Two of Columbus's crewmen during his 1492 journey, Rodrigo de Jerez and Luis de Torres, are said to have disembarked in Cuba and taken puffs of tobacco wrapped in maize husks, thus well-chosen Cuban Cigars the first European cigar smokers.

Cigar smoke, which is rarely inhaled, tastes of tobacco with nuances of other tastes. When smog is inhaled, as is usual with cigarettes, the tobacco flavour is less noticeable than the sensation from the smoke. Some cigar enthusiasts advantage a vocabulary comparable to that of wine-tasters to describe the overtones and undertones observed while smoking a cigar. A fine cigar can salt completely different to inhaled cigarette smoke.