Cigar smokers get some of their enjoyment from the act of discovery. This might involve encountering a new type of wrapper, picking up on a flavor they had previously missed, or pairing a cigar with the perfect drink. Edward Olszanowski, founder and president of iThrive AI, created CigarPalate to make the process easy and personalized.
When the idea first arose, Olszanowski was by no means a frequent cigar smoker. "I used to have one cigar once a month," he says. As friends brought him cigars with Maduro, San Andrés, Cameroon, and Sumatra wrappers, he began to detect flavors he had never before associated with cigars, so he used ChatGPT to try to work out what he was tasting. Soon, he had dozens of cigar conversations buried in one long chat. “I kept scrolling up, scrolling back down, trying to find another cigar,” he says, chuckling. “I thought, I know I smoked this somewhere. I couldn’t find it. I said to myself, ‘I gotta build an app!’”
The website he built reflects the way Olszanowski approaches AI: starting with an everyday frustration and then asking whether technology can remove the friction. His background is in leading software and IT teams rather than writing code himself, but AI tools have helped him turn ideas into working products.
Olszanowski describes CigarPalate as a “digital tobacconist” for newcomers and aficionados alike. Users build a flavor profile based on preferences and past smokes, which the app refines over time. The goal, he says, is not simply to tell smokers what is popular, but to help them understand what they like. “If you’ve never smoked a cigar before,” Olszanowski says, “it helps you understand what your flavor profile is.”
The web app allows users to scan cigars into virtual humidors, track aging and purchase prices, maintain wish lists, and receive restock alerts. When lighting up, CigarPalate recommends cigars based on user profiles, time of day, or pairings. A wish list can become a shopping list for the next visit to a lounge. Detailed tasting sessions walk smokers through construction, aroma, lighting, flavor notes, and retrohaling. At the same time, a quicker notebook option allows someone to log and rate a cigar without turning a relaxing smoke into homework. “Some people just want to relax and smoke a cigar,” he says. “Other people want to sit there and actually dissect what they’re smoking.”
For those who like to geek out, the app breaks the experience into thirds and identifies notes such as cedar, cocoa, espresso, leather, or pepper. Olszanowski compares it to learning to appreciate wine. At first, a drinker may know only that a wine tastes like grapes. With attention and experience, their tastes grow. “I don’t know if it’s training your palate or maturing,” he says. “You’re opening up your palate, expanding it.”
A newer conversational feature allows users to speak directly to CigarPalate. Olszanowski compares it to Iron Man’s “Jarvis,” asking where a cigar is stored, starting a smoking session, or getting recommendations without having to navigate menus. Community features let participants post, earn points, move through levels, create digital journals with photos and notes, link cigar review videos, and even digitally “gift” a cigar to another user. The platform is available in Spanish and can be saved directly to a smartphone home screen for a seamless app experience.
Olszanowski is already thinking beyond the phone. He is developing a lounge kiosk that could match a customer’s CigarPalate profile with a shop’s available inventory, helping smokers discover something new while helping lounges connect customers with cigars they are more likely to enjoy.
For Olszanowski, that is ultimately what the app is about: not replacing the ritual of cigar smoking with technology, but using technology to deepen it. “Explore cigars that it’s recommending to you,” he encourages. “Practice with it. Play around with it.” And, perhaps, discover a flavor you did not know you were looking for.
cigarpalate.com
What Are Cigar Notes?
Cedar. Leather. Espresso. Cocoa. Pepper. Butter cookies.
Cigar tasting notes can sound a little mysterious to the uninitiated, but they work much like tasting notes in wine or whiskey. The cigar hasn’t been flavored with those ingredients. Instead, the combination of tobacco varieties, growing regions, fermentation, and aging can create aromas and sensations that evoke familiar flavors.
Taste involves more than the tongue. Aroma plays an enormous role, which is why experienced smokers sometimes “retrohale,” gently directing some smoke through the nose to reveal nuances that might otherwise go unnoticed.
The trick isn’t finding the “right” flavor. It’s paying attention. With experience, what once tasted only like smoke can become surprisingly complex.