Sunday, April 1, 2007

Oliva Serie G

Country: Handmade in Esteli, Nicaragua
Wrapper: Cameroon

Binder: Nicaragua
Filler: Nicaragua
Size: Belicoso 5 x 52
Price: Paid $3.45 minus 10% discount = $3.10 @ local smoke shop


Pre-Light:
A very nice looking box-pressed cigar all around. The cigar was not as firm as I normally like. It was more on the soft side. I have smoked a few of these and have noticed the same thing with all of them. Therefore, I am not going to make a big deal out of it. Upon smelling the cigar before I clip and light, I picked up a sweet smelling tobacco smell which was very pleasant. Looking at the cigar, had very minimal veins present which is always a plus. I clipped this cigar with my handy Xikar cutter that I always use. The pre-light draw was excellent where I picked up a nice tobacco taste. Before I start I will be complementing this cigar with a glass of Raspberry Lemonade. That's all I usually drink while I smoke a cigar, but sometimes I don't have anything and other times I have a glass of Port wine. Today, I will be having the Raspberry Lemonade.
1/3:
The first third of this cigar provided an excellent draw that produced a lot of creamy smoke. Flavor wise I was picking up notes of toast and almond. A medium finish that was pleasant. Ash wise as you can see from the pics was a light gray ash. I however had a "minor" burn issue. Nothing that I would consider bad though. I was hoping that it would self correct itself. Otherwise so far so good.

2/3:
I got about half way through this cigar and the construction is good. No problems besides the burn that started to re-correct itself. Still producing lots of smoke and the aroma is very nice. I did however start to pick up a creamy buttery flavor. That is best as I can describe it. I don't have a PhD in flavors so please bear with me. It was a good flavor and that is all that matters.

3/3:
Winding down toward the end of the cigar the burn problem was no more as you can see from the above picture. As I smoked this down all the way to my fingertips, it was still producing lots of smoke. I did not have any construction issues all throughout. The ash held on longer than I thought it would and that to me is a good constructed cigar. Another minor issue I had toward the end was it did happen to get a little hot on me. Maybe becuase I was puffing away at it too fast, but I take the blame for that.


Conclusion:
Overall this was a really decent smoke. This cigar is definitely medium bodied. I really enjoyed this cigar and I feel that you will too once you try it. It is a must try in my book. You can't beat the price point on this cigar at just a bit over $3 a stick. You may find them a little cheaper near you, and if you do, grab a few for your humidor as well.

Rating: B





2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Great Review, I've had a couple of the Olivas that I like. I'll have to pick a couple of these up. Keep up with the reviews. I'm going to throw a link up on my site to you.

Anonymous said...

This is one of my favorite cigars. It came in 2nd for my 2006 cigar of the year.

This cigar makes my mouth water everytime I light up. Its delicious with its deep earthy tones. For my taste its a medium to full flavored cigar.

The construction is solid, the wrapper is firm, the filler is densely packed, but not enough to make the draw tough.