I have spent the last two weeks reviewing new products so I thought I would take time today to define some of the terms I use to describe the flavors and strength profile of the cigars. There is often some confusion when it comes to many of these terms so I thought I would pick a few key ones and give you the “Cliff’s Notes” version of what they mean.

The most misused and often misinterpreted cigar term is body. When one sees the term full-bodied then they need to understand that it means the cigar has some tremendous strength. This isn’t a stick that a novice should tackle, especially on an empty stomach. This is why we suggest mild cigars for beginners and medium for those working their way up the ladder.

What decides a cigar’s strength? Well, the simple answer is “terroir.” Yes, I know that is a wine term and all of our resident wine geeks will chuckle when they hear the cigar go all Sommelier in this article, but I can’t think of another word that sums it up any better. For those unfamiliar with this French word, it describes all of the environmental factors that affect a grape, or, in our case, tobacco. Soil, climate, and hills that limit hours of direct sunlight are great examples of things that can affect grapes and tobacco. For cigars we can take things a step further by picking the leaves from different parts of the plant, at different times, and keeping them segregated. This process is called priming and based on the where the leaves were on the stalk will determine the amount of strength and nicotine in the leaf. The plants on top, known as ligero, are the strongest. These receive the most sunlight and are harvested last. A cigar with lots of ligero will have quite a bit of punch. There are also regions that traditionally grow very strong tobacco. Esteli, Nicaragua and Jamastran, Honduras are two places that have a reputation for growing powerful tobacco with high levels of nicotine.

Please never confuse the term full-bodied with full-flavored for it can hurt you if you aren’t prepared for the strong cigar. A full-flavored cigar is one with lots of different flavor profiles. This is also a cigar that will also be associated with the term complexity. Deciding a cigar’s complexity is easy for a seasoned smoker but not so much with the novice. Since complexity refers to a cigar’s ability to have multiple flavors and the intensity of each changing at various points during the smoking process, it is very difficult for an uneducated palate to pick up on many of the subtle changes. Learning to enjoy cigars is a lot like wine from an education standpoint. If you’ve never eaten grapefruit then you are going to have a difficult time determining what you’re tasting in a New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc. You will taste it because it is a predominant flavor in the wine, but your brain will not know what to associate that flavor with because it isn’t in your “database.” As with wine, knowing what the common components used to describe cigars’ taste and smell like are essential in educating one’s palate.

This is where the similarities with wine end. With cigars it is more difficult to pick up many of the flavors because smoke does not physically interact with your palate like a liquid does. This is why the wrapper imparts so much flavor because it is coming into physical contact with your palate receptors.

Spice is another term that often gets misunderstood when describing cigars. Most people equate the word spice to mean hot. “Is that jambalaya real spicy?” is a question most would ask to determine if the dish was too hot for them to enjoy. Of course that is a stupid question any way you slice it because it’s not jambalaya if it doesn’t burn a hole in the plate. In cigar terms we used the term spice to describe the various spices in the cigar. Cumin, Black Pepper, Cinnamon, and Nutmeg are all spices but not something that most folks would consider “hot.” Just take the heat connotation out of the equation when you hear the word spice when used to describe a cigar. Spicy means spices and not mouth burning.

There are many other cigar terms that I didn’t cover here and I will save those for another time. Hopefully a better understanding of the ones I have discussed will make it easier for you to make your next cigar selection. And remember, it doesn’t matter exactly what you taste when you smoke a cigar just as long as it is pleasing to you. Sometimes we just like things and we aren’t really sure why. That is ok too.

Chris Gwaltney, ABC regional manager and certified tobacconist. Follow me on Twitter @abccigarchris.