La Aroma de Cuba Edicion Especial #3

Price: $10.45+tax

Length: 5.00 IN

Ring Gauge: 50

Wrapper: Ecuadorian Sun Grown

Filler:Nicaraguan

Binder: Nicaraguan

This cigar is an Ashton product made by Don José "Pepin" Garcia at his factory in Nicaragua. Every time I walked into my cigar shop this stick caught my eye, and finally this week I gave in, and bought one. The 6x50 (No.3) is a toro sized stogie. The first thing I noticed about this cigar was its lack of density. Squeezing the cigar resulted in quite a bit of elasticity making me think that there was not a lot of tobacco packed within.

This cigar is full of tiny veins, but more than makes up for it with its succulent color. The construction seemed fairly average, and the stick is very unassuming considering its price tag. Once cut the pre-light draw was extremely sweet, and my mouth was almost nectary. Before I toasted the foot one thing caught my eye: La Aroma de Cuba Edicion Especial has one of the most beautiful bands I have ever seen!

Once lit, the cigar opened spicier than I had anticipated with some hits of pepper, and I began to wonder where than sweetness went. The flavors soon balanced out and the stogie became quite smooth about an inch in. The construction of this cigar did not impress me in the least. The ash was very sparse, and actually fell into my lap with less than an inch of foot. Moreover, I had to correct the burn three times during the smoke.

As you can see from the above picture there is a large crack starting to appear in the ash, and it only got worse. My cigar smoking pet peeves are bad ash, and an inconsistent burn. I love a well constructed cigar that has dense ash and burns razor sharp; suffice it to say the 'edicion especial' was not that stogie. The flavor profile was fairly consistent, and stayed in the medium to full bodied range.

I am not a wimp when it comes to smoking cigars, my preferences are on the strong side, and I take my time with each stick, but this cigar knocked me off of my feet. I was overwhelmed with a nicotine rush that was neither warranted nor pleasant. I did some research online, and read that this can be due to a lack of aging the tobacco long enough. That sickening sensation overpowered any flavors left in the cigar, and while I spent somewhere in the vicinity of one hour and thirty minutes trying to slowly smoke the stogie I was unable to nub it.

Some cigars are good, but not worth the money; other stogies are great, and reasonably priced. La Aroma de Cuba Edicion Especial No. 3 was neither. It took the price point from option A, and combined it with an unimpressive cigar. This soft, poorly constructed, poorly burning cigar was neither a pleasure to smoke nor a delight on the eyes once lit. The milk chocolate wrapper, and beautiful band offered lots of promise, but unfortunately they did not deliver in my opinion. If there were less cigars to choose from in the industry or if this particular stogie could be had for $4 a stick, I would consider putting a couple in my humidor and seeing whether age improved them. However, seeing as this is not the case, I will probably never smoke another one of these again. Bottom line: walk away and don't look back.

Nub Connecticut 358

Price: $5.99+tax

Length: 3.75 IN

Ring Gauge: 58

Wrapper: Connecticut (duh!)

Filler: Nicaraguan

Binder: Nicaraguan

The Nub was created by Sam Leccia in his Pittsburgh garage because he wanted a cigar that reached its optimal smoking length immediately. In 2008 he took the idea to Oliva, and together they blended what we now know to be the Nub line of cigars.

Last night I took my dog Muffin for a walk and fired up the original Nub Connecticut. While many reviewers try and explain their objectivity, I know that it is impossible, as a cigar lover I look at a stogie, and form an opinion. When I first saw this cigar inside the humidor I remarked on how small it was, and how steep the price tag was. Furthermore, looking at the wrapper reminded me of a Macanudo, Don Diego or any other mild, bland cigar.

The pre light draw was mostly spicy, my lips tingled, which isn't a bad thing by any means. It definitely tasted like straight tobacco leaf, maybe a little sweetness as well. I toasted the foot of the 358 with my Xikar torch lighter, and the burn started off fairly even. The cigar was very smooth, and creamy. I would highly recommend it for a beginner, it's quite easy to smoke. The spice from the pre light draw dissipated, and was gone within a few minutes.

The first half (I figured thirds for such a tiny cigar would be ludicrous) sang the same tune, but it wasn't bad. The draw, and burn were excellent, and the mild to maybe slightly medium body were good for such a hot, and humid night. The ash held on for around two inches, which is over half the length of the cigar!

Right as the ash reached the band it fell onto my leg leaving a nice welt (the perils of cigar smoking) and the stogie intensified quite heavily. I expected this to happen from such a short cigar, but it was immediate, and noticeable. The flavor didn't change, but an element of roasted or smoked substance came into the mix. Also, the burn began to uneven itself, but it was never bad enough to need correcting.

As you can see I smoked the Nub Connecticut 358 all the way down to the nub. Moreover, I would've continued smoking it because the flavor stayed away from bitter all the way down to my fingertips. I enjoyed this stogie, and think it makes an interesting novelty smoke, something to try for a change or something to travel with because of its size, but for $5.99 I can recommend a handful of other cigars that gave me much more enjoyment. For the money I would, hands down, rather smoke most of Oliva's other cigars (I love the Oliva G torpedo), the Fuente Florfina, or most of the Padron thousands.