BRAND: Oliva

NAME: Serie V Ligero Especial

TYPE: Torpedo

LENGTH/RING GAUGE: 6 x 56

WRAPPER: Habano Sun Grown

BINDER AND FILLER: Nicaraguan and Jalapa Valley Ligero

DATE OF PURCHASE: 6/22/2007

DATE OF RATING: 7/4/2007

TIME IN HUMIDOR (months): .4

LOOK AND FEEL: 94

FLAVOR AND AROMA: 93

BURN: 89

OVERALL SCORE: 91.6

 

 

TASTING NOTES: This is a soon to be released cigar produced by Oliva Cigar of Nicaragua. I had the honor of being present at my local B&M during the national tour and obtained one of the coveted boxes. A jubilant Gilberto Oliva was on hand to discuss his cigars and answer questions.

 

This cigar is beautifully handcrafted. The wrapper is a deep walnut brown with hardly a vein. Its otherwise firm barrel was leathery to the touch and emitted a strong but pleasant “Barnyard” aroma. I did notice a small hole in the wrapper, but the roller appeared to have noticed this and repaired it.

 

I use my Palió cutter to incise the triple cap affixed to the head of this cigar. A pre-light pull displays a firm draw with notes of cocoa and hay. Setting my torch lighter to the task, I start this experience.

 

The cigar starts with medium flavors of wood with nuances of sweet spice. I expected that flavor to continually build as I progressed, but I was pleasantly surprised that it did not. The flavor remains constant and balanced within the first half with no noticeable increase in the fullness of flavor, or body. A “Ligero Bomb” was not what Gilberto Oliva was trying to achieve with the blend in this cigar.

 

Now, so far this has been a very good cigar, and it gets a whole lot better. After the halfway point, the flavors develop gradually into flavors of coffee and chocolate, with the spiciness remaining a nuance. It never overpowers the palate and remains balanced with its characters. The flavor blooms into full while the body stealthily ramps up to heavy. You don’t taste it, you just feel it in you gut and chest. The finish is lingering with rich flavors of coffee and light spice.

 

The burn was nice and even in the first half, developing a pearl-gray ash that was slightly cracked, but firm. Rolling off the ash at an inch and a half left a firm pellet. In the last third, the cigar started to burn off to one side and developed a hard cinder cone. I expected something like this since there is a large amount of ligero in the filler mix. Ligero contains a large amount of resin that doesn’t combust as well and can burn poorly in relation to the remainder of the filler. Rotating the cigar did not help in this case, so I took the torch lighter to even up the burn.

 

This is a stellar smoke that undoubtedly will be a hit at its official unveiling next month. It has character, flavor, and power all bundled up in a really beautiful package. I strongly suggest a meal before embarking on this cruise. You’ll enjoy the experience more. We’ll rate this one again in three months.

 

~Blake