Nub Habano 358 review

The cigar:

First impressions:

This is a very disproportionate cigar. It is a 58 ring gauge which would look wide on any cigar but on a 3.75″ stick it’s downright massive.
The wrapper is a deep, rich brown color with with medium sized veins and a very minimal oil sheen.
I see no imperfections (the picture has bite marks because I forgot to snap a picture beforehand).
It is very firmly packed.

Pre-light:

I utilized a large Xikar 9-mm punch for this very large gauge cigar. The cap was at least triple-capped.
The pre-light taste and aroma was chocolate covered raisins.
It had a very loose, open draw which was very surprising considering how firmly packed it felt.

First third:

First few puffs are like inhaling the smoke from a grass-fire and somewhat caustic to the throat. This resolves after a few puffs. I think the short length magnifies the unpleasantness of the first few puffs.
HUGE voluminous billowing clouds of smoke
The taste settles down into dark roasted espresso and cream with hints of pepper and the aroma of freshly-lit hardwood charcoal.

Middle third:

There is very little change from the first third other than the same flavor profiles becoming more robust. The coffe and cream flavor has become a little more bright and slightly acidic like Kona coffee as opposed the darkly roasted espresso from earlier.
Burning rather uneven, I may have to touch it up.
Yep, had to touch it up a bit.
Had to touch it up again about 10 minutes later

Last third:

Again, not a whole lot of change but there is some slight evolution of the existing flavors. The coffee flavor is now very darkly roasted, almost burnt coffee with a taste that reminds me of the charred edges on a well-toasted piece of bread and the peppery flavors have turned into more of a spicy cinnamon flavor like red-hot candies.
Total smoking time: about an hour

Ratings:

Impressions:

Overall score: 7 (Recommended)
I really like this cigar. Of all the Nub cigars, the Habano is definitely my favorite. One one hand, certain aspects of the construction were very good (i.e.: firmly packed but still with a very open draw, no perceptible defects). On the other hand, it often burned very unevenly which is very common for large ring gauges. In the end, the construction was still very good. The aroma was nothing to write home about and it won’t necessarily entice any bystanders. The taste was very, very good in my opinion but it was not very complex. The same flavor profiles continued through the whole length of the cigar without any variation. This is a good thing if you like those flavors but if you want something with complexity, you will need to find another cigar. Unfortunately, the value isn’t great considering it’s medium-high price and very short stature. Ultimately, I enjoyed this cigar and I will definitely smoke it again.