Cigar's Strength vs. Taste

[Sam The Man]

 

[Horse]

Sam, I whole-heartedly agree. A strong stick is just a strong stick to me. Sometimes overpowering the subtle tastes that you should be able to enjoy. What's the use of 'blending' if you're just gonna taste the strong part? just my .02 worth.

 

[Matt R]

I think the over-whelming perception of people who have not had a Havan cigar or I should say a "real" Havana cigar is that they are very powerful smokes. While that is true in some case, in general it is not. A Havana cigar may be mild, medium or full-bodied and still haev an abundance of depth and character which a non-Havana in most cases does not. I believe that is one of the reasons for the non-Havanas being made stronger. It is the perception that they will taste more like Havanas. To me it is not the strength that is important, but the whole character of the cigar. Smoking cigars is a "manly" thing to do and what do you think would happen if they came out with a new cigar that had less strength than any other on the market. It would bomb tragically and be laughed out of all the journals. Marketing sells cigars in the U.S. I believe it is as simple as that. Just MHO though.

 

[DarrenR]

I for some reason missed this one.
In my opinion if I am smoking a cigar for strength I would go for a Marlboro!:0 Cigars are for flavor backed up by a little strength but if thats all there is then why spend so much money cigarettes are cheaper.

 

[Rod]

I smoked an Ashton VSG the other day... I was digging around through my humidor and found it. It was on the spicy side, but was not strong at all. It must be because it's been aged well over a year or so. But I guess if you age them long enough, the strength drops. Only problem is, it's not easy letting cigars sit in the humi for too long.

 

[Maduro Man_WCP]

some cases, the power of the cigar leads you to a new flavor level, I smoke stronger cigars because way to many Doms and other mild cigars have no taste or depth

 

[transman11]

Hello Every One.
I Don't Enjoy Any Smoke Till It Gets Past The First Inch Or So.that Is When The Flavor Starts To Come Around.
I Pefer A Medum To Strong Smoke.There Are Still Some Great Mild Smokes.H Upmann IMHO

 

[Shadow]

I agree with Matt, marketing is driving a lot of this "Stronger is Better" push with cigars. My tastes range from mild to strong, it depends on what mood I'm in and what I'm looking for at that time. One of my favorite ISOM is the ERDM Choix Supreme which is considered a mild cigar. But I also enjoy the Bolivars and Monte's too.

For non-ISOMs I go back and forth from mild Dominicans to the heavier Honduran cigars. I guage a cigar by the strength of flavor, not the nicotine strength.

Transman, glad to see you found your way over here. Great group of folks hang around here.:thumbs:

 

[wolfman2001]

Everyone so far makes a good point. I personally enjoy stronger cigars. But, there is such a thing as too strong. There is a point at which strong is too strong. I like the strength of the full-bodied cigars, but yet also it has to have flavor to it also. There are smokes out there that fall into that category. A good example is the Bolivar Fuerte Palmitas. For a cigar of its size, it's got a lot of punch to it. But it also has some really good flavor to it, too. So, cigars can be made strong without sacrificing taste. The manufacturers just have to be willing to work at finding the right blend. I haven't seen or tried one of the new Montes, but I'm really looking forward to it. I normally don't smoke Dominican Montes unless I want to smoke something with a lot of flavor to it. Based on their rep, I think they'll come up with the right blend to satisfy most tastes.

 

[DSturg369]

Hi...new guy on the BB here.........

My first and only consideration when picking a cigar for anytime other than the first time is taste. Mild, Med, Full...makes no difference to me. Taste is #1.

I just started a similar post at JR's a couple days ago.

 

[Davinci]

I had one of those Bolivar's and found it to be a little too strong for my taste. Thats why I stick to Ashtons, Dunhills, and Onyx...most are in the medium to mild category. Although, lately now with the Ashton SVG's I hear they have gotten full bodied. Its sad to hear cigars are headed this way, especially so early in "my cigar smoking life" for me becuase I'll take a mild with great flavor over "makes you dizzy in the first puff" any day. If I wanted strength Id smoke those Black Death cigarettes.