460, 4" x 60 ring gauge, $6.61A year after introducing the Nub to the world, creator Sam Leccia debuted the Nub Maduro at the Nub Live Kickoff event at Uptown's in Nashville on April 4, 2009. I was lucky enough to be there and get an early taste of the Maduro expression of this little firecracker of a cigar, but since we were limited to only one stick at the time, I had to hold off on a real review until they became generally available.
The aroma from this cigar is wonderfully powerful and fragrant the instant you take it from the cello wrapper. Smells of coffee, chocolate and barnyard instantly fill the air. The wrapper is nice dark brown with a little mottling, but no large veins or obvious imperfections. Sniffing the wrapper it is apparent that most of the aroma is coming from the filler but it is all excellent.
The prelight draw is also excellent--a rich, semi-sweet chocolate flavor with coffee overtones and hints of lingering spice. Lighting a Nub is always an exercise in patience, and this was no different--but the reward of a well-lit cigar is a great payoff. Immediately this springs to life as a medium-to-full bodied cigar with nice black coffee flavors and a decent amount of spice on the finish. During the rest of the first third that rich coffee flavor is the most dominant and the spice fades. There will be no Nub-stand photo-op tonight--the ash unceremoniously dropped off after just over an inch.
The second third did not have much variation on the theme, more coffee, a little chocolate, and an increase in spice toward the time it was time to tap ash again. But what this little fireplug lacked in complexity it more than made up for in richness--great tasting still.
The last third got a little drier and more earthy but still clung to the coffee flavor. The spice diminished again, but overall this was a great cigar and a very worthy addition to the Nub lineup. It has a great flavor without the added strength that comes with the Habano version. At this point, I have to say that this is my new favorite Nub--but the Miami is supposed to be coming soon, so stay tuned!
Body: 7/10
Strength: 6/10
Complexity: 5/10
AFP Scale:
Prelight: 2/2
Construction: 2/2
Flavor: 4.5/5
Value: 1/1
Total: 9.5/10
0 comments:
Post a Comment