Initial Thoughts
I was very curious about these cigars when I first saw them. Obviously with their size, they naturally remind me of the NUB line. I was also looking forward to comparing the flavors between the three sizes and, since each smoke doesn’t take all that long, I wanted to smoke at least a couple in a row to note the consistencies.
I should also say that the Cuban Stock name seems quite fitting. According to their site they “grow their tobacco from Cuban seeds, ferment their cigars using old Cuban techniques, cap their cigars Cuban style and use traditional style on their packaging”.
Looks
At first glance, these are very beautiful cigars, each size! The Brazilian maduros are a creamy tan color and glistened in my back deck light. The single cap on the head is almost invisible; very well put together. With a fire engine red color, the bands on these Chubbys 3.4.5.s carries gold and white writing, gold coins and a really sharp gold pin striping. A second band is wrapped around the foot and as simple as simple could be (simply stating, of course), the numbers 3.4.5 are displayed.
Function
Man, these little guys really pack a punch. Each size was very firm (she whispered) and packed very evenly. No soft spots at all and no veins. I picked up a light hay smell on both the wrapper and the foot.
After clipping these guys with my Xikar cutter, I was shocked by how loose the draw was, being they were packed so tight. I’m curious now to see how these light and smoke!
After toasting the foot just a bit (which I had to do right inside our back door because it was windy out…don’t worry, wifey, as soon as I opened the door again, all the smoke went back out!) each size of these Cuban Stock Chubbys took the flame and heat just fine and immediately started out on a very even journey.
The initial taste I got after lighting was some nice spice and that hay flavor as well. The cigars produced a very light, white smoke. And, immediately after lighting, the draw beefened up and was near-perfect. These little devils are deceiving!
Smoking
As I’ve said, I smoked all three sizes of these. I definitely wanted to cleanse my palate between so I could give my taste buds a rest. If you’re planning on smoking more than one cigar and want to start fresh, a great way to re-start is to first wash your hands (and mouth; just not INside your mouth), take about 20-30 min, drink a glass of cold water and then for the secret trick, eat a couple chocolate covered coffee beans. Totally does the trick!
Each of these Chubbys 3.4.5 cigars smoked like champions. The 5×60 burned especially well as did the 3x and 4x. The two latter’s had just a bit of canoeing about halfway through but then quickly corrected themselves. They all produced a beautiful, snow white ash that was packed very tight. Excellent construction!
Flavor
Consistency really was the name of the game with all these cigars. The taste and flavors had a medium strength with a medium flavor.
Right off the bat, I got a lot of spice and then quickly mellowed a bit after the ash started growing. Also ever-present was the hay taste and there was just a slight kick of spice in the retrohale.
I always try to be very descriptive in my writings, especially with flavor. About half way through the 4×60 size, I was introduced to a new and very unique flavor. It was kind of licorice-y and clean and immediately made me think of what it smells like inside a dentist’s office. Different, yes, but really went well with the overall flavor already present.
The actual smoke had more of that hay taste as well as just a bit of ammonia after the halfway point. Some sweetness also entered into the picture after the halfway point. That snow-white ash hung on until just after the half-point. So, for the 4×60 size, that was almost 2 inches of ash!
Also present in the flavor came in the aftertaste in my mouth. There was a little bitterness but not in a bad way. It reminded me of when you have a really nice cocktail and they make the bitters there, right at the bar.
Is It An Every Day Smoke?
I would smoke this cigar everyday. I really enjoyed the flavors together and definitely with the shorter sizes, it would be very easy to smoke mid-afternoon or for a quick morning or lunchtime smoke.
Would I Buy A Box?
Buying a box in any of these sizes would be something I’d recommend. Each size would be nice to have many of in your humidor for when you have that cigar craving but don’t have an hour or more to light up.
Conclusion
To me, the best balance of flavor came from the 4×60 Cuban Stock Chubbys 3.4.5. I also noted that the smaller lengths weren’t as spicy than the 5×60.
Staying true to the name, it did feel (and taste) similar to smoking an old Cuban cigar. I love that the company uses the ‘old-school’ ways of constructing cigars and really think that comes to fruition in the flavor and overall experience.
