Cigar Review: Olivia Master Blends III

If this gloomy weather has you down and out, I have a solution for you. Yup you guessed it, my solution is this excellent cigar from Olivia. This Master Blend is exactly that , a masterful blend of delicious flavors and smells. As the weather gets a little colder and the clouds come in, warm up your day with a darker and heartier cigar.

The construction of this cigar is excellent and I could see no wrong wrong here. It has a rich oily sungrown broad-leaf wrapper and is constructed with  a Nicaraguan blend of Habano-seed, ligero tobaccos . This gives the cigar a great balance between full flavor and spice with a smoother finish. The cigar has some very obvious earthy and spicy notes. It is a tad strong but perfect for a seasoned smoker or for a colder day (hence this post). The flavor gets a little more amplified as it burns down, the earthy notes really start to come out, finished with a little brown sugar sweet. 


This cigar tackled my winter doldrums with ease! I have had mixed results with Olivia but this cigar has restored my faith in them. I give this subtlety awesome cigar a great 8 of 10. Seriously it's good.



Questions for YOU: What is your favorite wintery smoke?

Cigar Review: Oliva V

Sometimes it is better to give than receive....

That is just about what sums up this cigar, for me that is. It would make a nice gift, but definitely not a personal favorite. I have seen the Oliva V cigar in cigar aficionado, on cigar.com, and on cigarbid.com and I couldn't wait to smoke this bad boy! It was given a 94 rating and has won its share of awards, it looked like a real win! This is where you may want to stop reading, I may offend any Oliva fans out there, but man I was disappointed.

This cigar had a very strong smell and nice hearty weight. It cut and lit very easily and everything was going pretty good! It billowed a nice thick smoke and its full earthy smell came through. It tasted like a very strong maduro would, earthy sweet and hints of espresso or chocolate. Now comes the problem.....It was like smoking 3 maduros at ounce. Everyone claims this cigar is full of complexity and a smooth richness. It was complex and rich but there was no smooth! It was so strong and direct that there was nothing for the senses to look for, everything was smashed into them. Instead of subtle tastes and smells, it was like sensory overload. I was not enjoying this cigar. I smoked it through but was not impressed. Maybe it was just me, maybe it was too strong for my liking but regardless I am giving this brute a 6 or 10. Next time turn down the strength if you want to highlight rich flavors.