To understand the true flavour of a cigar, you had to smoke it in its entirety. That was only the beginning. The flavour profile of a cigar could not be appreciated solely by putting it in your mouth, but you also had to smell it before and after lighting it, and you had to listen to it by rolling the cigar between your thumb and fingers to make sure the moisture level in the wrapper was right and that it was not too tightly rolled. And if we eat with our eyes, we also smoke with our eyes by examining the cigar just before we light it to make sure it is properly oily, unblemished and not veiny. It will become second nature as you become a more experienced cigar smoker.
Strength
So many different things go into making up a cigar flavour profile, but among the principal ones is the strength of the cigar. In this sense, there are three basic levels of cigar strength: mild, medium and full/strong. Once you develop your own cigar profile preferences, you will apply more nuance and find cigars in between the categories. Ultimately, you will make your own cigar flavour profile chart. To illustrate the general different levels of strength, allow me to use one brand, Davidoff.
Mild
A lot of veteran and some new cigar smokers look down on mild cigars. The thing is, a mild cigar can be just right after breakfast with the next cup of coffee. You might not want to overpower your palate at the beginning of the day and, so, a Davidoff Signature (mild) or Davidoff Aniversario/Grand Cru (mild-medium) could be the right choice. These are Dominican cigars that have a very creamy, almost sweet nature.
Medium
Apart from being a bit stronger, the medium cigar is often a bit more complex than the mild. Blending of different tobacco leaves of varying power accomplish this and often the wrapper leaf contributes more of the flavour to the entire experience. Think of this, for example, as your afternoon or after-lunch cigar. It’s got some complexity, but it’s going to leave me wanting another cigar later in the day. The Dominican Davidoff 702 Special R is a medium-bodied cigar that is not short on richness and does introduce complexity with the Habano wrapper that conveys some chocolate notes.
Full/Strong
A full-bodied cigar is the one I want to smoke if I am smoking only one cigar all day or I am lighting up after dinner. And I usually pair a good bourbon, rum or scotch with it. As the term ‘full’ implies, there is a lot in the flavour of this class of cigar. It is a meal in itself, on occasion. The wrapper, in many cases, is contributing a significant amount of the flavour, but the blend of the filler often will contain some stronger tobacco like Ligero. You might find a cigar to be strong while I find the same one to be full-bodied. You will detect notes of bitterness that might not affect me as severely.
Here, in my opinion, you can really appreciate the artisanship of the cigarmaker. Whether you choose a Davidoff Millennium, Davidoff Winston Churchill or Davidoff Yamasá you will find that the cigar, while powerful, will change subtly as you smoke it. In Davidoff Yamasá, for example, the oils begin mixing within the cigar and you get transitions from earthiness to sweetness, hints of saltiness to spice. Much of this can be attributed to the play between the sweet tobaccos from Nicaragua with an earthy wrapper and binder from the Yamasá region.
Other Influences
A lot of other forces beyond the contents of a cigar can influence its flavour. If your cigar is dry, it has a greater chance of burning hot and giving you a very dry, ashy taste. If your cigar is overly moist, you might get a musky funk. Too young – meaning either the tobacco or the cigar (after it was rolled) was not aged properly – and you might get what is called a ‘vegetal’ note that resembles grass or hay. Proper aging will help a cigar ‘round out’ the rough edges.
One of the biggest influences on how you experience the flavour of a cigar is whether you are pairing it with anything. Usually, you would choose a great beverage that you like. You might like contrast and choose a strong and bitter liquor to go with your cigar. In that regard, I love espresso and rum with a cigar. Often, spirits with high sugar levels tend to work out well. Think caramel in colour. So, scotch becomes an obvious possibility as does a dark beer or even a cola. All of these will influence how your cigar tastes.
Palate Differences
Will you taste chocolate if I taste chocolate? Not necessarily. That same flavour component is one you might detect as coffee or caramel, but we are in the same ballpark. In the end, this lexicon could help someone understand what to expect.
