NUB Cameroon 4x60

I am ashamed in realizing my last post here was in March.  The truth is, I have no excuse having enjoyed many cigars since that point in time, and with each cigar a story that accompanies it.  I recently found my humidor lacking in not only quantity, but quality of cigars, meaning an order needed to be placed to replenish that which was smoked.

It was a marketing email from Cigars Daily that caught my attention, I had several shopping carts started with a few online retailers I purchase from, but this particular email was too good to pass up, meaning a quick purchase was made that included a box of NUB Cameroon 4x60's, and with it, a dozen Oliva cigars thrown in for free.

Excited to get smoking, I afforded the new sticks a few days in my humidor, giving them a chance to acclimate to their new temporary home, as well as allowing them to get to know the other sticks in the box.  Not wanting them to get too friendly however, I grabbed one the other morning and headed outside to my covered patio, or as I like to call it, my new outdoor office.

Using a punch, I opened up a perfectly formed head, and then slowly toasted the foot so as to not burn it or char it.  Upon drawing upon the cigar for the first time, I was met with a toothy, slightly leathery taste, underlined by pepper.  Knowing that most cigars give off pepper upon initially being lit, I pulled a second draw a minute or so later, having allowed the cherry to fully settle in and even out.

The dry leather still was evident, but a fuller range of flavors enveloped my palate, with a slightly sweet hint of cinnamon and raisin acting as the foundation to a fantastic smoke.  The burn on this cigar was even and consistent, although a phone conversation I was having while smoking the cigar meant the need to touch up and relight mid-stick was necessary seeing as I was talking so much I forgot to draw on the cigar.

The entire NUB family of cigars are excellent, the Habano stands as a personal favorite, but the Cameroon is a close second, and might I suggest ties for first place with the Habano.

The phone call I was on is with a good friend of mine who lives in Knoxville.  The previous weekend saw us meeting in person, enjoying several different cigars including a NUB.  This weekly call is time spent together sharing and doing life together, and although he is a cigar smoker, he is not a morning cigar smoker like myself.  

What made this particular cigar special was 2-distinct things.  First, I haven't had the Cameroon in many years, so having the opportunity to smoke it again was like catching up with an old friend, a friend you quickly realize that you missed more than you thought.  The second item involves the fact that like most good cigars, they are better enjoyed when shared with friends, and even though this cigar and the friend I enjoyed it with happened to be separeted by 160 miles, it still made the engagement better.

Here is the thing I can tell you to be true.  Cigars bring people together in a way other items cannot.  I have been in countless situations where once cigars are introduced to the equation, conversations start flowing in ways not possible without the influence of cigars.  The fact that those situations get to be enjoyed using a great cigar stands only as a bonus.

As we exit a year of unknown, unprecedented, and unexpected, might I encourage you to find a cigar you enjoy, look up a friend you've not spoken to in a while, and see what develops.  I for one suspect you'll be surprised by the outcome.  Even as I write this article, plans are being made via text for a meetup tonight with some old friends, one is bringing food, another drink, and I'm the one providing the cigars that will unite some old friends.  I promise you, the NUB Cameroon 4x60 will play a role in tonights gathering as its too good to selfishly hold only for myself.  I know a story will develop, a story that I just might share with you all here.

Until we smoke again...