Retronasal smoking, also known as retrohaling, can significantly enhance the enjoyment of a cigar. However, many cigar lovers have never heard of it. In this article, you'll find out what it's all about and how you can get the best out of your cigar.

How does the sense of taste work?

The tongue is able to perceive the basic flavours of sweet, sour, bitter, salty and umami. The latter refers to the spicy or savoury taste. However, the sense of smell plays an equally important role when savouring cigars.

The olfactory bulbs in the nose are equipped with olfactory nerves that are responsible for the perception of odours. When you exhale smoke through your nose while smoking, you stimulate these olfactory nerves and perceive more flavour. The art of retronasal smoking stimulates the perception of flavour.

4 facts: Retronasal smoking

At the very top of the nose are the left and right olfactory bulbs. The olfactory bulbs are equipped with olfactory nerves. It is these olfactory nerves that considerably enhance the enjoyment of cigars - if only we knew how to stimulate these olfactory nerves. The art of retronasal smoking takes some practice.

There are four facts that explain why retronasal smoking can improve the flavour of cigars.

Firstly, the sense of smell influences all other taste sensations.

Secondly, chewing food releases volatile flavourings that enter the nose through the throat.

Thirdly, spicy foods such as whisky or wasabi tickle and irritate the nose.

Fourthly, retronasal smoking cools the smoke in the mouth and blows it slowly through the nose, which optimally stimulates the olfactory nerves.

4 retronasal types. Which one are you?

There are four types of retronasal smokers. The first type blows all the smoke through the nose immediately and with great force, which can lead to an unpleasant feeling of heat and tears in the eyes. The second type lets the smoke cool down in the mouth first and then blows the rest through the nose. This method is more pleasant and leads to a better flavour experience. The other two types are a mixture of the first two. The art of retronasal smoking takes practice, but it brings more flavour to the enjoyment of a cigar.

Retronasal type 4: R+ technique: I didn't invent this technique. Roli, a reader of Zigarren.Zone, has been visiting Cuba several times a year for decades. One day he saw a tobacco farmer „sucking“ on his cigar. The tobacco farmer explained the technique to him. This is the ultimate enjoyment of a cigar. Hard to describe. I'll try. Here's an example: a baby sucking on a dummy. Try this technique with a cigar. Very little smoke gets into the mouth. But it passes over the tongue and goes straight through the nose. I tried it with about 10 cigars before I mastered it. Please be very careful with this technique when practising: the smoke hit the back of my larynx several times. That was really bad. But now that I can do it, it's a perfect technique for enjoying a cigar.

The art of retronasal smoking takes patience to master.

How to evaluate cigars professionally: The Tasting Tool

You can download the tool here

Resources on the topic

Restronasal flavour perception, article on Wikipedia

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What is rertonasal smoking?