The Nub and Cain lines have been a favorite of mine since I discovered them and are definitely a go to smoke for me. When the Cain Nub came out I was very excited to try it. I just bought a box of Nub Maduros, so I decided to pick up the Habano. Since this is my first time smoking this specific cigar, I thought I would review it and share my findings with you guys.
Initial inspection reveals another beautiful, smooth wrapper from the Nub/Cain line. The wrapper is a little oily, and there are no significant veins on it.
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Initial light 9:50 - Prelight draw leaves a distinct spicey, but slightly sweet taste on my tongue. Initial light almost leaves me overwhelmed. I can tell right off the back this is going to be all the spicey powerhouse of the Cain line packed into a the (not so) little Nub package. The draw on the cigar is perfect and produces large amounts of beautiful thick smoke.
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First Third - With the spice from the initial light still there, I am barely getting hints of chocolate and coffee. To my surprise, the cigar has really started to mellow out. The spice is still there on the back of my tongue, but it's not nearly as in your face as it initially was. The burn is absolutely razor sharp...except on one little part. It was near part of the foot that I had trouble lighting initially, I hope it's not a trend for the rest of the cigar. The ash is a nice white ash with bits of gray in it and not flakey at all.
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Second Third 10:35 - While I don't want to say this cigar has lost all flavor...it has mellowed out so much that it's hard to distinguish anything specific. Even the spice has almost disappeared, leaving a little peppery flavor in it's place. The burn isn't as even as I'd like, but it's not so out of line that I need to do a touchup. The nicotine in this cigar is insane though. I've not even gone halfway through this cigar and I'm already feeling it. Still, an aboslutely smooth, nice cigar though. I had grand hopes of doing my first Cain Nub Nubstand, however the ash just fell off. Taking this opportunity to purge the cigar, I can taste some of the coffee and chocolate notes coming back, albeit only a little.
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Final Third 10:57 - The cigar has stayed pretty mellow and after the ash fell off I was able to correct any burn issues. While the nicotine has kicked my butt, I wouldn't classify this cigar past a medium to medium-bold stick. The smoke is strong, but smooth at the same time, and any intial spiciness that I expected throughout the stick is gone.
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Final thoughts - While I wanted nothing more than to nub this Nub, the nicotine is too much and I had to quit. Overall I enjoyed it even though the flavors mellowed out a little too much. I think these sticks, just as with the original Cains, could use some age on them. I do love the Cain line, but I think for my Nubs I'll stick to the normal Nub line. Would I buy this cigar again? Yes, I'd like to try to Maduro, but it won't be something I smoke regularly.
Appearance and construction: 1.5 out of 1.5
Smoke and ash: 1.4 out of 1.5
Burn: 2.5 out of 3
Overall flavor: 3 out of 4
Total: 8.4 out of 10
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