Bad tastes!!!!! UPDATE

LiquidChaos66

So I was smokin an Alec Bradley 1997 harvest selection while sittin on the beach. It was ok for a bit but then about half way through it got a really bad rotten egg flavor in it. WTF??? Has anyone else had bad tastes like that in a stick? Is a taste like that from poor storage or being over heated (during storage or from smoking)? Or was it just a fluke?

ddubridge

A bad flavor is what brought me here a couple years ago. Have experienced the rotten egg taste, but that on tasted like death. If you have more you might want to give them a little rest. Worked for me.

LiquidChaos66

It was the only one I had. Lol so I think it may be a bit before I revisit that particular stick. I'm just concerned cause I had to freeze all my sticks recently and I'm hoping it was a fluke and not a product of the freeze and humi rehabilitation.

scarlin

Tar maybe? I know to the tongue it is pretty nasty, but I don't know how it smells/tastes when it burns.

Amos Umwhat

LiquidChaos66:

So I was smokin an Alec Bradley 1997 harvest selection while sittin on the beach. It was ok for a bit but then about half way through it got a really bad rotten egg flavor in it. WTF??? Has anyone else had bad tastes like that in a stick? Is a taste like that from poor storage or being over heated (during storage or from smoking)? Or was it just a fluke?

My guess is just a fluke.

onestrangeone

I'm wondering if your bad taste might have been ammonia from a young cigar?

Roberto99

I have not run into the sulfur taste/smell you are talking about, and I freeze all my cigars.

Bob Luken

I'm very sorry this happened. Those AB Harvest '97s have all been good sticks and I was hoping you would really enjoy that one. I'll send you a couple more if you're not too afraid of them at this point. LOL I'm hoping it was a fluke of some sorts. BTW that particular stick was frozen by me back in may. It's been in my coolidor between 64 and 67 RH. I've had at least one of those myself since I sent you that one and mine was fine. It's one of my favorites.

Cigary

Bob Luken:

I'm very sorry this happened. Those AB Harvest '97s have all been good sticks and I was hoping you would really enjoy that one. I'll send you a couple more if you're not too afraid of them at this point. LOL I'm hoping it was a fluke of some sorts. BTW that particular stick was frozen by me back in may. It's been in my coolidor between 64 and 67 RH. I've had at least one of those myself since I sent you that one and mine was fine. It's one of my favorites.

I agree with Bob and the other fellas...I like the AB line of cigars and this one I probably smoke more than others because it is so consistent. You probably either received one that was too young and was in its "sick period" or you just got a bad one...it happens. There are several explanations that can result in a bad cigar experience....not enough rest, changing medications, you just got through eating a spicy meal, you might have caught some "bug" and it makes your taste buds taste things differently. I'm an advocate of resting cigars for at least a month before smoking them but that's because I have a huge inventory of cigars to offset that reason. Letting cigars adjust to YOUR humi is advisable because when they transition from where you bought them to going to your humidor will take time to adjust to its new home..hence the rest period. I understand that a lot of people don't have a big inventory to work from so when I was starting out I went to a lot of B&M's to get what I wanted to get and smoked them there or later that day because I knew the cigars were in a good storage environment....( check to see that their RH is where it needs to be to ensure you have a cigar that's been stored correctly )

LiquidChaos66

Bob Luken:

I'm very sorry this happened. Those AB Harvest '97s have all been good sticks and I was hoping you would really enjoy that one. I'll send you a couple more if you're not too afraid of them at this point. LOL I'm hoping it was a fluke of some sorts. BTW that particular stick was frozen by me back in may. It's been in my coolidor between 64 and 67 RH. I've had at least one of those myself since I sent you that one and mine was fine. It's one of my favorites.

It was a good smoke until that rotten egg blast lol. Had a decent peppery start and some smoother creamy/leathery/oaky flavors from what I got of it. Then boom! Rotten egg. Lol it stuck around for a couple drags so I don't know if it would have gone away or not. But three mouths full of that rotten egg was too much to see if it would go away. Looking at the remainder of the stick that's sitting on the sand it was more like 2/3 of the way through. So really I got quite a bit of enjoyment from it. I might revisit that stick again in the future but ive got so many singles from the bombs that I still need to try. I know my B&M doesn't carry that particular stick so when I get through some more of my humi ill hit ya up and see if you still have some on hand and we can work up a trade or whatnot.

Bob Luken

LiquidChaos66:

Bob Luken:

I'm very sorry this happened. Those AB Harvest '97s have all been good sticks and I was hoping you would really enjoy that one. I'll send you a couple more if you're not too afraid of them at this point. LOL I'm hoping it was a fluke of some sorts. BTW that particular stick was frozen by me back in may. It's been in my coolidor between 64 and 67 RH. I've had at least one of those myself since I sent you that one and mine was fine. It's one of my favorites.

It was a good smoke until that rotten egg blast lol. Had a decent peppery start and some smoother creamy/leathery/oaky flavors from what I got of it. Then boom! Rotten egg. Lol it stuck around for a couple drags so I don't know if it would have gone away or not. But three mouths full of that rotten egg was too much to see if it would go away. Looking at the remainder of the stick that's sitting on the sand it was more like 2/3 of the way through. So really I got quite a bit of enjoyment from it. I might revisit that stick again in the future but ive got so many singles from the bombs that I still need to try. I know my B&M doesn't carry that particular stick so when I get through some more of my humi ill hit ya up and see if you still have some on hand and we can work up a trade or whatnot.

Sounds like whatever it was tainted the rest of the stick after it burned up in there. Makes me wonder if it wasn't an old dead beetle larvae or something weird that shouldn't be in there. It's been a favorite of mine and I grab a 10 pack every time I can catch them at a great price on the sprint sale, so I should have some anytime you want to try again. Plus next time I'll let you know if I've frozen them already. What I have been doing is keeping (Quarantine) my trades and bombs in a separate desktop and not freezing those. My plan is to smoke 'em after just a bit of rest. If they get too crowded I'll consider freezing some for longer storage with my others in the coolers that contain sticks I have already frozen.

LiquidChaos66

Oh man. Lol the idea of smoking a beetle larva kinda makes me squirm! I would think if it were a larva that it would have popped like an ant under a magnifying glass. Lol whatever happened wasnt enough to turn me away from trying that stick again.

I do know that once I upgrade I'm planning on usin my smaller humi for letting bombs and new sticks adjust and then moving them into the mainline community. (Now I'm sounding like a prison warden lol)

Bob Luken

LiquidChaos66:

Oh man. Lol the idea of smoking a beetle larva kinda makes me squirm! I would think if it were a larva that it would have popped like an ant under a magnifying glass. Lol whatever happened wasnt enough to turn me away from trying that stick again.

I do know that once I upgrade I'm planning on usin my smaller humi for letting bombs and new sticks adjust and then moving them into the mainline community. (Now I'm sounding like a prison warden lol)

LOL Don't mess with the warden!

Rhamlin

Freezing wouldn't have had any affect. I used to freeze all the time.

LiquidChaos66

I think it's me....... I just had a 5 Vegas Gold. It was a decent smoke but The same sulfer flavor came out half way through. I don't understand. Before both sticks my palate was clean and I was only drinking water with them both. I'm so damn confused!

jthanatos

Do you use matches?

LiquidChaos66

Dual torch butane. Bought a single torch as well today.

scarlin

LiquidChaos66:

I think it's me....... I just had a 5 Vegas Gold. It was a decent smoke but The same sulfer flavor came out half way through. I don't understand. Before both sticks my palate was clean and I was only drinking water with them both. I'm so damn confused!

Could be what they were stored in assuming both sticks were stored in the same place. You may also have a sulfur leak from your sulfur pipe that delivers sulfur to your sulfurer which sulfurs things.

Bob Luken

This IS strange. Did you have any touch-ups or re-lights?

LiquidChaos66

Bob Luken:

This IS strange. Did you have any touch-ups or re-lights?

no touch ups. Single lighting. I toast from the inside out always rotating the stick. I take extra care to not torch the outside wrapping. It's usually a good minute of toasting with the flame just barely touching the stick.

LiquidChaos66

scarlin:

LiquidChaos66:

I think it's me....... I just had a 5 Vegas Gold. It was a decent smoke but The same sulfer flavor came out half way through. I don't understand. Before both sticks my palate was clean and I was only drinking water with them both. I'm so damn confused!

Could be what they were stored in assuming both sticks were stored in the same place. You may also have a sulfur leak from your sulfur pipe that delivers sulfur to your sulfurer which sulfurs things.

. Can't be this. I had my sulfur services shut down for the summer. The rates jump and its just too expensive sulfuring things when it's too warm out. Unless you are aware of an adequate sulfur substitute that's cheaper than NW natural sulfur suppliers.

LiquidChaos66

I said this in anothe thread but it seems important enough to repeat. I powered through the sulfur taste and it got really hot afterwards. Like to the point where there was hard bite and it was uncomfortable to smoke.

phobicsquirrel

Maybe it was a accident by the factory. They were starting a new line of cigars, the breakfast cigar and by accident the '97s got mixed in. What you tasted was what we call a double smoke. By that I mean there you are smoking a cigar and enjoying the flavor cuz you know you love these little guys. Then out of no where the flavor changes and you are SHOCKED! It's like a shocker though not as ... er, invasive.

phobicsquirrel

btw pm me if you want to get together and herf if by portland you mean oregon.

LiquidChaos66

phobicsquirrel:

btw pm me if you want to get together and herf if by portland you mean oregon.

PM to ya sir

Jasonc1982

I find Alec Bradley cigars are hit and miss anyways. The Tempus is the perfect example. The first few I had were excellent...then the quality took a nose-dive. I can't ever trust an AB to taste the same more than once or twice.

LiquidChaos66

Well my last stick for the trip was awesome. No bad flavor issues. CAO Concert is probably one of my top 5 now. Great smoke and awesome band. Lol