Cain Cigars - An Uncut Buying Guide
Cain cigars comprise a palate-pounding portfolio. Some connoisseurs consider Cain an underdog brand, but the truth is Cain cigars are one-hundred percent blended, hand-rolled, and aged at the esteemed Oliva factory in Estelí, Nicaragua, where a number of today’s highest rated Nicaraguan cigars, like Oliva Serie V Melanio, Master Blends, Serie O, and the original Serie V, are produced. Below, we take a closer look at Cain, how this potent and popular brand came to be, and we’ll give you a rundown of the best Cain cigars to add to your collection today.
Strong & Savory
Cain cigars are strong and savory because they’re blended, predominantly, from Ligero tobaccos, which are more intense than other leaves on the tobacco plant. Cain cigars retain a surprising degree of balance because the tobaccos are triple fermented to achieve optimal smoothness before they’re blended into the cigars.
Oliva Quality, Everyman Prices
The biggest benefits Cain brings to the table are quality and price. Because Cain is made exclusively by Oliva, you’ve got access to the DNA of Oliva’s finest tobacco for a fraction of the price. Cain cigars are way better than what you’ll find in the best bundles or a batch of yard ‘gars because they’re handcrafted completely of premium long-filler tobaccos. Because the Holt’s site is besieged by penny-pinching aficionados looking for the best cigar deals every day of the week, we’ve developed a big cottage industry for Cain cigars. As the number one Cain dealer in America for ten years running, Holt’s is your uncontested home for the lowest Cain prices period.
Cain & Nub: the Sam Leccia Connection
The history of Nub and Cain cigars goes back to 2007 when the Oliva family began expanding its portfolio. They experimented with unconventional projects to capture the ongoing craze for boutique cigars. Like other brands, they brought in a poster boy to host cigar events and add an element of hipness to their newest releases. Enter Sam Leccia. Sam Leccia was an unknown cigar enthusiast who had been tearing apart and reassembling premium cigars with different components in his garage, so the story goes.
After signing on with Oliva, Leccia’s biggest claim to fame was Nub – a short, fat shape designed to start off at a cigar’s “sweet spot.” Although the science behind the size is up for debate, Nub has proven far more than a gimmick, and the chunky cigars are mainstays in premium humidors around the world today. In 2009, Leccia began promoting a strong new line for Oliva called Cain – a Ligero-driven cigar blended exclusively for fans of robust smokes. The following year, the Oliva family and Leccia parted ways, but the Olivas retained their ownership of Nub and Cain cigars and continued to develop both brands in their rapidly growing Nicaraguan operation.
Best Cain Cigars
When you’re looking for new Cain cigars to add to your humidor, here is an overview of the entire Cain portfolio, including the bestselling blends and samplers you can buy.
Cain Black
Cain Black is the newest baby in the Cain family, but it’s drawn from a steadfast selection of intense Nicaraguan long-fillers under a succulent Cuban-seed wrapper grown in Nicaragua. It’s rolled in a trio of classic Cain shapes. Potent but smooth notes of black pepper, leather, and nuts crisscross the palate before a big woody finish lingers with hints of cayenne and red pepper.
Cain Connecticut CT
Cain Connecticut CT isn’t your typical Cain cigar. This creamy and luscious smoke is mellower, courtesy of its golden Ecuador Connecticut wrapper and a nutty core of Nicaraguan long-fillers. Cain Connecticut CT is deliberately blended to appeal to fans of milder cigars to broaden the audience for Cain with a less polarizing and more elegant profile. Cain Connecticut CT develops with easygoing notes of cashew, cedar, and white pepper before the flavor culminates in a medium-bodied finish.
Cain Daytona
Cain Daytona is meaty but not as over-the-top strong as other Cain cigars. The critics in Cigar Aficionado rated Cain Daytona 90 points for its woody profile of oak, earth, cinnamon, and dried fruit. A gingerbread-hued Habano wrapper encapsulates a complex core of Nicaraguan long-fillers before a sweet and peppery finale.
Cain F
Cain F is another blend to get the blessing of Cigar Aficionado with a 92-point rating, thanks to its rich flavors of hickory, leather, cayenne, and buttered toast. Hints of butterscotch and black pepper arrive before the end of this oily Nicaraguan Puro. Cain F possesses a good amount of nicotine, but it isn’t abrasive, so smoke it at a measured pace.
Cain Habano
Cain Habano delivers stiff flavors of red and black pepper, earth, leather, and dark-roast coffee bean in a full-bodied, full-throttled profile. A Cuban-seed Nicaraguan wrapper leaf conceals a seasoned blend of Nicaraguan binder and filler tobaccos that are matched to create a spicy crescendo in three popular sizes.
Cain Maduro
Bittersweet notes of dark chocolate, espresso bean, and wood mingle ahead of a zesty finish with hints of peat and fireplace smoke in Cain Maduro. This heavy but sweet specimen hails from an especially dark and toothy Nicaraguan Maduro wrapped around a classic Cain recipe of premium Nicaraguan Ligero long-fillers. Save Cain Maduro for after dinner only.
Cain Nub
Three premium Cain blends – Cain F, Cain Habano, and Cain Maduro – are handcrafted in the short and sensational 4-by-60 Nub format. The intensity of Cain cigars is amplified in the pudgy shape of Nub where peppery, woody, and nutty notes layer the palate in big, cool-burning clouds of smoke the second the cigar is lit.
Cain Tubes
The traditional 5.75-by-50 size is available in a classy tube in three Cain cornerstone blends – Cain F, Cain Habano, and Cain Maduro. Indulge in the same great Cain cigars you know and love in a tube you can easily travel with or hand out as a gift to your favorite aficionado. Cain cigars retain a more uniform taste as they age inside of the tube, as well, which can accentuate the cigar’s intensity.
Cain Cigar Samplers
You can choose from a complete collection of Cain cigar samplers below. Starting off with a sampler of mixed cigars is a great way to get acquainted with a brand before you buy a full box of one blend, and our Cain assortments include massive discounts every day of the week.
Cain 8-Cigar Assortment
All the original core Cain blends are present in the Cain 8-Cigar assortment. This excellent collection of beefy Robustos includes two cigars each of four unique Cain blends: Habano, Maduro, F, and Daytona. Scoring 8 handmades for under $35 from any brand is an amazing deal, but it’s impossible to beat this tour of Oliva-made gems for such an unbelievable value. Dozens of customer reviews attest to the fact.
Cain ‘Black & Tan’ Monster Deal
The Cain ‘Black & Tan’ Monster Deal is one of the latest creations to hit the sampler aisle in our palatial humidified warehouse. Taste both extremes Cain has to offer with the quintessentially spicy profile of Cain Black cigars, sheathed in an oily Cuban-seed Nicaraguan wrapper, alongside the mellow and creamy flavor of Cain Connecticut CT, which is wrapped in a golden Ecuador Connecticut leaf. Ten of each blend comprise this 20-Robusto yin and yang of Cain’s finest.
Cain ‘Goon Squad’ Monster Deal
The Cain ‘Goon Squad’ Monster Deal is a virtual Who’s Who of the top Cain cigars you can buy, and the whole package is priced for a value buyer with a big coolerdor to fill. Cain F, Habano, Maduro, Daytona, and Connecticut CT make up the ‘Goon Squad.’ Four of each blend fill out this 20-cigar bonanza you can afford to buy in bulk thanks to the generous Cain discounts your pals at Holt’s offer.
Cain Nub ‘Troll’s Envy’ Sampler
The short fat shape of Nub is married to the full-bodied taste of Cain in a 15-cigar smorgasbord that includes 5 cigars each of 3 popular blends: Cain F, Habano, and Maduro. If you’re a fan of the plump and squatty profile of Nub, but you prefer the palate-searing sensation of Cain’s finest, add the Cain Nub ‘Troll’s Envy’ Sampler to your coolerdor immediately. The tenacious taste of Cain kicks in even faster in the abbreviated beer-can-like size of Nub 460 cigars.
