An article for discussion: Mild, Medium, or Bold: Which Cigar Strength to Choose?

[El Presidente]

 

 

Do you agree with this article and does it translate to Cuban cigars? 

 

Mild, Medium, or Bold: Which Cigar Strength to Choose?

By Jahla Seppanen October 22, 2019 9:00AM PST

 

The strength of a cigar is classified as mild, medium, or bold. This grouping has nothing to do with taste or flavor, but simply how much nicotine the cigar holds.

You’re inevitably making a choice between these three that will make the smoking experience enjoyable or sickening. The setting and mood can also dictate which expression pairs best with the moment, and unlike what some smokers will lead you to believe, smoking a mild doesn’t make you a “phoney” cigar smoker. So, how do you choose the right expression?

 

We enlisted the help of Senior Tobacconist Chris Gwaltney of The Humidor to learn everything we need to know about mild, medium, and bold cigars. Gwaltney travels the world to find the highest quality ingredients and cigars for the national online retailer, which has one of the most extensive humidor stocks, extending from the most popular brands to cigars from obscure farms in South America.

First things first: What’s it like smoking a mild, medium, and bold cigar?

 

Continued

[kalibratecuba]

Don't be mad, but I didn't read the whole thing. I clicked on the link for The Humidor. First image that popped up was for line of Ghurkas. They lost me and I have a fondness for some bad cigars, like Topper and Muniemaker.

Sent from my GM1917 using Tapatalk

[Mikeltee]

Is this how everyone classifies their cigars? I could probably inject nicotine and not get a buzz from it so how would I know its strength? I'm kinda new to cigars and I considered strengths as a comparison to how peppery it was. Ex... Bold licking a pepper grinder and mild as dipping my finger in a bowl of whipped cream. Before cubans I only liked bold because anything else I could not really taste anything. Cubans on the other hand are completely different. I don't known if it's a placebo effect or theres that much of a difference. Whatever it is, I know that I will never buy a non-Cuban again unless it's highly recommended by someone that doesnt have a financial interest in recommending that cigar.

[cigaraholic]

 When I choose a cigar to smoke the first thing I think about is how much time do I have to smoke, so I can pick the right size cigar. Choosing what cigar to smoke is where the fun begins.  I enjoy every brand of Cuban cigars and having a small LCDH at home I have well over 140 different cigars to choose from.  If I get a nicotine kick from a cigar that box will go back in the humidor, that’s something I never want in a cigar.

 Working in the wine industry all my life I’m very picky about food and wine pairing, I’m a little more forgiving about cigars  I smoke in the morning the afternoon and evenings so what I smoke really depends on what I’m going to drink or what I’ve had to eat. You really can’t tell the strength of the Cuban cigar until you’ve smoked one, you can have a Monte 4 with light milk chocolate and a touch of earth or one that’s bittersweet chocolate and espresso.  Like wine, light cigars with light things medium cigars with medium things and heavy cigars with strong things. It’s a lovely game to play?

[nKostyan]

There are reasons for such conclusions: there is a connection between the strength of tobacco and aroma&taste, because the most fragrant tobacco is of high strength. This results in confusion and primitivism.

 

[Sir Diggamus]

I think there is a little contradiction in the article. In the beginning he references that the strength he refers to only includes the nicotine hit but later uses the term "full-bodied" and seems to be referring to things other than strength.

I don't know about a lot of others but when I use the terms mild, medium, and full I am not referencing the nicotine hit of a cigar at all. It is more about how the cigar presents the package of flavors, the "body". Is it sauntering in or breaking down the door? That is how I tend to use the mild, medium, full terms. 

I was actually thinking about the nicotine hit of a cigar recently when I had a larger cigar from Caldwell Cigars and was a little nicotine sick at the end. In my experience the only time I got really nicotine sick from a Cuban was once when we had been smoking several back-to-back and then I had an RyJ Cazadores, oh man, it was not good (I blame Chuck for the setup!). I can have a couple of NCs back-to-back on some occasions and really feel the nicotine, and need to eat or take a break before smoking any more. I don't tend to run into that issue with the same degree when smoking a Cuban. 

 

[Fugu]

Not commenting on the article, but in my humble view, there isn't really a strict linkage between strength (nicotine content) and flavour and body. I guess this is also where most controversy derives from.

[tigger]

There are to many contradictions in this article for me to take it seriously.

[El Presidente]

9 hours ago, Fugu said:

Not commenting on the article, but in my humble view, there isn't really a strict linkage between strength (nicotine content) and flavour and body. I guess this is also where most controversy derives from.

Agree completely. 

The entire article is not without merit but the opening assertion I can't agree with. 

[aircooled]

18 hours ago, cigaraholic said:

 When I choose a cigar to smoke the first thing I think about is how much time do I have to smoke, so I can pick the right size cigar. Choosing what cigar to smoke is where the fun begins.  I enjoy every brand of Cuban cigars and having a small LCDH at home I have well over 140 different cigars to choose from.  If I get a nicotine kick from a cigar that box will go back in the humidor, that’s something I never want in a cigar.

 Working in the wine industry all my life I’m very picky about food and wine pairing, I’m a little more forgiving about cigars  I smoke in the morning the afternoon and evenings so what I smoke really depends on what I’m going to drink or what I’ve had to eat. You really can’t tell the strength of the Cuban cigar until you’ve smoked one, you can have a Monte 4 with light milk chocolate and a touch of earth or one that’s bittersweet chocolate and espresso.  Like wine, light cigars with light things medium cigars with medium things and heavy cigars with strong things. It’s a lovely game to play?

I concur with cigaraholic totally.  Very well said!

[SenorPerfecto]

Classic body vs. strength argument.