Options
Could someone 'splain this to me?
Okay, guys, here's a question that's been gnawing at me for a while. I know some of you can straighten me out on it.
You've probably read the pitch they're putting across regarding Nub cigars. Part of it goes like this: " After working countless hours in cigar factories and testing every cigar under the sun, its creator (Sam Leccia) found that most blends require some burn time prior to offering the true flavors and aromas of the tobaccos at play." and it goes on to say that a cigar usually reaches its 'sweet spot' after about a third of it has been smoked and that's the reason for the short length and large ring gauge of a Nub. Supposedly, you reach the 'sweet spot' immediately with a Nub instead of having to use up that first third.
Now, I don't claim to be a genius but could someone 'splain to me how the tobacco knows how long the cigar is that it's in? I mean, it seems to me that if two cigars are rolled using the exact same blend and ring gauge and then one of them is cut to the length of a Nub (4 inches, I think) and the other is cut to the length of, say, a toro, are you going to tell me that immediately upon lighting each of them, the Nub is already going to be in its 'sweet spot' but the toro isn't?? I mean, give me a break!
I've only been smoking cigars for about a year and a half so I'm still in the 'searching' phase trying to find out which ones I like best. I haven't yet bought a Nub because I can't quite swallow the logic that's forthcoming in their advertising. I might be missing out on a good smoke.
Any info you guys can share that's based on fact rather than opinion would be appreciated. Thanks muchly.
Marty
You've probably read the pitch they're putting across regarding Nub cigars. Part of it goes like this: " After working countless hours in cigar factories and testing every cigar under the sun, its creator (Sam Leccia) found that most blends require some burn time prior to offering the true flavors and aromas of the tobaccos at play." and it goes on to say that a cigar usually reaches its 'sweet spot' after about a third of it has been smoked and that's the reason for the short length and large ring gauge of a Nub. Supposedly, you reach the 'sweet spot' immediately with a Nub instead of having to use up that first third.
Now, I don't claim to be a genius but could someone 'splain to me how the tobacco knows how long the cigar is that it's in? I mean, it seems to me that if two cigars are rolled using the exact same blend and ring gauge and then one of them is cut to the length of a Nub (4 inches, I think) and the other is cut to the length of, say, a toro, are you going to tell me that immediately upon lighting each of them, the Nub is already going to be in its 'sweet spot' but the toro isn't?? I mean, give me a break!
I've only been smoking cigars for about a year and a half so I'm still in the 'searching' phase trying to find out which ones I like best. I haven't yet bought a Nub because I can't quite swallow the logic that's forthcoming in their advertising. I might be missing out on a good smoke.
Any info you guys can share that's based on fact rather than opinion would be appreciated. Thanks muchly.
Marty
0
Comments
i need to draw a picture or two...
Nothing to explain, you have a firm grasp on advertising. I have smoked nubs and they're no different except a bigger ring and shorter length. Nothing special about them.
Dan
lazy. my bad.
most of this i gathered by reading a ton of info. i have a hard time finding a site that has all this info in one place so i cant really give you a good link. a tiny bit of it is "theory" so correct me if and link me if i am wrong or have made mistakes.
sketch "A" is a picture of a standard tobacco leaf. there is a stem in the center and veins coming off of that stem that supply nutrients to thew rest of the leaf. the farther up on the leaf you fo and the farther away from the stem and the stalk (not shown) the lower the nutrient concentration
sketch "B" is the wrapper leaf after it has been cut to become a wrapper. the stem has been cut out along with the thickest part of the larger veins and the edges cut down a bit to make a more uniform wrapper.
Sketch "C" is the addition of the wrapper leaf to the cigar. the binder is already holding the filler together at this stage. as you can see the leaf is being rolled at an angle. if you have ever looked how the seems in a cigar twist around it like a barber pole this is where it comes from.
Sketch "D" shows you how the NUB is cut. (sort of, keep in mind this i a very quick sketch. the actual cut is way more curved and leaves more on one end to make a cap out of) there is more taken off from the edge of the leaf and a bit taken off the tips. these are the areas that do not have as many nutrients reaching them from the stem. this also results in a narrower band of tobacco that can be used as a wrapper so shorter cigars are required. the large ring can remain because the length of the leaf is not that much shorter.
a similar process takes place with the filler leaf. in a "full length" cigar the filler leaf is folded back on itself until it is about the right length. this has a tendency to make the end have less of the rich part of the leaf. with a nub, only the nutrient rich center part of the leaf is used (sweet spot)
another thought with this cigar is that the thick ash form the incredible density of the filler tobacco shields and filters the air more so than "normal" ash, producing a cooler burn. this is a fundamental misunderstanding of how a cigar is rolled. cigars arent rolled to a ring then cut to a length. every cigar, even a NUB, is designed to be exactly as long as it is.
*** it, just watch it yourself...
if you were to make a barber pole style cigar you would just use two different wrappers at sketch "B" and offset them a bit so at sketch "C" they would both be visible.
I still haven't figured out how to use the 'quote' button to show only a part of the message I'm replying to so you'll have to guess at it, I guess. I don't know what it is with the webmaster on this forum - - everything's got to be so damned complicated. I shouldn't have to learn the html codes and all that BS in order to use this thing.
Oh, well, nobody ever said life had to be easy, I guess.
Marty
LOL - not being a cynic, just that after smoking 5 of them, they're a good cigar but nothing world beating.
I just happen to like the toro length. I believe it has the right ring size to length for a cigar.
Good tobacco will make any cigar taste great regardless of the length.
I'll take a 6x60 from Rocky Patel over a nub any day of the week if I want a big fat cigar.
Just my taste and opinion of over 30 years of enjoying cigars daily.
Dan
the toro also used to be my favorite. but i think now im moving into the lancero and the lonesdale and the corona. better wrapperto filler ratio. it gives the wrapper (the best tobacco in the cigar) a platform to shine on.
Another point about the Nub, if you look at a Nub, and almost any other cigar, you will see that the Nub has the same number of wraps around the cigar. This is evidence that it was rolled as a short cigar and not rolled at 6 inches, then cut down to just the sweet spot. The concept behind the Nub is a valid theory, if you don't like the taste of the cigar it's not because of the size, but more that you just don't care for the blend.
Ive seen a nording, Oliva and a Tatuaje in new short fat sizes.
The best short fatty I have had recently was a R&J Short Churchill when I was in Hong Kong. Liked them so much I bought 4 box - 3 in ea. box for my stay in PI in April. They were the first Cubans I have had that was really better than a Dominican.
Dan