La Escuela
Learn to taste
The taster's technique, from the cut to the retrohale — explained without mystery.
The Cut
A clean guillotine cut just above the cap's shoulder — never too deep. Cut too little and the draw stays tight; cut too much and the wrapper unravels. One confident motion, not a sawing one.
The Light
Toast the foot at a 45° angle, rotating slowly until it glows evenly all the way around. Then draw while lighting, never letting the flame touch the tobacco directly. A wooden match or a butane torch — never a fuel lighter that leaves its own flavor behind.
The Thirds
A cigar is not one flavor — it's three acts. The first third is usually the mildest, often citrus or cedar. The second is where the blend shows its real character. The third intensifies, sometimes peppery, sometimes bolder than where it started. Pay attention to the turn, not just the taste.
The Draw
Before you even light it, pull air through unlit. It should offer gentle resistance — like drinking a milkshake through a straw, not through a coffee stirrer. Too tight usually means a construction flaw, not something you can fix by cutting more.
The Retrohale
This is the technique that separates a taster from someone who just smokes. Draw the smoke into your mouth — never your lungs — then exhale gently through your nose. This is where the real complexity lives; the tongue alone only tells half the story.
The Ash
A tight, pale, long-holding ash is a quiet sign of good tobacco and careful rolling. If it flakes apart or falls in dark chunks, the leaf or the humidity wasn't right. You don't have to let it grow long to prove a point — but when it holds, it's telling you something.
Now that you know how to taste
Put it to use. Every review in La Cata was tasted with this same method — cut, light, thirds, draw, retrohale, ash.
Read the reviews