Medium-full strength cigars lie somewhere in between (as you would guess) medium and full strength. But how is this measured?
Do cigar smokers hold up a fancy instrument to the smoke and get a nicotine PPM reading?
Do they light up the cigar and put it into the Smoke-o-Tron 2300 to puff away and analyze the results?
Is it something a weathered old torcedor simply dictates to you, and you accept without argument?
Well, kind of.
Those who know cigars are aware that certain things are not super precise in our industry. Cigars are an art and a science. Shapes and sizes aren’t standardized, flavor notes can be subjective, and determining which stogies are medium-full strength cigars is not done exactly. What it really boils down to is Ligero's content and the consensus experience by people who are used to smoking cigars.
Let’s get back to basics for a moment.
What controls the strength level of a medium-full cigar is the nicotine effect. Cigars of this strength, like the Aging Room Core Maduro, typically feature a good quantity of Ligero tobacco leaf, which contains more nicotine than other leaves. For those still learning about cigars, Ligero isn't a particular variety of tobacco, but rather a leaf found towards the top of the tobacco plant that soaks up lots of sun and nutrients, leading to greater concentrations of nicotine, and thus greater strength. The leaves found down low, known as volado, are shaded and develop somewhat differently than their top-dwelling siblings. This has led to Ligero's use as a wrapper leaf and filler component, while volado is primarily a filler.
Now, as we said, strength is somewhat subjective. For many smokers, a full-strength cigar is one that you can really feel – that will make your head swim and even produce some dizziness (or nausea) if you smoke it too quickly. A medium full-strength cigar is a bit more forgiving. It has some potency and punch but won’t toss you off the edge like the strongest cigars on the market.
Hopefully, that helps clear things up!
Cigars like La Gloria Cubana Original or Illusione Epernay, in this medium-full cigar category, can be a welcome option when you want a smoke that isn't at the top of the power rating but still delivers a meaningful amount of “oomph.” When full would be too strong, but medium would be just a bit too light, there's the medium-full strength cigar.
Clearly, there's a right smoke for every occasion.
Browse on to see our complete selection of medium-full strength cigars!
