  
Body = Strength
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Myth: The body and strength of a cigar are the same and/or related.
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Truth: Body, in terms of flavor (taste+aroma) profile, does not necessarily correlate with the Strength of a cigar. Strength refers to nicotine potency or the intensity of spice – two separate factors. Body is a flavor descriptor which can refer to the depth, breadth, and richness of a tobacco (flavor).  Â
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So, a strong cigar can be medium bodied, while a full-bodied cigar can be mild or medium strength. As an example, imagine that chicken has a mild body, while beef has a richer body, yet both can be spicy/strong, depending on how they are seasoned.
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Great discussion topic! I fully agree that body and strength are completely different characteristics of cigars, and are often used incorrectly when trying to describe or review cigars.
I’m interested in more detail around the stance of body as a flavor descriptor. I view body more as a mouth feel, a measure of the denseness or fullness of the smoke, as opposed to flavor. I like to think of a good comparison as water vs. cream. If one takes in a mouth full of water, one gets a light, clean feeling no matter what the water tastes like. Water is a good example of a mild bodied liquid. On the other end, if one takes a mouth full of heavy cream, it coats the inside of the mouth – it’s very dense and full. To me, a great example of a full bodied liquid. I think the examples translate directly to cigar smoke.
The term Full Bodied seems to often be confused with Full Flavored. In my mind, full or light flavor is a descriptor of richness, depth, and amount of tastes. I don’t know what “body” tastes like, but I do recognize the difference between a weak flavor or a full flavor – think of a gallon of tea made with one teabag or a gallon of tea made with 20 tea bags. No difference in the body of the teas, but a huge difference in the depth and richness of flavor.
Further then, strength is often applied to taste levels, and that can be appropriate, however when referring to cigars, strength seems to be best used as a reference to the nicotine potency.
When I review cigars, I try to keep body, flavors and strength separate. I may be out of step with many, but that’s what works for me. I’m very curious to hear other’s views and love to see TU doing all it can to dispel another cigar myth!
This is a great discussion topic. Body=flavor, that is pretty simple and an easy mistake to make thinking that body equaled strength. There is so much to learn about cigars and this site really makes is a little easier to put it all together. Also I find that the more I learn about the full spectrum and experience of the cigar hobby/lifestyle, the more I enjoy smoking cigars.
Knowledge in the case of cigars really does translate into more pleasure. It is so much more than just puffing away. Like anything else in life, knowledge is power. Thanks for the info and a great site guys.
I think to properly address this complex subject, we need to identify and quantify 3 factors:
1. Body – the “weight” of the smoke and the depth & breadth of flavor.
2. Flavor – the flavor components – i.e. spice, leather, chocolate, coffee, etc.
3. Strength – the level of nicotine produced and introduced into the smoker.
This is a great subject. Many so-called “mild” cigars have fallen into disfavor, even though they may have complex and enjoyable flavors. Calling an AVO Conneticut and a Macanudo both “mild” does a disservice to each. The flavor of the AVO is much stronger than the Macanudo, though both are truly “mild-bodied”. In my experience, the nicotine from an AVO is typically a bit more than from the Macanudo.
With even so-called “expert” reviewers commonly failing to identify these 3 components of the cigar experience, it makes it difficult for new or novice smokers to get useful advice and information. It even makes it difficult for experienced smokers.
The word “mild” should never be uses to classify cigars. All cigars are “mild” to those who enjoy them from Macanudo to Punch. The opposite of mild is harsh. No one wants a harsh smoke .I prefer to classify cigars by lightness to degree of fullness, lite beer vs dark beer, depth of flavor(intensity), white wine vs port, and character specific to that particular cigar ie. subtle nuances such as leather, chocalate or cedar, detected only by more sophisticated o r trained palates.