Stogie Commentary: In Defense of Mild Cigars

A friend and fellow cigar enthusiast recently told me that he won’t smoke “anything less” than a full-bodied cigar. To me, the designation “anything less” seems a bit ridiculous in such context—every bit as silly as if I’d claimed not to drink “anything less” than a cabernet sauvignon, or eat “anything less” than dark chocolate. “Anything less” implies a degree of quality, and we should not confuse quality with strength.

It’s true that many of the finest cigars available happen to be full-bodied cigars. It’s also true, however, that many are medium- or even mild-bodied sticks. Davidoff, for instance, has long been one of the finest cigar brands available, and the company specializes in milder stogies. You’d be hard-pressed to argue that a milder Davidoff is inferior to a fuller cigar of lesser craftsmanship and flavor.

Many of us like to say we “graduate” from milder to fuller cigars as we delve deeper into this shared hobby of ours. Be that as it may, let’s not forget that milder cigars can and should remain part of a well-balanced collection. We should not consider ourselves too macho, too old, too cool, or too proud to smoke mild or medium sticks.

In fact, I’d argue that one sign of a truly sophisticated connoisseur is the ability to appreciate sticks of all vitolas, wrappers, strengths and bodies. Such an aficionado may have his favorites, but he is always trying out new stogies and never turning them down on the basis of style alone.

I’m not suggesting that you force yourself to endure mild sticks if you absolutely don’t like them. But at the same time, I ask that you not conflate mildness with low quality, or fullness with high quality. Quality and body are two very separate things.

-Jon N

photo credit: Stogie Guys