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Initial Smoke

Salted caramel served with a side of vanilla beans and espresso foam forms instantly the moment you fire this blend up. Surprisingly, the cigar does not taste too sweet or spicy and prefers to provide an oily, medium-bodied smoke texture over infused flavors. Huh. Not a bad start at all, and man, am I glad that I didn't straight cut this little bastard, because smoke flow is more than plentiful courtesy of a punch.

1st Half

With flutters of bittersweet dark chocolate floating atop a funky soil and loam background, the flavors of vanilla macchiato suddenly don't seem so intense. That sweet cup of caffeine is most certainly still there; it just isn't the only contender in the ring now that the foot is afire. 

As retrohales grow smoother and the spiciness within the smoke settles into peppery subliminal messages, ambiguous wood notes surface, and a fresh round of flavors forms. Buttered popcorn coated in salted caramel, with sun-grown tobacco notes up front on the tongue and after each exhale, shifts about. Retrohales still hold true to those dark chocolate notes, and with spices growing, the cigar starts to move closer to medium-full in potency. Those sweet vanilla flavors are still quite strong, however, so whatever is in that infusion that Oliva uses down in Nicaragua certainly has staying power. 

2nd Half

Ah, there it is. That Sumatran spice note and leathery, heavily fermented cigar flavor profile that this seed strain is so highly revered for producing. But it isn't too strong, likely due in part to the infusion, so don't expect a Sumatran tsunami, just a steady flow of flavors and aromatics. The overall profile of the infusion still leans more on vanilla than espresso, which may be a bit monotonous by this point, but it does smooth over any rough flavors or bitterness in the blend.

This vanilla bean note cloaks the nose with creamy sweetness during each retrohale, so even though there is some fire inside, it feels completely tolerable. Smoking enjoyment peaks in the final third, when flavors turn primarily dark Sumatran, leaving aromatics and retrohales to hold tight to any remnants of that infusion. So while it may not be the most mesmerizing Sumatran cigar flavor profile on the planet, it is tasty and a touch toasty in nature. 

This leaves you with a medium-full section that quickly escalates into near-full as a result of the vitola's stubby size. This correlates to both body and flavor, with strength staying closer to medium throughout. 

Parting Puffs

Alright, so here is where a fat kick of roasted walnut slides into the situation. And while it would have been far better suited to being a primary flavor profile earlier on, I cannot deny that I am a sucker for some nuttiness in a cigar, regardless of when or where it shows itself. 

Sadly, this tasty walnut note quickly gets trampled beneath a bed of funky soil and oily leather tack. There is a touch of Sumatran sun-grown still shining through the gloom, but it quickly becomes entirely too resinous, and before long, char and tar become an issue, and it's time to call it quits.

Ash / Burn / Smoke / Draw

Oliva really does a damn good job of producing this little runt. Every time I have smoked a Nub Nuance, it has burned very well, with any burn line issues self-correcting along the way. As explained earlier, the draw is ultra open even from a punch, and the sweetness of the smoke makes the body feel heavier than it surely is. I also must admit that I have been impressed by the quality of both the smoke's texture and the ash this blend produces, with a solid cone showing itself after each discard. 

Final Thoughts

This cigar is far more enjoyable than one might think, but only if you can embrace all that vanilla bean and the sweeter infusion notes deeper within. It's also intensely fragrant, so those around you will either complement or curse you, depending upon what they prefer to smell in cigar smoke, of course.

That sweetness isn't nearly as bold either. It's strong at first, but over time it settles on being more of an aftertaste and retrohale aromatic than a tongue-coating top note. This allows the true nature of that Indonesian wrapper and the all-Nicaraguan innards to stretch their legs, which, for the most part, form a tasty concoction. 

However, I find the marketing on the bands of this cigar to be incredibly misleading. First of all, there is very little about this blend that is a "nuance." Sure, there are some softer secondary tasting notes and aromatics, but that is true for most premium cigar blends. So any nuances within the blend feel more like an afterthought than something with intent. 

Then there is the infusion itself, and the naming of said targeted taste. All of the vanilla bean in the infusion is so potent for much of the burn time that you really have to hunt for any sign of a "triple roast" in the cigar. This sweet coating makes any nuance within the smoke difficult to detect and is far more of a vanilla macchiato flavor than dark espresso or chocolate. 

Finally, there is the vitola itself. While I am all for a short smoke when time constraints require something squat in size, I feel that the shorter length cuts you off right when that Sumatran wrapper was starting to get interesting. I know that would prevent the vitola from being a part of the whole "Nub" franchise, but I cannot help but feel a bit jipped every time that satisfying final third ends so suddenly. 

Even then, I must say that I think this is still a fun little cigar, and despite its overtly singular infusion, I found myself enjoying my time with Oliva's Nub Nuance Triple Roast. It will never be a top choice for me when I reach for a dessert cigar, but I wouldn't turn one down if someone handed me a stick after a full meal. I just might have to skip the H2O and go for a cortado instead to give my taste buds and smell receptors the triple roast they crave.

Overall Balance & Repeatability