PETE'S CIGAR FIELD GUIDE DARK WRAPPERS / PEPPER / LEATHER / ESPRESSO FIELD EDITION 01 A PERSONAL TASTING & REFERENCE BOOK
FIELD NOTES Contents A visual reference built around the flavors you reach for first. 01 PROFILE Pepper, spice, leather, earth 02 WRAPPERS Maduro, Oscuro, Habano, Broadleaf 03 SECONDS Factory seconds & overruns 04 BOX PRESS Shape, feel & combustion 05 INFUSED ACID-style flavor lane 06 JOURNAL A repeatable tasting log 02
01 / PROFILE The dark side of the flavor wheel Traditional cigars and infused cigars stay on separate scorecards. PEPPER 5 SPICE 5 LEATHER 5 EARTH 4 ESPRESSO 4 COCOA 4 SWEETNESS 2 TARGET MEDIUM- FULL TO FULL Preferred formats Robusto · Toro · Box-pressed Preferred wrapper lane Maduro · Oscuro · Dark Habano · Broadleaf 03
02 / WRAPPERS Four lanes worth learning Wrapper color is a clue, not a complete prediction of strength. MADURO Cocoa · espresso · earth natural sweetness RICH OSCURO Dark roast · char intensity · deep earth DARKEST HABANO Pepper · leather cedar · dry spice SPICY BROADLEAF Dark chocolate · coffee rich sweetness SWEET-DARK 04
03 / VALUE LANE Seconds & overruns The interesting part is not the imperfect appearance - it is whether the blend and construction still deliver. FIELD SEARCH TARGET 4–6 INCHES BOX-PRESSED DARK WRAPPER — Long-filler when disclosed — Consistent draw — Pepper survives the first third — Leather / coffee develops — Cosmetic flaws stay cosmetic 05
04 / SHAPE Why box-pressed stands out A tactile preference can become part of the tasting ritual. FEEL Flat sides. Stable grip. Distinctive presentation. NOTE Shape alone does not guarantee flavor or burn quality. Track construction separately. 06
05 / INFUSED A separate flavor universe Judge the infusion and the underlying tobacco independently. COFFEE VANILLA COCOA BOTANICAL SPICE INFUSED SCORE Infusion 25 · Tobacco 20 · Complexity 15 · Aroma 15 Construction 10 · Balance 10 · Repeat appeal 5 07
SCORING The 100-point profile match A cigar can be excellent and still be a poor match for this specific palate. PEPPER 20 SPICE 15 LEATHER / EARTH 15 COFFEE 10 COCOA 10 STRENGTH 10 COMPLEXITY 10 CONSTRUCTION 10 90–100 BULLSEYE 80–89 STRONG MATCH 70–79 EXPLORE 08
REFERENCE Flavor wheel Use specific words. “Strong” is not the same thing as “peppery.” PEPPER SPICE ROAST EARTH WOOD SWEET NUT AROMA TASTE Examples Black pepper · red pepper · clove · cinnamon Espresso · cocoa · char · leather · mineral Cedar · toast · molasses · raisin · caramel 09
JOURNAL One cigar. Three thirds. Capture change over time instead of reducing the whole smoke to one number. FIRST THIRD Opening aroma / pepper / draw MIDDLE THIRD Transitions / balance / body FINAL THIRD Heat / concentration / finish WOULD SMOKE AGAIN ○ YES ○ NO | KEEP REGULARLY ○ YES ○ NO 10
FIELD PHOTOGRAPHY What to photograph Your own images make later editions much more useful than generic product photography. BAND Identity WRAPPER Texture / oil FOOT Filler density ASH Combustion CUT Cap / draw PAIRING Context 11
PETE'S CIGAR FIELD GUIDE SMOKE NOTES, NOT HYPE. FIELD EDITION 01 / PERSONAL REFERENCE 12