Nub 460 Habano Sunday, Jul 20 2008

Country: Nicaragua
Wrapper: Habano
Filler: Nicaraguan
Size: 460 4.0″ x 60 ring

The Nub is the brainchild of Sam Leccia.  Sam spent an number of years working for the Oliva Cigar Family.  He believes that every cigar has a sweet spot where it achieves the pinnacle of its flavors at some point during the smoke.  Sam wanted to see if he could create a cigar that could capture this sweet spot from the very first puff and hold it to the very last.  The Nub is what he came up with.  These cigars a very short and have huge ring gauges.  The smallest of the line is 54 ring, but the majority of them are 60 and above.  The largest of the line is a whopping 66 ring gauge.  Each size is supposedly the equivalent to a more traditional sized cigar.  For example this 460 Habano is supposed to have the same amount of tobacco in it as a 6.75″ x 50 Churchill.  You can get the whole story on the Nubs by clicking here.  I have smoked three of the Cameroon Nubs already and why they were decent flavor wise, all three spit apart on me and unraveled.  I hope I don’t have the same problem with this Habano.  Let’s see how it does…

The Nub Habano has a smooth, oily wrapper the color of milk chocolate.  The beefy ring gauge is a bit awkward but the draw was excellent. This cigar really did start off great from the get go.  It had a strong woody core accompanied by nuts and rich creaminess.  The flavors were very good and consistent throughout.  It lacks complexity but the flavors are excellent making it a very enjoyable smoke.  The ash was a bit flaky on the edges but it holds very firm.  I would have never needed to tap off the ash if I didn’t want to.  I did have one problem with this smoke though.  Even though i took my time with it, it was a solid hour to smoke it, the burn was extremely hot and once I got about half way through it was almost too hot to hold and taking a puff became a dicey proposition.  It was difficult not to burn my fingers and lips while smoking it.  As short as this cigar is it becomes almost unsmokeable too early.  I had the same experience with on of the Cameroons that managed to hold together long enough form me to get that far.  On the bright side I did not have those kinds of construction issues with this cigar.

Overall I was impressed with this cigar.  The flavors were really great and I enjoyed it a lot, but the heat issue makes me hesitant to smoke these very often.  I’ll give it another try at some point but if I have the same experience I’ll have to write these off.

Rating - B

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A. Pontillo Paragon Double Corona Monday, Jun 4 2007

Country: Nicaragua
Wrapper: Sungrown
Filler: International Long Filler
Size: Double Corona 7.5″x52 ring

A. Pontillo is the creation of an Apex, NC man named AJ Pontillo. AJ in conjunction with the Oliva cigar family developed a blend for his own line of boutique cigars. The first blend came in a natural and a maduro wrapper. It is an excellent medium bodied smoke that gained a lot of popularity regionally in the southeast. With the building success of his first release AJ developed a strong full bodied blend. This new blend is called the Paragon.

One of the things that is immediately noticeable about all of the Pontillo cigars is the heft. These cigars are packed full of tobacco and you can feel it in the weight of the cigar. The Paragon sports a dark oily and leathery sungrown wrapper that is nicely patterned with very small veins. The pre-light aroma of this cigar lets you know you’re in for a robust smoke. It starts out very peppery, producing big clouds of thick white smoke with a heady, rich tobacco aroma. About an inch and a half in the pepper gives way as the cigar smooths out some. The predominant flavors were earth and cocoa with a pleasant leathery finish. This cigar is heavy in both weight and flavor. Not a cigar you want to try on an empty stomach. The cigar picked up a bit again towards the end bringing a return of the pepper that was prevalent in the beginning. Start to finish this was a great hour and a half smoke. The draw was perfect and the ash held firm on a nice straight burn.

AJ has an interesting business model right now. As he works to build the distribution of his cigars he is starting things off by giving market exclusivity as an incentive to the first shop to sign up for an account with him. For example, here in his home area of Raleigh, NC the only place in Wake County that you can get his cigars is at Capital City Cigars. So, if you can find A. Pontillo cigars in your area, I recommend you pick this cigar up and give it a try. It’s a great smoke.

Rating - B+

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Los Blancos Maduro Robusto Saturday, Feb 24 2007

Country: Nicaragua
Wrapper: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan w/ Honduran Binder
Size: Robusto 5.0″x52 ring
(for a detailed description of the points system I use please click here.)

I believe this is a fairly new cigar but I am not sure. It is new in the humidor of my local cigar shop anyway. The rep is always handing these out every time he comes through so I figured I’d give it a try.

Appearance and Construction - 7/10
Not a bad looking cigar with a nice presentation. It sports a bright yellow band near the head and a second band wrapped around the foot. The wrapper is applied very well, smooth with no creases. It is well filled and has a well applied cap that clipped nicely. There was one of the largest rib veins I’ve ever seen in a cigar in the head and the maduro wrapper was very dark brown and splotchy. The pre-light draw was very good with just the right amount of resistance.

Flavor - 10/20
This is mild smoke with straight forward flavors. I found it to be a bit one dimensional. Just your basic tobacco with a slight hint of chocolate and a typical maduro sweetness. The finish was woody and a little bitter. It never changed or did anything to hold my attention.

Smoking Characteristics - 6/10
A weak cigar with no real buzz factor to speak of. The burn was decent never needing any manual correction but I couldn’t call it a straight burn. The ash was dark grey and flaky and didn’t hold for very long. I needed to tap it every inch or so.

Price - 2/5
I did get this cigar for free but I believe these retail for just under $5 a stick. At that price point, this cigar lands in a pretty saturated market. There are a ton of cigars to choose from in the $4-$6 range, and many of those choices provide a more interesting and enjoyable smoke. As mild as this cigar is, at this price it may be good for a beginner but is not something a seasoned cigar smoker would enjoy.

Conclusion
This is a very mild cigar with decent construction. Like I said above, it would probably appeal to a new cigar smoker that enjoys a mild smoke and a small price tag. If you enjoy a more robust and complex smoke you definitely want to pass on this one.

The Math
25/4.5 = 5.55*10 = 55.5

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Cohiba (Red Dot) Corona Minor 4×42 Wednesday, Mar 8 2006

Country: Dominican Republic
Filler: Dominican Long filler
Wrapper: Cameroon
Size: Corona Minor 4.0″x42 ring

I got this cigar from the guys at BuyMyCigars.com. It is a very well constructed little cigar. The Cameroon wrapper has a rich brown color with a little tooth. It has a well made cap that cuts nicely and the small ring gauge lights easily. The first few puffs were harsh with a metallic, acrid flavor. It mellowed up quickly and smoked pretty smooth the rest of the way. I don’t commonly smoke these small ring gauges so I had to remind myself to take my time so it didn’t burn to hot. It was worth being patient about it. It had a strong woody flavor with a long smoky finish. The burn on this cigar was perfect, keeping straight for the entire smoke, and the ash held it’s shape perfectly. The ash also seemed to have a death-grip on the cigar. I probably didn’t need to tap it at all but when I did it was difficult to get the ash to let go. If you’re interested in trying this cigar one place you can pick them up is where I got mine. Just click here.

BuyMyCigars also has a blog with cigar/smoking realted news and topics. I’ve added links to the BuyMyCigars blog and the BuyMyCigars retail shop in the links menu on the left.

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El Rey del Mundo Robusto Larga Oscuro 6.0×54 (Aged 2.5 years) Monday, Jan 30 2006

Country: Honduras
Wrapper: Oscuro
Filler: Dominican, Honduran and Nicaraguan long fillers
Size: Robusto Larga 6″x54 ring

These ERDM’s are one of my most favorite cigars. I love these things. It is one of the very few cigars I will buy a box of. I had one of these that I bought about two and a half years ago. It has been sitting in the bottom of my humidor resting. I decided to smoke it this weekend and see how the extra humi time effected it.

When I smoke these fresh, I find that they have a peppery bite to them and they have a strong woody flavor with a long peppery finish. They also have a decent buzz factor too. This aged stick changed a lot and I was pleasantly surprised.

The peppery bite was gone. The cigar mellowed out quite a bit but was still very delicious. The strong woody flavors had changed over to a smoother more earthy flavor. It was fantastic and I loved the way it tasted. The finish changed too. If you have ever chewed a freshly roasted coffee bean, that is exactly what the finish on this cigar was like. It had a slightly bitter coffee taste that left a slight burning sensation on the tongue. Strength wise it mellowed out a bit too. The buzz factor was noticeably reduced but the flavors were so smooth and delicious, the loss in strength didn’t bother me.

I really like how well this cigar aged and I think I’m going to set aside a few more of these to age. It seems to be well worth the time.

If you’d like a second opinion on the ERDM, check out Richards thoughts on BlankMind.

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Don Diego 6.0×52 Thursday, Dec 15 2005

Country: Dominican Republic
Wrapper: Connecticut Shade
Filler: Dominican Long Filler
Size: Grande 6.0″x52 ring

This was a very smooth and enjoyable, mild smoke. The wrapper gleamed with oils and was slightly toothy with very few small veins throughout. It is a very pretty cigar. The flavor was woody and creamy. It created lots of thick white smoke. The burn was good. It stayed pretty even the whole way, about what you’d expect from a $5 stick. The ash was little loose and fell off easily. Overall it was a nice smoke but for my money, the 5 Vegas Gold is still the best mild smoke in this price range. Actually, the 5 Vegas Gold comes in a bit cheaper.

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Redux: Maria Guerrero Tuesday, Dec 6 2005

I smoked one of these a while back and was not overly impressed with it. You can find my thoughts here.

Cigar Envy has an update on this smoke that is a bit more favorable. Here’s an excerpt:

The December 2005 issue of Cigar Aficionado has another review of the Maria Guerrero Belicoso. This is a cigar that I reviewed here at Cigar Envy last month, rating it a 95.

They still rate the cigar a 90, remarking on its “perfect draw and even burn.” They also mention “light coffee, tea and cream notes,” and “a kick of black pepper and toast on the finish.”

My local shop is having a Maria Guerrero Event on December 14th. I’ll smoke another one then and see if my opinion changes any on this stick.

Update 12/14/2005 Maria Guerrero Tasting at TOC:

Well, I tried another Maria Guerrero tonight at the Altidas event at my local cigar shop. I am still not very impressed by this smoke. I found it to be bland and unremarkable. It’s smokeable when your given one for free, but there are much better choices available for your $5 - $8.

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Maria Guerrero Toro 6.0×56 Thursday, Oct 6 2005

Country: Honduras
Wrapper: Cameroon
Filler: Honduran, Nicaraguan and Peruvian
Size: Toro 6”x56 ring

I thought this was an enjoyable smoke. It has a pretty brown Cameroon wrapper. It had a good draw and burned evenly for the most part. Twice the burn started to drift a bit, but both times it corrected itself with no help from me. The ash was a little flaky but held well. The flavor started out a little spicy but then it mellowed out and what I’d describe as a woody flavor. It was a smooth enjoyable smoke, but there was nothing particularly remarkable about it.

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H. Upmann Naturals Tubos 6.0×46 Monday, Sep 12 2005

I don’t have all the stats on these smokes but I think they are 6″x46 ring. I picked up a box of these real cheap at JR’s about a year and a half ago. The first few I smoked were not very good and I thought they were a little harsh. I was out playing golf on a windy day this weekend. Wind can really mess up your enjoyment of a cigar so I took a couple of these tubos with me. I didn’t want to waste a good smoke. After a year and a half of resting in my humidor, they got a little better. They mellowed out a bit and have become smokable. Still not a great cigar and nothing I would recommend someone buy, but at least it looks like the purchase wasn’t a complete waste. They will be useful for me when I’m out on the golf course and it’s too windy for a good cigar.

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Dunhill Peravias 7.0×50 Sunday, Aug 21 2005

Country: Dominican Republic
Wrapper: Connecticut Shade
Filler: Brazillian/Dominican Long Filler
Size: 7″x50 Ring

This is a monster smoke. Took an hour and a half to burn this one down. That was an hour and a half of ecstasy. I smoked this cigar last night after I got knocked out of a poker tournament one position shy of the final table. It made for a great consolation prize. It was a mild to medium bodied smoke. It had a good classic cigar flavor with oak and cedar undertones. The draw was perfect. Not too loose and not too tight. The smoke was a thick creamy white smoke that danced gracefully through the air, holding together for a good amount of time before dissipating. It had a dark grey ash, and I was surprised it didn’t hold better than it did. The cigar was beautiful and you could tell it was very well made. The wrapper was near flawless and had a silky, buttery look to it. So I was surprised when I had to tap it with only an inch or so of ash on the tip or risk it falling into my lap. It was like that for the whole cigar. Everything else about this cigar was perfect. I got this cigar from a friend on a trade. I think I may have gotten the better half of that exchange.

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Excalibur #3 Limited Edition 6.1×48 Friday, Jul 15 2005

Country: Honduras
Wrapper: Connecticut Shade
Filler: Honduran, Nicaraguan, Dominican (Piloto Cubano)
Size: 6.1″x48 ring

I love these cigars. They are the perfect balance of flavor, medium bodied and smooth smoking. The taste has a hint of cedar with a smoky finish. It has a perfect draw and burns slow and even all the way to the nub. The cigar is consistent from when you light it all the way down to when your fingers are starting to get hot holding it. The smoke is thick, creamy and beautiful. The ash is firm but it is a kind of unattractive grey. Some cigars have that nice almost white ash but this one doesn’t. It’s the only bad thing I can say about it, and it is such a minor thing it is hardly even worth mentioning (but for some reason I did anyway). Heck, it’s not even really a bad thing, it’s just ash after all.

It’s a great cigar. A bit pricey but worth every penny.

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Cu-Avana 5.0×50 Tuesday, Jun 28 2005

I decided to enjoy a smoke this evening while grilling in the back yard. I smoked one of my Cu-Avana Robustos. Here are the cigars vitals.

Country: Dominican Republic
Wrapper: Connecticut Shade
Filler: Dominican Long filler
Size: Robusto 5.0″ x 50 ring

I really enjoy these cigars for a few reasons. They are mild in taste and smoke great. It has a nice slow, even burn and generates a lot of nice thick creamy smoke. I have smoked enough of these now to say that they are pretty consistent. I did have one that wouldn’t draw but you can run into that once and a while with any brand. This isn’t a top of the line cigar but it is a good quality smoke especially when you take its price tag into consideration. These robustos come in around $2 a stick retail, lower if you nab a box off of Cigarbid. That makes it a great cigar for the price conscious like me. They have a nice mellow flavor that doesn’t hang around past its welcome. If you are looking for a quality cheap smoke on the mild side I recommend these cigars.

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