste tastes. Furthermore, when that 3% of minority talks, we have zero ideas wtf they are telling us w/ their Martian Poetry (hyper tasters). Or the tasteless brigade describing technicolor in B&W.
Useless to the majority, each. So what's the 97% rub? Language. We're dealing with thought & the communication of thought when we turn to answer the question "How's that cigar?" Or, "How's that beverage?" We have taste receptors for -- hell -- lettuce do this:
"Sweet, salty, sour, and bitter. For years, they were our primary tastes. There are gustatory receptors in place, tripped accordingly to its paired aforementioned note. Wikipedia will tell you that "a taste receptor is a type of receptor which facilitates the sensation of taste." A handy definition, that. No, not really.This is to say, succinctly, we have a finite grouping of primary tastes. We also have language. Language translates the metaphorical meanderings of communicating what we taste. Metaphorical meaning that honey -- as well as chocolate, coffee, etc. are not in the cigars we smoke. Taste travels with smell & smell is linked-hard to memory. Savvy?
Then came umami via Japan. Think savory. Think MSG. Don't think Madison Square Garden. Thus compiling today's list of sweet, salty, sour, bitter, and umami/savory." (Me, Notes on Notes "The Taste of Water")" (me, 2019)
Honey. This is about honey. Language. It's really more about that -- about the fine-tuning thereof in order to really make those bullshit metaphors really & truly pop. The story of honey goes back thousands of years. The story of cigars, hundreds. The story of the story -- language -- time immemorial. Let's cap it, for our purposes, at say the first time we read tasting notes. Tea, coffee, beer go back maybe thousands as well, for what that's worth. This is an all-encompassing thing, this thing I am writing on "honey" now suitably surrounded in quotations.
I think a simple look-see at honey varietals will help. This is far from a comprehensive list, but it does cover potential findings in our aforementioned tasting purposes.
- Acacia: Mild, slightly tangy. Mildly tangy? Floral, lightly. White to pale amber.
- Alfalfa: Verily a subtle milky taste, some pale spice notes. White in hue.
- Apple Blossom: Apple (natch), in a smell/taste manner. Light to medium amber.
- Avocado: Fairly a bold buttery flavor. Dark amber complected.
- Blackberry: Delicate and sweet with pale fruit liltings. Very light amber.
- Black Mangrove: Thin bodied. Swampy aroma. Sweet brackish flavor. Any ol' spectrum of amber.
- Blueberry: Red to purple fruity, blueberry (natch) aftertaste. Medium-dark amber-colored.
- Buckwheat: Pungently earthy with notes of burnt molasses, cherry, tobacco, and plum. Dark malted grains. Dark brown complexion.
- Carob Seed: Bittersweet with vibings of caramel and subtle chocolate. Dark autumn honey brown.
- Mesquite: Sweet and warm. Smoky, woody, citrus notes. Medium amber with a brown tint.
- Orange Blossom: Hints of you guessed it, tuna. Not really. Light amber to dark amber.
- Tawari: Butterscotch writ large. Light amber.
- White Sage: Clove. A big floral finish (a new euphemism for a funeral -- I mean celebration of life?). Translucent yellow.
I mention complexion because we eat with our eyes. Jk. That would burn like fuck & leave us hungry. It's just another sense, employed in our little thought experiment/mental masturbation which is as follows... think of a cigar you are familiar with. Recall the tastes. Do any of those recollections find a better descriptor in the above? Nougat, maybe? Caramel? How about molasses? Fruity sweetnesses? Sweet pale spices? Now light up that cigar with old taste buds & new language. A note: do this with whatever you taste, I simply stab at remaining cigar-forward in my musings.
Does a honey varietal from the above list serve to better describe what you're tasting? Cool! Does it not? Hey, thanks for reading.
For an index of these "Notes on Notes" entries, go HERE.
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
Does a honey varietal from the above list serve to better describe what you're tasting? Cool! Does it not? Hey, thanks for reading.
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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
::: very :::