Cigar Misconceptions: Does Wrapper Determine Strength?

Are you the type of smoker that only likes full or mild-bodied cigars? I know I am. I love full bodied cigars with a passion. The rush that comes from smoking a powerhouse relaxes every muscle in my body and melts away the stresses of work and home. Despite a preference for stronger cigars, I’m not a fan of some of the traditionally full-bodied wrappers, like maduro. Well, at least that’s what I used to think – you learn a lot working in the cigar business, and what I’ve learned is there a huge misconception equating a cigar’s wrapper to its strength.

I started my cigar journey as a Customer Service Agent. There I was taught to start off with Connecticut wrappers, which have a mild strength profile, before graduating to fuller-strength maduros, and then branch out from there, slowly expanding my palate to find the wrappers I like. This is how most people are taught to approach cigars. The truth is that this approach is flawed.

I’ve always been an advocate on trying whatever you damn well please and learn as you go, never being afraid to try something new. However, the biggest misconception we learn is darker wrappers offer more strength than lighter wrappers. Well, let me put this one to bed by saying this is a load of malarkey. There are plenty of velvety smooth Connecticuts that offer a complex flavor which also are a powerhouse that will leave an inexperienced smoker dazed and confused such as the La Aurora Preferido. At the same time, there are maduros, habanos, mata finas, and a slew of other dark shade cigars that offer a mild profile such as the Macanudo Vintage 1997 maduro that is packed with flavor.

At the end of the day, never expect a darker shade cigar to only offer a full-bodied smoke and a light shade cigar to give you a mild-bodied smoke. There are a lot of cigars out there and you should not feel limited to what cigar wrappers you can try and what wrappers you must avoid because, to be honest, wrapper never dictates strength. So enjoy all the cigars you want and I encourage you to try every wrapper you can. By throwing this misconception out the window while still sticking to the strength profile you enjoy, your world opens to a lot of other options you may not have thought were previously available.