Strength, flavor, body. What is the difference?

[HabanoMan]

I often see this confused on forums and in person. While discussing cigars someone will say that they like full strength cigars when what they are actually trying to convey is that they like full flavored cigars. Usually when discussing cigars the terms strength, flavor and body are separate and unique terms. I have had cigars that had such a vitamin N kick that they would make your head spin but were completely lacking in flavor. I will try to define these terms to the best of my ability below.

Strength - This mainly refers to the nicotine content of the cigar. You can have a cigar that is very strong but completely lacks flavor or a complexity of flavors as well as any body to it. Of course you can also have any combination of these in any given cigar. A cigar can be mild, medium or strong in terms of strength.

Flavor - The word itself says it all. This is what you "taste" when you are smoking. There are so many flavors available in cigars that it is often difficult to pinpoint them or describe them. There is leather, hay, nutmeg, etc, etc. The flavors may be bold or they may be subtle (or they may be missing). This has nothing to do with the strength of the cigar. There are very mild cigars that are just absolute flavor bombs just as there are many strong cigars that have no flavor or that are one dimensional. Flavors are usually described as being bold (you notice it right away and have very little problem pinpointing it) or they may be subtle (you have to concentrate and pay attention to "get it"). Of course there is no set scale to this since taste is subjective and what may be bold to one person may be completely lacking to another.

Body - The best way I can describe this one is "how the smoke feels in the mouth (commonly referred to as "mouth feel"). Some adjectives used to describe this are creamy, heavy, light, etc. Ever had a smoke that when you drew on it the smoke just seemed to coat your mouth and tongue? This is what is described as creamy. Of course just like flavor this one is very subjective.


As stated above, you can have any combination of the above. What you taste, the strength and the feel are all completely subjective but the category each falls under is pretty much used across the hobby, obsession or "hobsession" as I call it. You will see and hear these terms used on forums, is B&Ms, and in general chitchat with fellow BOTL.

I hope I did a good job describing these categories for those who may not have been sure. If you have any questions feel free to ask and either another BOTL or myself will be glad to try to answer for you.