Nub Cigars
Nub cigars are blended and handcrafted in a popular range of short, fat sizes at the Oliva factory in Nicaragua. Introduced in 2008, Nub cigars stand out for their stout, pioneering shapes, designed to isolate a cigar’s “sweet spot,” where flavor and balance peak. Today, the Nub portfolio includes several unique blends: Cameroon, Connecticut, Corojo, Habano, Maduro, and Mexico, plus the strong, spicy profiles of Cain Nub cigars and the coffee-infused Nub Nuance series. Order Nub and explore an original collection that grew from an experimental niche brand into a bestselling industry icon.
CIGARS
Cain Nub
Price Per Cigar:$5.74 - $10.506 options availableStrength: FullCountry: NicaraguaWrapper: Nicaraguan35 Reviewsread more
Nub Cameroon
Price Per Cigar:$5.49 - $11.818 options availableStrength: MediumCountry: NicaraguaWrapper: Cameroon91 Reviewsread more
Nub Connecticut
Price Per Cigar:$6.49 - $11.448 options availableStrength: MediumCountry: NicaraguaWrapper: Ecuador Connecticut105 Reviewsread more
Nub Corojo
Price Per Cigar:$4.49 - $12.004 options availableStrength: MediumCountry: NicaraguaWrapper: Corojo18 Reviewsread more
Nub Habano
Price Per Cigar:$6.24 - $13.318 options availableStrength: MediumCountry: NicaraguaWrapper: Ecuador Habano44 Reviewsread more
Nub Maduro
Price Per Cigar:$7.24 - $12.474 options availableStrength: MediumCountry: NicaraguaWrapper: Brazilian49 Reviewsread more
Nub Mexico
Price Per Cigar:$9.16 - $11.164 options availableStrength: MediumCountry: NicaraguaWrapper: San Andresread more
Nub Nuance
Price Per Cigar:$3.99 - $10.9118 options availableStrength: FlavoredCountry: NicaraguaWrapper: Ecuador Connecticut, Sumatra99 Reviewsread more
Nub Tubes
Price Per Cigar:$7.49 - $13.318 options availableStrength: MediumCountry: NicaraguaWrapper: Varies25 Reviewsread more
SAMPLERS
ACCESSORIES
NUB BRAND HISTORY
After rolling a collection of unconventional new cigar sizes that emphasized thickness over length, Oliva Cigars launched Nub in 2008. While Oliva is best known for its top-rated namesake portfolio, including Oliva Serie V and Serie V Melanio, the company introduced Nub as an experimental offshoot. Skilled rollers handcraft Nub at the Oliva factory in Estelí, Nicaragua.
Nub cigars are exclusively handcrafted in a collection of short, fat sizes intended to isolate the elusive “sweet spot” of the smoking experience. The sweet spot is the part of a cigar where its flavor and strength are perfectly balanced. Nub cigars are blended to capture this moment, delivering optimal taste from the first puff to the last. Aficionados may debate whether the sweet spot exists. However, there’s no denying that Nub cigars’ unusually plump, compact formats have become industry icons, found in the finest retailers worldwide over the past two decades. If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, Nub enjoys a disproportionate number of admirers, as dozens of other cigarmakers continue to copy the short, chunky sizes.
The most popular Nub size is the original 460, a 4-inch cigar with a 60-ring gauge, dimensions considered extreme when the brand debuted. Today, big-ring cigars are commonplace, but Nub stands out for its short stature. Nub cigars are handcrafted in a range of sizes that approximate the 460, including the 354, a 3.75-inch format with a 54-ring gauge; the 358, a 3.75-inch size with a 58-ring gauge; and the 464 Torpedo, a 4-inch shape with a 64-ring gauge and an abruptly tapering head. Nub Cameroon also comes in a 466 Box-Pressed Torpedo, a 4-inch size with a squared-off 66-ring gauge, while Nub Habano comes in a round version of the 466.
Despite their short formats, Nub cigars burn longer than expected because of their girth. Wide cigars burn slowly and coolly, dispersing heat across the cigar’s circumference rather than concentrating it in a thinner size that burns hotter.
Initially, José Oliva, the company’s vice president at the time Nub launched, hesitated to release a cigar that could come across as a novelty. However, demand for Nub quickly proved it had a viable niche as consumers gravitated to the short, plump shapes on store shelves. The company unveiled a clever advertising campaign showing a Nub cigar standing upright on its ash, fully intact, underscoring the brand’s quality, consistency, and construction.
In 2016, the Oliva family sold the company to J. Cortés N.V., a large European-based manufacturer of cigarillos owned by the Vandermarliere family. Under the stewardship of Oliva CEO Cory Bappert and Oliva brand owner Fred Vandermarliere, who have led the company for the past decade, the Nub and Oliva brands continue to grow and show no signs of slowing. Fred Vandermarliere invests in the future, expanding his tobacco-growing and factory operations in Nicaragua and beyond.
NUB BRAND OVERVIEW
The original Nub portfolio includes four core blends: Nub Connecticut, Nub Habano, Nub Cameroon, and Nub Maduro. The original lineup offers a range of flavor profiles, from creamy and mild to sweet, dark, and complex. Nub Corojo, Cain Nub, and Nub Nuance add greater dimension to the brand’s offerings. The newest edition, Nub Mexico, pays homage to the fertile tobacco-growing landscape of the San Andrés Valley in the Mexican state of Veracruz, where farmers harvest exceptional wrapper crops. Here’s a rundown of the Nub cigars that belong in your humidor.
Nub Connecticut is perfect for beginners. This creamy, mellow smoke unfolds with notes of cashew, almond, and white pepper, thanks to an Ecuador Connecticut wrapper leaf and premium Nicaraguan long-fillers, meticulously handmade in the brand’s fat, iconic silhouettes.
Nub Habano offers a spicy profile of leather, earth, cayenne, and black pepper, with woody undertones, in a blend that proves short formats can pack power. A gingerbread-hued Cuban-seed wrapper grown in Ecuador surrounds premium Nicaraguan long-filler tobaccos from head to foot.
Rated 92 points by Cigar Aficionado, Nub Cameroon is drafted from a toothy Cameroon wrapper loaded with vintage Nicaraguan long-filler tobaccos in the brand’s compact sizes. Tasting notes of cedar, cinnamon, nuts, and spice resonate with hints of coffee in a classic Cameroon profile.
Nub Maduro lends a darker, sweeter taste, with notes of dark chocolate, black pepper, anise, and minerals. Nutty intonations round out a medium-bodied finish, driven by aged Nicaraguan long-fillers and a hearty Maduro wrapper leaf.
All four Nub cornerstones come in Nub Tubes, a collection that features each blend in a colorful, convenient aluminum tube ideal for travel and gift-giving.
Blended for fans of strong cigars, Cain Nub combines the intense, Ligero-driven power of the bestselling Cain blends with Nub’s abrupt shapes, amplifying each blend’s impact with a tour de force of flavor and aroma. Cain Nub F is finished in a Cuban-seed Nicaraguan wrapper for zesty notes of cayenne, hickory, and leather. Cain Nub Habano is spicier, with a woody core of cedar and black pepper, thanks to an oily Nicaraguan wrapper leaf. Cain Nub Maduro reveals bold, sweet notes of dark chocolate, espresso bean, hickory, and black pepper throughout a robust profile.
Nub Corojo combines notes of red pepper, earth, and cocoa, with a touch of paprika in a medium-bodied finish. An oily Corojo wrapper leaf embraces a thick blend of premium Nicaraguan long-fillers handcrafted in the famous 460 and 464 Torpedo sizes.
Nub Nuance features three coffee-flavored cigars: Cappuccino, Espresso, and Macchiato. Luscious caramel, vanilla, and cocoa flavors mix with sweet notes of coffee and espresso. Nub Nuance cigars are produced for novices and folks who prefer flavored cigars over traditional premiums.
Nub Mexico, the newest blend to hit the market, gets its name from its shimmering brown wrapper, harvested in the volcanic soil of Mexico’s San Andrés Valley. Classic notes of cocoa, leather, and nuts mingle with hints of mesquite and spice in the handcrafted 460 and 464 Torpedo sizes.
Nub isn’t for everyone, but aficionados who love it enthusiastically endorse the brand’s short, fat shapes. Add Nub to your humidor and see if you like how these pint-sized gems fit in your mouth and your hand today.
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