The rich and diverse flavors available in cigars are the main reason that virtually all cigar aficionados enjoy smoking them even though some have nothing to do with these connoisseur like properties because of other factors. For the cigar lovers who are into taste, much like wine connoisseurs each different brand and type of cigar contains varied qualities in taste. In general, the lighter the outer wrapper of the cigar the milder the flavor while those with darker wrappers tend to be much richer in flavor.

Cigars, unlike cigarettes do not have a smoky taste and usually taste much more of the type of tobacco that the cigar is comprised of with mild overtones of other tastes. The very fine cigars, particularly those of Cuban origin before 1990 have almost no taste of smoke at all.

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

Leather
Spice
Cocoa / chocolate
Peat / moss / earth
Coffee
Nut
Apple
Vanilla
Honey

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