This week, the Nubbit bros see if the Diesel Rage is anything to fly into a fit about.

Wrapper: Ecuadorian Habano Sun Grown Oscuro
Filler: Cuban-seed Nicaraguan

Punch: Opening the head with my big punch yields a meaty, loose, cold draw.

Draw: This has a dusty aroma, and strong urea. Prensado, the fine veinwork really stands out. No major veins, no outstanding seams. Double cap, punched nicely with my large punch. A slight give overall, but no soft spots. Cold draw is medium-loose, and tastes slightly of dust and Naugahyde with graham flour.

P: We have had these sticks resting at least a month. They were given to us by Anthony Welsch at Cigars City. Cigars City is a new online retailer which merits a look-see. Their fortes are personalized customer service and same day shipping. They have this Diesel Rage at $5 each in a 16 count box.

Starting up I’ve got leather with some sweetness and hardwood smoke accompanied with a mild (green bell?) pepper finish. Medium-full flavor intensity.

D: I agree on that initial flavor. There is green pepper attacking, strong; leather on the finish and after. Harsh smokiness.

P: Wow. I didn’t expect this – the flavor profile has come on the pipe right away in the first third. It has shifted to a nice green bean complexity; including some mild appearances of clove. Although the second of these I am smoking has no green bean yet – predominantly leather with minimal complexity. Quite a difference from my first third.

D: You and your green bean! I’d berate that description if it wasn’t otherwise accurate. For me, there’s also a kola or coconut flavor. I still have a dominant leather/old leather/Naugahyde flavor. So, there is a fairly strong complexity.

P: Kola – yes – I get that now that you mention it. I’m starting the second third and … am I starting to feel it? We shall soon see.

D: Middle is about the same, but more blended so that the flavor is less complex. It tastes like eating cigar stew. I have a distinctly burnt taste, an ashy taste, which makes up a lot of the stew. I will say I’ve had great ash-hang time, about an inch and a half both times it dropped. Smoke volume is good, and the smoke itself is fairly thin with a slightly astringent mouth-feel. On my second Diesel Rage I did not detect what you mention on your first one – the sweetness is more pervasive as is that baking spice.

P: By halfway the green bean complexity has dissipated leaving a surprisingly simple flavor profile of slightly sweet … woody leather? And I’ve concluded that I AM feeling it.

D: Yes: feeling it! Coming into the last third, my own movements are making me dizzy. Some of the munging/blending has taken a back seat, and more of the pleasant flavors are becoming discernible again. The ashy taste is fading, and for me, that’s the real plus.

P: The last third of my first stick was lackluster and just a cigar; not bad, but the result of the steady decline in flavor complexity and intensity having lost the interest which the prior duration had. With my second stick there was no high point of flavor to decline from.

D: Agreed. If you’re going to smoke any of the last third, take it to the nub. At two-fingers minus, there’s an interesting meatiness in the final amalgam of flavors. Overall, not a bad smoke, nor a bad finish, but as you say, it’s less than the sum of the other parts.

Burn it or Spurn it?

Punch: Based on my first stick this would be a burner and right on the value target for a $6 stick. Overall it maintained my interest, starting out with subtle sweetness and smokey leather with a moderate pepper finish, passing through a complex inch of rich green bean, on to a roll out of homogeneous slightly sweet tobacco leaving a nice, slightly floral aftertaste. Both of mine had a slightly wonky, yet self correcting burn. But the flavor profile of my second stick was flat and lacked the high points of my first one, causing me to wonder which is normal for these. If I could expect others to be like the first I would keep my eyes open for a sale on these and lay in a small supply for when I’m in a mood for a middle of the road smoke.

Draw: Burn it. This is a stronger cigar than I usually smoke. That’s a plus, and the initial complexity of flavors which spanned the gamut is the other plus. Complexity overall is mild-medium, intensity is mild-medium plus, and the strength is near or at medium. It smoked well, with no significant problems, even in the Kansas breeze. Out of two cigars each, my experience was very consistent, lacking both the highs and lows that Punch experienced. This Diesel Rage piques my interest to explore other Diesel cigars.

These notes were based on smoking two cigars each which were provided to us by Anthony Welsch at Cigars City.