Cigars are as diverse as anything else in this world. There are mild cigars, strong cigars, dark profile cigars, and powerful cigars that span several categories — like the Perdomo Champagne Connecticut, which has a ton of nicotine but in a lighter, brighter profile of flavors. For someone new to cigars, or hell, sometimes even experienced smokers, it’s tough to quantify the difference between the options.
What exactly is a strong cigar, for example? How does it compare to a cigar’s body? What about flavor profile(s)? These are all excellent, burning questions, so let’s explore and burn down that ash.
What is cigar strength?
Source: Briley Kenney / The BS Lounge
It’s easy to mix these qualifiers up, so, depending on who you’re talking to, you might get a different description. The strength explicitly refers to the nicotine content in a cigar. Because premium cigars consist entirely of tobacco, they naturally contain nicotine. Since it’s inherent, and rarely measured, every cigar has a different concentration, some more than others.
A strong cigar has a lot of nicotine, which means, when you smoke it you’ll likely feel the effects. If you’re not prepared, it is possible to get queasy or nauseous, which is called nic-sickness. As an aside, that’s why I always recommend drinking something sweet with your cigars, whether that’s soda, juice, tea, coffee, or something stronger.
What does ‘body’ refer to in a cigar?
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Body refers to the overall content in a cigar, like dense and more potent flavors. The classifications are: Mild-bodied, Medium-bodied, and Full-bodied. The body of a cigar often goes hand-in-hand with cigar strength. For example, typically, a full-bodied cigar is stronger than a mild-bodied cigar. But it’s important to note that’s not always the case.
You can absolutely find mild and medium-bodied cigars that are stronger, since strength is more about the nicotine concentration. Because of this, some people use the terms interchangeably when talking about their cigar experiences, but that’s not quite accurate.
While more of an auxiliary term, the flavor profile of a cigar refers to the pattern of flavors you’ll taste when smoking. A darker profile cigar, for example, might have flavors like dark chocolate, cinnamon, leather, toastiness or wood and so on. They’re very dark, rich flavors you probably won’t have difficulty discerning. A light or bright cigar has more vibrant flavors, sometimes sweeter, like vanilla, floral notes, citrus, and even some light coffee or milk chocolate.
Some cigars match several categories at once
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It’s always possible to have cigars that match several of these categories or classifiers. For instance, mild, flavored cigars can still have a dark profile. Nub by Oliva cigars, for instance, come in a variety of flavors, including dark options like espresso. But by most counts, those are not strong or full-bodied.
The Perdomo Champagne, which I called out above, is an excellent example of this mixing and matching. Funnily enough, people often recommend the Connecticut version as a beginner cigar, which isn’t always superb for newbies. Sure, it’s medium-bodied with a creamy, satisfying burst of flavor, but it also has a lot of nicotine which can be too much for someone that’s not used to smoking stronger cigars. Of course, the Champagne also comes in Sun Grown and Maduro varieties. And those are even stronger than the Connecticut.
Cigar makers and retailers often provide this information, so you always have some idea of what you’re going to experience. However, it takes a lot of trial and error to figure out what’s the best match for your palate.
Cigar strength vs. body: Strong cigars aren’t for everyone
Source: Briley Kenney / The BS Lounge
Cigars are ultimately about the experience. Yes, the flavors, the strength, and the body all play a part in that experience, but everyone has their own tastes. Don’t feel bad if you don’t enjoy strong cigars or full-bodied cigars. It’s also okay to stick to your sweet spot when you find it. As much as I recommend experimenting to find experiences outside your wheelhouse, there’s no need to force it.
If you light something up, and you’re not enjoying it, put it down. At least, now you’ll have a much better understanding of the difference between all of those near-endless options you have available.
Briley has over 16 years in the publishing and content marketing business. He's been writing about cigars for nearly half that in various forms. What makes him a tour de force is he also smokes them.
Source: Briley Kenney / The BS Lounge
Source: Briley Kenney / The BS Lounge
Source: Briley Kenney / The BS Lounge
Source: Briley Kenney / The BS Lounge
Source: Briley Kenney / The BS Lounge
