Review: Cain F
matthewjmichael
Everyone, Registered Users Posts: 41
Size: 5×50, Robusto
Wrapper: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan Estelí Ligero (32%), Jalapa Ligero (25%), Condega Ligero (25%)
Strength: Full
Price: Box of 5, $25.00
The Cain is the latest offering from Nub architect Sam Leccia and the Oliva family of cigars. It is billed as a full ligero cigar. This means that the filler is almost 100% ligero. The ligero is the top of the tobacco plant and is billed as the most flavorful and powerful part of the plant. Sam uses 3 different ligeros from Habano Seed Estelí, Jalapa and Condega plants. Each plant name represents the region of Nicaragua that it was grown. The F, which stands for Fuerte, is 82% ligero as compared to 77% ligero in the regular lines.
Appearance:
This is a cigar that is meant to speak for its self and it comes
unbanded. It does come in a nice cedar package with the 5 cigars inside
wrapped in a red Cain ribbon. It is very nicely constructed. It is firm
from head to foot, with very few veins and no loose spots. The wrapper
is an oily, dark brown and smells of cedar and fresh cut grass. After
the cut, the cold draw was outstanding and I have a lingering sweetness
on the tip of my tongue. This surprised me; I do not expect this cigar
to be sweet!
Burn:
From the light, the Cain F has a great draw and thick, billowy smoke
that gives off the aroma of cedar and dark cocoa. The burn is
consistent all the way through and needs no re-lights or touch-ups. The
ash is bright white and holds almost through the entire 1st half of the cigar. I only ashed this cigar four times during an hour and a half of smoke time.
Flavor:
As expected due to the strength of the ligero, I was immediately hit
with a blast of spice. This left a lingering hot pepper taste and was a
little spicy on the retrohale. While it did give a hot pepper burn on
the retrohale, it was not overwhelming at all and actually was kind of
pleasant. If you enjoy spicy food, you know what I am talking about; it
was spicy, but enjoyable. The real treat was the other flavors that
made up the profile of this powerhouse. During the 1st
third, I had a woodsy, roasted nut flavor that balanced out the spice.
This continued throughout the cigar with the occasional hit of dark
cocoa to make for a consistent and balanced flavor profile.
Overall:
Oliva and Sam Leccia have another winner in the Cain F. I enjoyed this
full-bodied smoke from pre-light all the way through to the nub. I was
expecting a powerhouse of spice and while it was spicy, it had a nice
even flavor profile throughout that balanced out the power of the
spice. Also, while I had heard that this was a nicotine powerhouse as
well, I found it to be very even on the nicotine as well. I did get
that full stomach feeling, but at no time was I overwhelmed. I will
definitely be adding the entire Cain line to my regular rotation and at
the price, it is an affordable and enjoyable full-bodied smoke for
anyone who likes a little kick in the ass from time to time!
Comments
I have a few of these enroute from Afghanistan. I'm thinking over humidification won't be a problem
I wonder what kind of humidification you need over there to keep your sticks in smoking shape?
I spent a year in Baghdad, and it is disgustingly dry in the summer. No rain at all from May through October. But starting in mid oct and nov, it gets much better. Even rains a bit. Depending on where Evan is in afghanistan, it isn't quite as bad - especially this time of year.
I am in a decent part of Afghanistan. It doesnt rain anywhere in this part of the world, but that means that the winter will be mild as well. It is starting to get cold, its about 70 during the day now. I went for a run this morning and it was about 45-50 and I was about dead after only a mile. The combination of the cold and an altitude of about 5000-6000 ft above sea level is killer.
Back on track, I def. can't wait to try these. I have seen other sites that have them, and they are totaly reasonable with their price but I gotta hold out for Ccom. I love the way my cigars come, even a week later they still are fresh and smokable.