NUB MADURO 4X60
The Nub line of cigars is a creation of Sam Leccia, a former sales representative for the Oliva brand. In mid-2007 the idea of the Nub was pitched to the no-nonsense Oliva Family, who were more than skeptical. After having smoked numerous samples, the excitement began to grow in them and the line went into production.
Nub is named for what we colloquially call the final moments of a cigar – the nub, or what remains on the edge of the ashtray when we’re done smoking. The philosophy behind the shape was to isolate a cigar’s “sweet spot” for peak flavour and aroma.
Like the cigars in that original Nub lineup, the new Maduro features Nicaraguan binder and filler tobaccos. It is wrapped in an oily and toothy Brazilian maduro leaf that’s marked with some hefty veins and spotted with a sandy discoloration.
A traditional Maduro sweetness is first to greet my palate once the Nub Maduro is lit. Earth, a sour edge, and medium pepper follow the sweetness with black coffee on the finish of the smoke. The sweetness fades as the other flavours push to the forefront of the profile about half an inch in.
Pulling into the second third of the Nub Maduro, a dry cedar, almost pencil-shavings-like, is now alongside the coffee. There remains only a hint of sweetness in the background of the medium profile.
Pepper, earth, and coffee make up the profile in the last leg of the journey through the Nub Maduro. Retrohaling the smoke, the spice is a little fuller and tickling the sinuses.
A delicious amalgam of cocoa and white pepper culminates with a dry, woody texture as Nub Maduro concludes. Make no bones about it, Nub is worth a try even if you’re hesitant to smoke cigars with carnivalesque dimensions.