Size: 4″ x 64
Vitola: Torpedo
Wrapper: Connecticut Shade
Origin: Nicaragua
Since I’m on such a roll on smoking all of the hot new cigars, I might as well grab another one. The Nub. No kidding! 4” by 64 ring gauge. That’s exactly 1” in diameter for all you math types.
The Nub is a new concept cigar, the brainchild of Oliva Cigar Company and Sam Leccia, friend to my buddy Hal Rubin of Capital City Cigars (have I mentioned this place before?). The idea is to capture the “sweet spot of the cigar” (read more here), which is commonly the lower half, when the tobaccos heat up and produce tar which delivers a richer licorice and chocolate flavor. I’m skeptical, so we’ll see.
The cigar took a minute to light, because it’s so damn wide, but once I got it started, we were under way.
The initial flavors are woody with a little spice. The aroma was almost overpowering. They must have thrown a lot of ligero in the front (ligero often gives off a strong pungent aroma).
After the first ¼” it settled down, but no real Connecticut creaminess or woodiness yet to be found. I’m okay with that as they are trying to something different with a cigar.
Well, sure enough a half inch into the cigar, the “sweet spot” appeared! To me it is a function of the large ring gauge and therefore high combustion to surface area ratio, which would accelerate the production of tar, but regardless, the “sweet spot” was there. So the Nub delivered!
Now, my one complaint about the cigar is that it gets hot. This is a cigar that needs to be “sipped”. No power herfing here (as long as you don’t want your lips ignited)! In fact, I would recommend, like the ad, shows, to keep the ash on as long as possible as it helps limit the oxygen to the smoldering part, thereby keeping the burn a little cooler.
In summation, flavor wise, nonstandard to Connecticut Shade cigars, but still enjoyable as long as you take your time with it. Enjoy!
Rating: 87 (B)
