Review: Cain F

[OHRD]

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!