Origin : Nicaragua
Format : Torpedo
Size : 152 x 22 mm
Ring : 56
Wrapper : Nicaragua
Filler : Nicaragua
Binder : Nicaragua
Hand-Made
Price : $7 each
Cigar smokers often have some long time habits when it comes to choosing their cigars. I have a friend who only smokes Cuban cigars and he repeatedly stated that non-Cuban cigars simply can’t be as good as a true Cuban. Trying to prove him wrong, I had a look at my local shop’s shelves and spotted a box of Oliva Serie V torpedos. Over two years ago, I reviewed this cigar and it even headed our list of the best non-Cuban cigars of 2008. Given that I finished my last box of these over a year ago, I wanted to revisit it and check whether the quality was still there.
In terms of appearance, it’s as good as ever. The dark, almost maduro wrapper shows obvious oil and, as stated in that old review, the band is just beautiful. Rather heavy, it feels great in hand. As for the construction, I was quite worried after hearing multiple reports on wrapper issues. Indeed, on one of the cigars the leaf cracked (it is visible on the photograph). Fortunately, it didn’t affect the burn much and the draw was good, with some resistance. What’s even better, the flavors are as rich as I remember them. Almost full-bodied from the very beginning, the Oliva Serie V delivers a lot of spice in the first third, with a nice woody background. Starting in the second third, delicate notes of cocoa appear and punctuate the experience. The finish is powerful with a lot of leather and earth.
It was nice to see that this is still a box-worthy stick. As for my friend, he said that he would pay more attention to Nicaraguan smokes in future.
This post was written by Denis aka Inspector, who founded CigarInspector.com back in 2007. Click here for his latest articles and more information.
