What is the mildest type of cigar?

Cigars with a Connecticut Shade wrapper and Dominican filler are usually the mildest, for example Macanudo Café or Ashton Classic. Smaller sizes of these smoke milder still because they are shorter.

Does a bigger cigar mean a stronger cigar?

Not by blend, but in practice a large cigar often feels stronger because you smoke it for longer and take in more nicotine over the session.

How do I stop feeling sick from a strong cigar?

Stop smoking it, eat or drink something sugary, and get fresh air. Next time smoke after a meal, slow down, and choose one step milder.

Guide

Cigar strength explained: mild to full, with examples

Updated October 2, 20267 min read

“Is it strong?” is the most common question asked about a cigar, and one of the most misunderstood. Strength, body and flavor intensity are three different things, and a dark wrapper tells you surprisingly little about any of them. Here is how to read strength, and how to find your level without a nicotine-sick evening.

Strength, body and flavor are not the same thing

Strength is the nicotine effect: how much a cigar hits you physically. Light-headedness, a warm rush, sweating in the extreme case.
Body is the weight and texture of the smoke in your mouth: thin and airy at one end, thick and chewy at the other.
Flavor intensity is how loud the flavors are, regardless of nicotine. A cigar can be full of flavor and still gentle.

The three often move together, but not always. A cigar with a dark, oily wrapper can be sweet, full-bodied and only medium in strength. A pale Connecticut cigar can be surprisingly lively. That is why reviews that say “full-bodied” do not necessarily mean “strong”.

The five levels

The five-level strength scale with well-known examples
Level	What it feels like	Often described this way
Mild	No noticeable nicotine; easy any time of day	Macanudo Café, Ashton Classic
Mild to medium	A light presence; good with or after lunch	Montecristo White Series, Romeo y Julieta 1875
Medium	Noticeable but comfortable for most regular smokers	Arturo Fuente Hemingway, Oliva Serie G
Medium to full	A clear nicotine effect; best after a meal	Padrón 1964 Anniversary, Oliva Serie V
Full	Strong; for experienced smokers and a full stomach	Liga Privada No. 9, My Father Le Bijou 1922

Mild

What it feels like: No noticeable nicotine; easy any time of day
Often described this way: Macanudo Café, Ashton Classic

Mild to medium

What it feels like: A light presence; good with or after lunch
Often described this way: Montecristo White Series, Romeo y Julieta 1875

Medium

What it feels like: Noticeable but comfortable for most regular smokers
Often described this way: Arturo Fuente Hemingway, Oliva Serie G

Medium to full

What it feels like: A clear nicotine effect; best after a meal
Often described this way: Padrón 1964 Anniversary, Oliva Serie V

Full

What it feels like: Strong; for experienced smokers and a full stomach
Often described this way: Liga Privada No. 9, My Father Le Bijou 1922

The five-level strength scale with well-known examples

The examples are how these cigars are commonly described, not a lab measurement. Perceived strength depends on you: what you ate, how fast you smoke, and how used you are to nicotine. Size matters too: the same blend in a large format usually feels stronger by the end, simply because you smoke it for longer.

What makes a cigar strong

Priming (leaf position). Leaves from the top of the plant, called ligero, get the most sun and are the thickest and most nicotine-rich. Seco from the middle brings aroma, volado from the bottom helps the cigar burn. More ligero in the filler means a stronger cigar.
Growing region. Tobacco from the volcanic soils of Nicaragua's Estelí, Jalapa and Condega valleys has a reputation for strength and spice. Dominican tobacco is often associated with smoother, more elegant blends, though there are plenty of exceptions both ways.
Fermentation and aging. Longer fermentation and aging round off harshness and can make a cigar feel milder than its blend suggests.
Ring gauge. A thin cigar has more wrapper relative to filler, so the wrapper's character dominates and flavors can feel more concentrated. A thick cigar smokes cooler and is dominated by the filler. Neither is automatically stronger.

Finding your level

Start one step milder than you think you need. Moving up is easy; a nicotine-sick evening puts people off for months.
Smoke after a meal, not on an empty stomach.
Sip something with a little sugar alongside: a soft drink, sweet coffee, rum. It noticeably reduces the nicotine rush.
Smoke slowly, one draw every minute or so, and go easy on retrohaling with stronger cigars.
If you feel dizzy, put the cigar down, eat something sweet and get some fresh air. It passes within half an hour.
Note the strength you enjoyed for each cigar. After a few weeks you will see your comfortable range, and it often moves up with experience.

Using strength in aficio

aficio uses this same five-level scale. Where a cigar's strength is known, the catalog shows it, and the humidor dashboard shows how your collection is spread across the levels. As you rate your smokes, the app learns the strength you usually enjoy alongside your flavors, and the match % for each cigar takes it into account. For the flavor side, see how to build your cigar flavor profile.

Questions

What is the mildest type of cigar?: Cigars with a Connecticut Shade wrapper and Dominican filler are usually the mildest, for example Macanudo Café or Ashton Classic. Smaller sizes of these smoke milder still because they are shorter.
Does a bigger cigar mean a stronger cigar?: Not by blend, but in practice a large cigar often feels stronger because you smoke it for longer and take in more nicotine over the session.
How do I stop feeling sick from a strong cigar?: Stop smoking it, eat or drink something sugary, and get fresh air. Next time smoke after a meal, slow down, and choose one step milder.