What Causes a Cigar to Have a Peppery Taste?

A peppery taste is a characteristic of some cigars. Aficionados chalk it up to different growing conditions and different types of tobacco.

For example, some of them say the cause of a cigar to have a peppery taste is from being grown in sunnier versus shadier conditions. Other cigar lovers say that it has to do with the cigar itself and that one cigar may vary from another in this regard for more reasons then the growing conditions of the tobacco.

The peppery taste is sometimes described as red or black. Red pepper is more of a flavorful and sweeter pepper, while black has more to do with the burn you feel on your tongue.

The nicotine content likely does have something to do with this. Nicotine affects the skin cells it contacts; so, some of this tingle is probably coming from a higher level of nicotine in the tobacco.

Some smokers also say that the taste has more to do with the levels of tar in the tobacco than the nicotine itself.

Full-bodied cigars, for example, will also tend to have more pepper than thinner-bodied cigars. There are some lighter cigars however, that have a nice sharp pepper to them that you can feel on your tongue. This makes them good choices if you like something with the strength of a full-bodied cigar but with the lighter smoking experience.

If your cigars get too dry, you might get a bit of a pepper taste from them as well. This won’t be the pleasant version that you get from the right tobacco. Remember to keep your cigars in a humidor to make sure that they’re at the right water content to give you the best taste.

Cigars that burn very quickly will have a bad taste to them. When tobacco is too dry, it may burn too hot and you will not get the optimal taste out of it. Dry cigars may also simply fall apart. This is obviously a good reason to keep your stogies in the appropriate humidity for storage!

Peppery is only one taste that you may get from a fine cigar. If you want an even more peppery taste, consider going with a darker wrapper and tobacco.

You may want to try different tobaccos to see if those that were grown in the sun seem like they have a more peppery taste to you as well, as is claimed by some people who love a fine cigar.