Nub started as a theory. Born in the Oliva factory, a cigar maker was hell-bent on proving he could capture the essence – the core – of a cigar’s flavor immediately upon lighting and throughout the duration of the smoke. Well, they nailed it.

Click here for a quick reference guide to Nub.

Rather than wait for a cigar to develop and evolve, which typically occurs an inch to two inches in, the idea behind Oliva’s Nub was to specifically blend it to hit its sweet spot right off the bat and remain at its peak right through to the end. Each size is short and stout in stature. That’s by design – not for novelty – as blends and sizes were worked and re-worked a thousand ways from Sunday in order for Nub creator Sam Leccia and the Oliva family to capture the essence of each Nub blend. Anyone can create unusual shapes, each of the Nub blends and accompanying shapes was instead created to summon and deliver the blend’s sweet spot. Sample one today.

Nub comes in three varieties. Each variety shares three common sizes, as well as a special vitola specially crafted to accentuate the blend.

Cameroon – dark and leathery to the touch. A sweet, cedary smoke with an intriguing spice. The aftertaste is dry and toasty. Intense pepper through the nose. A medium to full-bodied cigar that’s toasty and complex, yet smooth.

Connecticut – smooth, silky wrapper. Mellow and creamy to start, with a rich, somewhat sweet core. The aftertaste is toasty, but crisp. Toasted cedar through the nose. Medium-bodied with a rich, milky texture.

Habano – glossy, milk chocolate-brown wrapper. Rich tobacco core with a smoky aftertaste. Hints of peanuts are supported by a baked bread component. Spice through the nose. Medium to full-bodied with a rich, creamy character throughout.

Maduro – dark, thick, and oily Brazilian wrapper. The smoke is rich and toasty with a deep series of chocolate and nuts. The aftertaste is spicy with natural sweet tones. Medium in body with a toasty, full-flavored finale.”

The Review: This is Oliva’s maduro nub. Prelight aroma is aromatic and pleasant: earthy and oakey with hints of leather. On initial light, this vitola produces copious clouds of white/gray smoke. The smoke is not harsh and generally pleasant, but quite as aromatic as the CAO Brazilia. Flavor hits you right in the palate after the first draw, it really lives up to its reputation of providing full flavor throughout. Flavor is definitely typical of most maduros; spicy, earthy, and peppery. Flavor of this stick is almost identical until right at the end where it mellows out and then begins to become ever so slightly bitter; but not unpleasantly so. This is a short cigar, so it does burn rather hot, almost unpleasantly so. I had to pace myself on the draw to keep the smoke smooth enough to enjoy.

Very nice cigar, but I wouldn’t keep it in my daily rotation. – Only for unique occasions.

The Review: This cigar looks good, it is consistently firm and the cameroon wrapper is uniform and slightly veiny. There were a few water spots on the wrapper but they didn’t detract from the beauty of this stick.  I like the embossed band also, making it look like a gentleman’s cigar.

Pre-light aroma is grassy and slightly sweet with a faint hint of ammonia in the background.

After a good toasting, the foot light easily and glows red hot with a cedar aroma instantly noticeable. After the first puff, the stick begins emitting wispy gray smoke that smells like any other cigar of the type, nothing striking.

Mouth-feel and flavor is gentle to start, toast, coffee, and a faint hint of pepper.

This cigar burns well, albeit slightly ragged & unevenly.

Ash is medium gray with darker bands. It doesn’t hold ash for quite as long as I would like, averaging about 1″ before falling off.

After reaching a mid-point, flavor begins to intensify with black pepper becoming more dominant but not at all overpowering. The smoke color is becoming more blue and less voluminous.

Approaching the last third, the flavor concentrates and becomes slightly bitter – a short rest fixes the bitterness and the flavor continues as pepper with espresso. Mouth-feel is richer now leaving a pleasant aftertaste of toast and coffee.

Approaching the three-finger mark, the wrapper is beginning to even out on the burn making the ash look more aesthetically pleasing.

Smoke aroma is changing again, hints of cedar are becoming stronger and a faint sage smell permeates in the background – not unpleasant, but different…

This is a good cigar. I rate it in the medium-strength category for my palate. Not to mild and not too bold, just right for a daily smoke or one to share with friend new to the brotherhood of the leaf.

I decided to smoke this little beauty today while on holidays in Alaska; I brought my trusty herf-a-dor and new colibri lighter along for the ride.

The Edge Lite is very nicely built; it feels solid and even. The Approx 5.5 – 6″ long 52 ring torpedo is like a long robusto, which makes for my ideal smoke lately, with my taste leaning towards the longer Churchills when time permits.

Prelight aroma is alfalfa and ammonia. Lighting thit vitola brought pleasant gray smoke. The Edge Lite is an easy smoke with an effortless draw the at time felt airy but not to the point of being irritating.I had to relight once due to high wind conditions, there was no bitterness at all. Ash was tight and dark gray.

Flavor is similar to a CAO Gold, just slightly stronger…Cream, coffee, and a mild peppery finish to remind you that this is indeed  a good cigar.

I ordered a box last night from the boys at CI.

I’ve left this box languising in my large gumidor for at least a year and today is the day to try one…

Packaging and presentation is classy and elegant, the cigars are all uniformly smooth with very little veinage. The ecuadorian connecticut wrapper is beautiful.

Prelight aroma is grassy with a hint of ammonia, like a milder cousin of the CAO gold. The stick is firm in hand and punches easily.

Toasting the foot liberates a pleasant and comforting blue smoke that immediately hints of the flavor profile; creamy and spicy.

First draw is quite effortless, smooth flavor fills my mouth and the cigar begins to yield a medium volume of white smoke as I continue to draw on it.

1st and 2nd third are identical, almost boringly so.

Final third of this cigar begins to concentrate flavor with a peppery infusion; leather and spice permeate with a hint of woodsmoke.

Overall smoking time is approximately 1 hour to the nub.

This is a nice mild cigar, it is probably too mild for some, but Isee this as a pleasant change of pace.

The hype:

The review: I bought a few boxes of these from my friends at Cigars International last year and they’ve been waiting patiently in the humidor for me. Just arrived home from a trip to Europe and the UK, looking for a quick smoke made me think of these little cigarillos.

I like having cigarillos on hand for a quick smoke when I don’t have the time to devote to enjoying a full-size cigar. I am often disappointed by little cigars because they tend to burn too hot or they have faux flavourings that can overwhelm the natural tobacco flavor and aroma. These little cigarillos appear to be very well made and are rolled in the traditional ‘cigarillo’ shape.

Prelight aroma is very pleasant; there is definitely a hint of whiskey, along with the grassy tobacco aroma of a well-cured cigar. I never did smell these when originally purchased so their aroma could also be a product of 12+ months of maturation in my well-stocked cedar humidor.

Lighting this cigarillo is easy with a torch lighter and it would light without problems if you just had a bic or a matchbook. The initial smoke smells very pleasant and hearkens to mild cigars like Ashton. First puff is mild and well-rounded without the bite that I would expect from a little stick like this.

It took me no more than 15 minutes to “slowly” puff this little beauty. Smoke aroma remained very pleasant and smelling it on my hands & clothing was not harsh or acrid at all. I was careful to slowly puff this one since I didn’t want to overheat it. It did get warmer towards the final third, but taking a moment to stop and let it relax was enough to get it under control.

A very enjoyable smoke and definitely one to keep on hand for a ‘quickie’.

The review – I went to visit my sister in California this week. She and her family live on a golf course in Malibu and are typical SoCal yuppies. She thinks tobacco is evil and despises the odor. It is a constant point of contention between us. She wouldn’t even let me bring my cigars into her house! I had to leave them in my Jag inside the travel herf-a-dor which performed flawlessly.

I finally tired of the domestic menagerie and went for a walk along the golf course. I took a 5 Vegas gold robusto with me to keep me company.

The 5 Vegas gold robusto is a well-built cigar. The connecticut shade wrapper is smooth and flawless, adding a touch of class to this Honduran beauty. Prelight aroma is alfalfa and clover, with a hint of cut grass. I toasted the foot and drew gently on it to entice the first flavors.

The initial draw was bitter with a slight pepper tingle. I drew a few more and let it rest for a minute. The process continued over 10 minutes before I felt any improvement in flavor, which is rather disappointing.  Once I passed the initial roughness, the flavor mellowed and was quite enjoyable. While described a full-flavored, I found the flavor to be rather mild and creamy. I really enjoyed the aroma of the smoke, it smells like a higher end cigar. I smoked this one to the nub and had a nice nicotine buzz. So the 5 Vegas robusto is a mild flavored cigar with a full-bodied kick – not too shabby and good value for the money.

The Review – I try to always let my palate guide me when reviewing a cigar. I don’t care if it was free, or cost me $100/stick; all I care about is flavor. This Bagatelle was free to me, but I still treated it well and allowed it to rest in my humidor for over a year to help it mature. The cigar feels good in hand and has a comfortable weight to it. Firm with a little give it looks and feels like a well-made smoke. Prelight aroma is pleasant with a hint of barnyard and clover. I punched the cigar, toasted it and then lit it. The cigar produced a voluminous cloud of very pleasant gray smoke and I took my first puff…First draw was rough and bitter. After a few puffs, the flavor mellowed and reminded me a little of a CAO gold. Draw was a little tight, but not unreasonable. Ash was loose gray and slightly uneven, The first third was enjoyable, but after that the stick took a dramatic turn for the worse. Bitter aftertaste, acrid smoke and strange odors permeated. I blew through it, let it rest for a minute and tried again…Still horrible. I gave up on this one and tossed it. Very disappointing experience, but I guess I can’t complain for the price.

The review – This cigar has a blended filler of Dominican and Mexican tobaccos that are wrapped in a Connecticut shade wrapper. Macanudo carefully ages all their leaf

This is a very handsome cigar indeed. I’ve had a box of these beauties languishing in my humidor for about 3 years. Today was the day to see how well they have aged. I poured a glass of filtered water from my Smart Bottle system and settled in with my morning paper and this delightful robusto.

This is just a beautiful vitola, from the brown wrapper with delicate veinage to the firm texture and delightful prelight of alfalfa and cedar this one just oozes quality and class.

This cigar lit very easily and draw effortlessly while enveloping me in a beautiful haze of smoky delight. The smoke from this cigar is just classic goodness; gray and billowing while slightly acrid yet very comforting and soothing. The Duke of York yielded a delightfully spicy creamy flavor that  intensified after the 1st third. After 40 minutes of mildness, approaching the middle of the cigar I detected a hint of pepper that just added to the pleasure of the experience. After an hour, the flavor turned to toast and earth while still maintaining a pleasant mildness.

This is a great morning cigar that everyone should enjoy.

The sticks slightly moist from storage, but I decided to indulge in one immediately to satisfy my hunger for Cuban goodness. The stick is well-constructed, firm and beautiful. This one was a little spongy from the extra humidity, but not moist enough to preclude me from smoking it.

Prelight aroma is moist earth and alfalfa with a hint of chocolate. I clipped the cap with my Xicar cutter and then fired it up. The cigar took light easily and created a light gray smoke that smelled great. Draw was effortless and I was soon surrounded by thick gray/white smoke and enjoying a mild spicy flavor that brought back  pleasant memories of my misspent youth. The cap produced a pleasant tingle and was quite neutral in taste. This particular cigar burned quite evenly and went out after about one inch, which is something that I attribute to the excessive humidity. After cutting off the first 1.25″ I lit it again and babied it the rest of the way, which resulted in a more even burn and an impressive gray ash that lingered over 2″ before dropping off. The flavor certainly intensified after the first half, more so than I remember. The smoke delivered overtones of cedar, spice and dark chocolate with increasing pepper until I was well into the final 3rd. Approahing the end, the draw became slightly bitter for a few moments and I noticed tar accumulation at the tip – I’ve never seen that on a No. 2 before so I suspect the excess humidity is again to blame.  I’m glad I had my trusty filtered water available to cleanse the palate as the bitterness lingered for a while. I let the stick rest for  a few minutes and tried again, blowing through it gently and snipping the cap slightly to remove the accumulated tar. The flavor improved significantly and I smoked this one down to the nub with great pleasure. Total smoking time was almost two hours, further evidence of a great experience. I’ll let the rest of the box normalize in the humidor for at least 6 months before I try another just to be safe. No sense in wasting these beauties. If you can get genuine Montecristo No. 2′s then don’t hesitate – you will not be disappointed.

The Review – The Occidental Reserve Double Broadleaf  is a unique looking cigar. Veiny, toothy, and slighly irregular I was concerned that I wouldn’t have a good experience with it. I noticed the filler appeared to be a few shades lighter than the wrapper so I wasn’t expecting it to be too harsh. The Churchill felt slightly spongy in hand, but that’s probably just because I keep my Maduros around 72% in their own little humidor.  The prelight aroma was mild but intriguingly complex with hints of alfalfa, chocolate and a slight ammonia undertone.  I punched the cap with my narrow bullet cutter &  lit it using my new Colibri jet lighter and I was soon treated with delightful blue smoke cloud that smelt delightful. Very old-world.

The first puff was slightly harsh, but not disturbing to me. I kept puffing on it, but the draw was very tight. I pulled out my larger diameter punch that I use on my Robustos. This punch is barely 1/8″ wider than my narrow punch, but that did the trick. The cigar suddenly opened up to an effortless draw and yielded an intense coffee flavor. The 1st third of this cigar was delightful with pepper and cedar highlights. Ash on this stick was a medium gray that ran about 1.5″ and was flaky and irregular, but not so much that it was distracting or unpleasant.

Coming into the middle, the flavor mellowed even further and was leathery with oak and spice that smelled even better and was very satisfying. The finish of this cigar was so pleasant, I almost burnt my fingers on the nub. This is definitely one I will add to the list of “must-haves”.