Virtually all cigar aficionados enjoy the practice because of the rich and varied flavors one observes when smoking, although some eschew the connoisseurial qualities in favor of other factors. For those drawn by taste, each brand and type of cigar carries different qualities of taste. Generally, cigars with lighter colored wrappers are milder in flavor and have less of a smoky aftertaste. Darker wrappers are typically richer in flavor, although the specific flavors are not unique to any particular style or type of tobacco.


Unlike cigarettes, cigars taste very little of smoke, and usually very much of tobacco with overtones of other tastes. A fine cigar - especially ones of Cuban origin prior to 1990, can have virtually no taste of smoke whatsoever.


Some of the more common flavors one observes while smoking a cigar include:


* Leather
* Spice

* Cocoa / chocolate
* Peat / moss / earth

* Coffee
* Nut

* Apple
* Vanilla

* Honey


The most ardent enjoyers of cigar smoking will sometimes keep personal journals of cigars they've enjoyed, complete with personal ratings, description of flavors observed, sizes, brands, etc. The qualities and characteristics of cigar tasting are very similar to those of wine, Scotch whisky, beer, Cognac and Tequila. Within a given specification, there are endless varieties. This dynamic is part of the appeal to which cigar smokers are continually drawn.