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Cigar Body - Why do you like it?

xmacroxmacro Posts: 3,402
Reading the description of the MOW Virtue on the Ccom website, I read that AJ decided to include some ligero to give the cigar a medium body for the fans of such - which got me to thinking, why do you guys like body in a cigar?

Myself, I hate body in a cigar. I hate the jitters that go with it, my head feeling weird, that hyped-up feeling, etc - I hate every aspect of cigar body. That said, I've been delving into medium cigars lately and I'm starting to warm up to the flavors - I've been smacking my lips, attempting to retrohale (when I can't, I just blow the smoke into my cupped hand), and starting to piece together the flavors, and I'm really starting to like the flavors I'm discovering

Say for example AJ made a cigar that tasted exactly like a MOW Ruination, but had almost no body to it - would you take it over the MOW Ruination? So again - why do you like cigar body?

Comments

  • j0z3rj0z3r Posts: 9,403 ✭✭
    For me, it's not about the strength of the cigar, but how the strength balances with the flavor. There are some cigars that I couldn't see as anything but full bodied because it would throw the balance off. To answer your question about the Ruination, No I would not take a mild-medium Ruination even if it had the same flavor, see above for my reason why.
  • docbp87docbp87 Posts: 3,521
    j0z3r:
    For me, it's not about the strength of the cigar, but how the strength balances with the flavor. There are some cigars that I couldn't see as anything but full bodied because it would throw the balance off. To answer your question about the Ruination, No I would not take a mild-medium Ruination even if it had the same flavor, see above for my reason why.

    I think this is a pretty good summary of how I have come to feel about body. There are certain flavors I have come to associate with a more powerful body. It would just "feel" strange to taste certain things, or get a certain mouthfeel without some of the strength holding it up.
  • sightunseensightunseen Posts: 2,130 ✭✭
    docbp87:
    j0z3r:
    For me, it's not about the strength of the cigar, but how the strength balances with the flavor. There are some cigars that I couldn't see as anything but full bodied because it would throw the balance off. To answer your question about the Ruination, No I would not take a mild-medium Ruination even if it had the same flavor, see above for my reason why.

    I think this is a pretty good summary of how I have come to feel about body. There are certain flavors I have come to associate with a more powerful body. It would just "feel" strange to taste certain things, or get a certain mouthfeel without some of the strength holding it up.
    I agree. An analogy is that you bite into something like a cupcake but you get flavors of steak instead.
  • kuzi16kuzi16 Posts: 14,633 ✭✭✭✭
    i feel that every level of strength that a cigar can poses has its place.

    a very mild cigar is fantastic before 10 am or on a hot day with a glass of light tea.

    a medium cigar is a great afternoon cigar or great for around the fire.

    a full bodied cigar is perfect after a huge meal when all you wanna do is relax.


    what do i look for? depends on my mood.
  • Dustin1981Dustin1981 Posts: 412
    I think Kuzi hit that one right on the head. There are times that I might enjoy and mild in the evening or a full bodied early in the day but for the most part that is all right there.
  • Russ55Russ55 Posts: 2,765 ✭✭
    I find a cigar with a full body to be more satisfying. I can have a Ruination on Sunday and not even think about cigars for a few days. When I have a mild stick, say in the morning with coffee, almost right after I finish I am already thinking about what to have next. Which isn't bad, but sometimes, most of the time actually, I don't have the time for that. Like kuzi said, it's all about the mood I'm in.

    And I tend to think of the regular mow as a ruination with much less body. Not no body, med or med-full, and I know it tastes different, but I smoke it on different occasions than I would smoke a Ruination. So a Ruination with no body would probably be similar. A morning coffee smoke or some such, if I even liked it at all.
  • Jetmech_63Jetmech_63 Posts: 3,451 ✭✭✭
    j0z3r:
    For me, it's not about the strength of the cigar, but how the strength balances with the flavor. There are some cigars that I couldn't see as anything but full bodied because it would throw the balance off. To answer your question about the Ruination, No I would not take a mild-medium Ruination even if it had the same flavor, see above for my reason why.

    That's very well said. These days i look for a lot of blanace. Thats not to say there arent plenty of uber flavorful cigars that are low on body though. But body balancing flavor, sweetness balancing spice and so on. Also imho, i dont think some flavors would be possible without bringing forth a great deal of body, i.e Cain, JDN Antano and other cigars that are heavy on ligero which has a lot of body in its own right.
  • KriegKrieg Posts: 5,188 ✭✭✭
    I would have to agree with Kuzi, I usually want a mild bodied smoke with my morning coffee. Full bodied smoke after dinner. However, when I first started out smoking cigars, I had to work my way up to full bodied smokes. I have been smoking everything from a Camacho triple maduro to OpusXs and now I find my tastes gravitating back towards a mild/medium bodied cigar. Guess I just over loaded my palette.

    "Long ashes my friends."

  • bigharpoonbigharpoon Posts: 2,963 ✭✭✭
    I liken it to beer: you don't want to drink only summer ales and you don't want to drink Guiness all the time either. Variety, man, variety.
  • LCarLCar Posts: 57
    bigharpoon:
    I liken it to beer: you don't want to drink only summer ales and you don't want to drink Guiness all the time either. Variety, man, variety.
    Good Likeness, and I also agree with Kuzi on his points. I like a Gurkha Turk in the morning with my coffee, but I dont think it would do me much good with steak and beer in the evening.
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