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what makes a cigar peppery and does full flavor mean peppery!

medic_xmedic_x Posts: 35
in Cigar 101
      Hello Fella's,

    Im obviously a new smoker and i understand about body and flavor but one thing aludes me. i know what i like and what i don't...i like a cigar with a stronger body and even a mild peppery taste after a good meal...what i don't understand is what makes a cigar peppery and are all full body cigars peppery...i have tried several which all tended to be that way and it just not my cup of tea...if they r then i will stick to mild to medium or until my tastes change..even the really peppery ones seemed to be very smooth and full of flavor...just a little too spicy for me....thanks! if you can recomend a full flavor w/o the spice please do!

Comments

  • betasynnbetasynn Posts: 1,249 ✭
    Well, I think a lot of it has to do with the characteristics of the tobacco, the nutrients it gets from the soil where it is grown, and how it's aged.
  • Renaissance_ManRenaissance_Man Posts: 973 ✭✭
    You are somewhat correct in your assumption as there is a good correlation between that "peppery" taste that you feel and the "body" of the cigar. And you are right that the stronger a cigar, the more pepper there is. It is connected with the nicotine and tar content in the tobacco. The higher (stronger) it is the more "spicier" and "peppery" it seems... Also, the higher the tar and nicotine - the fuller the body!
  • KCWKCW Posts: 1,334 ✭✭✭
    medic_x:
          Hello Fella's,

        Im obviously a new smoker and i understand about body and flavor but one thing aludes me. i know what i like and what i don't...i like a cigar with a stronger body and even a mild peppery taste after a good meal...what i don't understand is what makes a cigar peppery and are all full body cigars peppery...i have tried several which all tended to be that way and it just not my cup of tea...if they r then i will stick to mild to medium or until my tastes change..even the really peppery ones seemed to be very smooth and full of flavor...just a little too spicy for me....thanks! if you can recomend a full flavor w/o the spice please do!
    I've always wondered this as well. Great first post!
  • fla-gypsyfla-gypsy Posts: 3,023 ✭✭
    It's all about the tobacco! More body does not always mean more pepper flavor, it can manifest flavor in many different ways.
  • docbp87docbp87 Posts: 3,521 ✭
    Renaissance_Man:
    You are somewhat correct in your assumption as there is a good correlation between that "peppery" taste that you feel and the "body" of the cigar. And you are right that the stronger a cigar, the more pepper there is. It is connected with the nicotine and tar content in the tobacco. The higher (stronger) it is the more "spicier" and "peppery" it seems... Also, the higher the tar and nicotine - the fuller the body!


    Need to make a distinction between full flavor and full body here. Body refers to the strength of the cigar in terms of nicotine, and the way it makes you feel. Full flavor refers to the strength of the flavors present, and the type of flavors present. Pepper is definitely often present in both full flavor and full bodied cigars, but a full flavor cigar, or a full bodied cigar do not necessarily have to be peppery, in my experience.
  • kuzi16kuzi16 Posts: 14,633 ✭✭✭✭
    ive found that the slower you smoke the less pepper you have in a cigar.
    i find that nicaraguan tobacco tends to be a bit spicier than similar tobacco grown in other countries.
    i find that sun grown is a bit spicier than shade grown
    i find that higher priming leaves tend to be spicier than lower
    i find that Natural wrappers tend to be spicier than maduro or oscuro.
    corojo has more spice to it than many other strains


    so if you want spice, go with a nicaraguan natural sun-grown corojo wrapper with a fair amount of nicaraguan ligero filler and a nicaraguan binder.

    if you wanna back down the spice a bit, try maduro wrappers, honduran tobacco, shade grown tobacco, middle or lower primings, and less ligero.


    of course these are just rules of thumb.
    there are cigars out there that have things that would point to more spice but they are not.
    Kuzi's Forum Links Page
  • medic_xmedic_x Posts: 35
      thank you for your replies....i smoked a CAO La Traviata last night after dinner and it had a fuller body than what Ive been smoking with good flavor and no pepper at all..then it kicked my butt! it was a good smoke but a little stronger on the nicotine than im used to...not bad but left me just a tad too woozy...lol hadnt smoked one in a while so im gonna go back to my milder selection and start from there...lol gave me a better understanding though i think...it had more body and flavor without the spice...just too strong! live and learn! it was a good comparison to my milder cigars i have been smoking though! again thanks!
  • cholmes8310cholmes8310 Posts: 1,585
    Try a Perdomo Habano Maduro... great body and flavor, but the Maduro wrapper knocks down the spice level from the Corojo wrapper. I really enjoy both.

    Or, try a NUB Maduro. It's a good medium to full smoke with more of a chocolate/coffee flavor instead of spice. It does have a little spice, but not near as much as other. Basically, like Kuzi stated, anything with a Maduro wrapper should be less spicy, but can still have a good full body to it.
  • KriegKrieg Posts: 5,188 ✭✭✭
    under fermented tobacco will also cause a peppery taste...not saying that's a bad thing...

    "Long ashes my friends."

  • Renaissance_ManRenaissance_Man Posts: 973 ✭✭
    Krieg:
    under fermented tobacco will also cause a peppery taste...not saying that's a bad thing...
    I didn't know that, but it does make sense... Interesting... Let's also not forget that probably all of us have a different definition of "pepper"! LOL
  • KCWKCW Posts: 1,334 ✭✭✭
    kuzi16:
    ive found that the slower you smoke the less pepper you have in a cigar.
    i find that nicaraguan tobacco tends to be a bit spicier than similar tobacco grown in other countries.
    i find that sun grown is a bit spicier than shade grown
    i find that higher priming leaves tend to be spicier than lower
    i find that Natural wrappers tend to be spicier than maduro or oscuro.
    corojo has more spice to it than many other strains


    so if you want spice, go with a nicaraguan natural sun-grown corojo wrapper with a fair amount of nicaraguan ligero filler and a nicaraguan binder.

    if you wanna back down the spice a bit, try maduro wrappers, honduran tobacco, shade grown tobacco, middle or lower primings, and less ligero.


    of course these are just rules of thumb.
    there are cigars out there that have things that would point to more spice but they are not.
    That is freakin Fantastic Kuzi!!!!(Now I have to reasearch it)......I've been trying to figure this out.
  • fla-gypsyfla-gypsy Posts: 3,023 ✭✭
    Quote: "so if you want spice, go with a nicaraguan natural sun-grown corojo wrapper with a fair amount of nicaraguan ligero filler and a nicaraguan binder" Man you just described my perfect cigar!
  • HaybletHayblet Posts: 2,429 ✭✭✭
    fla-gypsy:
    Quote: "so if you want spice, go with a nicaraguan natural sun-grown corojo wrapper with a fair amount of nicaraguan ligero filler and a nicaraguan binder" Man you just described my perfect cigar!
    +1
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