Shopping cigars by strength is a great way to find what you’re looking for without getting too overwhelmed by choice. Before we get into the breakdown, let’s first be clear about what cigar strength is.
Cigars can be described in a number of ways, including flavor, body, and strength. Sometimes, these terms get confused because each one can be described from mild to full. That is, if people call a stogie a “full cigar,” they might mean it has full flavor, full-body, or full strength. So it’s worth taking a second to be precise when describing cigars.
Strength is a rough description of how much of a nicotine buzz you’re going to get from smoking the cigar. Having bold or spicy flavor is not necessarily what full strength refers to, although you’ll often find these qualities in a full-strength cigar. It also doesn’t describe the body or “mouthfeel” of the smoke from a cigar. That too is separate. So when you hear full strength, be thinking about how the cigar makes you feel internally when you smoke it.
Cigars by strength are broken down into five categories: 1) mild, 2) mild-medium, 3) medium, 4) medium-full, and 5) full. Let’s talk about the three main ratings: mild, medium, and full.
On the mild-strength end, these are often cigars with Connecticut wrappers that are a light brown or blond color. You can smoke these without too much of an effect, even if you’re a newer smoker. One note though – the faster you smoke, the more trouble you can get into and the quicker the strength can sneak up on you. Go at a relaxed pace and you’ll be able to experience the effects more gradually, with more time to decide how comfortable you are with continuing the smoke session.
For medium-strength smokes, we’re now getting into cigars that feature more Ligero leaf. This is the leaf that grows at the top of a tobacco plant’s stalk. It takes the most sun, grows the largest, and incorporates the most nicotine. When blenders want to increase strength, they include more Ligero in a cigar. When they want to back off the gas, they focus on other primings (leaf types harvested from various heights on the tobacco plant stalk). Medium strength cigars give you a noticeable buzz, but won’t push you over the edge, so long as you go along at a relaxed pace. Respect them, and they’ll respect you back.
The last major category of cigars by strength is full-strength cigars. These are decently potent and will provide a significant buzz. If you smoke them quickly and you’re an inexperienced smoker, you may find that they make you feel dizzy, nauseous, and sweaty. Your heart may feel like it’s racing a bit. These are the signs that you’re smoking a potent cigar too fast, and that your body is not used to the sensation. Many people will recommend having a meal beforehand, too. Taking on a full-strength cigar on an empty stomach when you’re a newer cigar smoker is a recipe for a bad time. But for big-time cigar fans, this is a very satisfying kind of cigar to smoke.
Mild-medium and medium-full cigars by strength are the ratings found in between each of the three major categories. These strengths are used when a cigar feels like it’s not quite in either category. If a cigar feels quite strong, but not on par with the other bombshells that a reviewer has smoked, it will be described as medium-full rather than full. If a cigar feels a little too feisty to be described as mild, it will be labeled mild-medium to give people a little more of an accurate estimation of what the smoking experience will be like. That’s how the in-between categories have arisen.
Newer smokers may want to focus on mild cigars in this cigars by strength breakdown, while more experienced smokers can choose whatever they like. And hardcore smoke hounds will probably want to find something properly nasty in the full strength section.
Pick your pleasure, or pick your poison.
Please browse our selection of cigars by strength at your leisure.
