What is it with cigar strength? I know taste and flavors are subjective, but strength shouldn't be. I've heard the same cigar called either strong or mild by different sources. Do some folks simply confuse harshness with strength? Or is it more complicated than that? I know of a handfull of cigars that I've smoked that are truly "strong" without being harsh. The most obvious that comes to mind is the Perdomo Estate, which was kindly gifted to my by Jack and Slim on seperate occassions (don't worry Slim, I haven't left you out of my will yet!) But other cigars simply don't have that Ooomph that I'd expect. The La Luna line of "Fuerte" smokes. Flavorful, but not strong in my opinion. What gives?

Personally, I equate strength with amount of nicotine. Some cigars that don't taste particularly strong to me, like a Sun Grown Double Chateau Fuente, sure have plenty of nicotine - enough to make me sick if I'm not careful. I'd say it was a strong cigar. Others which taste "strong" like a Perdomo Estate or CAO Extreme don't seem to have that powerful nicotine punch. I guess it all sort of depends on your individual tastes, as well as the state or condition your body is in. Stength = nicotine in my book. But what the hell do I know? That's right - not much!!!

Nicotine is odorless, colorless and has no flavor ... there is even 'nicotine water' available, for those who need a fix in a non-smoking environment ... if anything, it's the 'tars' in the burning leaf that contribute to strength.

This is a 'copy and paste' of what I said on the Perdomo thread, in case you didn't see it ...

On the Estate Seleccion, the Monstro is the strongest of the line, and the only one that uses a 5 year aged wrapper and two 'very strong' Ligero's for the filler and binder.The first time I smoked one, I was smoking Camel (non-filer) cigarettes at the time ... and inhaled about the first third of the cigar, and I thought I was going to die. I started to get visual distortions, week in the knees, and I thought I was going to 'hurl'. I hat to sit, as my legs got weak, and I didn't fully recover for almost an hour.

... needless to say, I found out later I had given myself a mild case of nicotine poisoning ...

You want a strong cigar? Try a Black label fuente special blend. I was gifted a couple of these in a pass and all I can say is WOW! Good flavors. This suckers got enough punch that my lips and teeth were tingling. Bout halfway through I had to sit down. Haven't had a cigar do that to me since. ( and I still have one left hiding in a dark corner of the "Dela-dor")

The Delador is my Humidor. Stogie and I work together and I posted under his name. Not like it maters or you care, just wanted to clarify the Dela-dor. Now I have to post a pict. on the picture page I guess.

Harshness can be found in any flavor catagory...mild, medium, full. Strength can also be found in any catagory...mild, medium, full. Strength and flavor are different but I do think many manufactures describe strong cigars as full and vise versa. I prefer flavor over strength, but do enjoy strong cigars.

WHAT THE HELL DID YOU ALL JUST SAY? Wow talk about different replies to the same question. Here's a simple answer. Strenght=strong, mild=mild. Sorry had to do it.

Quoting from a source such as "The Complete Idiot's Guide to Cigars" the following: Strength or body-The relative strength or body of your cigar means wheter it's mild, medium or full bodied! HUH? DUH! WOW! Such an educated answer........simply it is a matter of how many coughs a beginner will get off of a big "hit" of a cigar! La Perla Habano is strong, Macanudo Portifino is not! Charlie

Did it put me on my hiney?? Did it knock my **** around to my hip pocket?? Did I see Elvis?? Do I hear "All Along the Watchtower" in the background?? Yes?...it's strong!...NO?....it's mild!...A little background music, but no Elvis??...it's medium!!....not scientific, but that's how I measure cigar strength....(wait, did I say cigar?....sorry, guys, I got my smokes mixed up!)

Though we can obviously tell what a strong vs. mild cigar is, what we can't answer is what each person's subjective tastes are. I know certain industry professionals that rate for a certain magazine have a pallet so burned out that unless a cigar collapses one of your lungs, it's a mild cigar. In short, gauging body is a subjective pursuit. In order to go by someone else's subjective opinion, look at the source's opinions on cigars you've already tried. One thing to keep in mind, is that as one's pallette becomes more developed (or burnt out), something that may have at one time been medium bodied for you could now seem as mild as Prince Albert pipe tobacco.

do you have Prince Albert in a can?

If you do, you better let him out before he suffocates!