Oliva Serie G

Vitola: Torpedo (6.5 x 52)
Body: Medium
Wrapper: Cameroon (African)
Binder: Cuban Seed Habano
Filler: Nicaraguan Habano
MSRP: $4

The Oliva Serie G has been sitting in my humidor for some time now, and I finally decided to pull it out for a review. This is a great-looking cigar, beautiful in its simplicity. The construction felt great - a little soft in spots, but just barely noticeable.

The cigar starts off with an interesting combination of bitter cocoa and spice. As I got past the initial puffs, the spice began to die out, leaving me with a cigar that is heavy in the cocoa flavors, with a little bit of smooth cream mixed in, and hints of cedar here and there. This enjoyable combination remained throughout the first third.

About halfway through the cigar I began to get some leather notes entering the flavor profile. These became slowly stronger throughout the smoke, eventually replacing the cocoa flavor. Towards the beginning of the first third I also began to get a slightly earthy taste in the cigar, which replaced the occasional notes of cedar. These two flavor changes gave what started off as a cigar that was heavy in cocoa, a little bit of cream, and cedar a new flavor profile consisting of leather mixed with earthy tones, and a little bit of cream to mix it all together. Unfortunately, towards the end of the last third I got some nasty tastes that I can only describe as "chemical", which forced me to put the stick down early.

I had a couple burn issues while smoking this cigar, but nothing a quick touch-up couldn't fix - nothing too drastic. The cigar needed to be purged a couple times to get a good draw, as well as a good amount of smoke, which I found slightly disappointing - I had been expecting more. The ash did not hang on for very long, at most a good inch.

Overall, while I enjoyed the flavors coming off the cigar, it wasn't impressive compared to other smokes in the same price range. There is a reason it is the little brother of the Oliva "serie" cigars. I would definitely smoke it if I saw it for $2-$3, but not at $4.

       Overall Grade: 3.8
       Final Grade (factors in price): 3.65

Angolom

Savinelli 20th Anniversary

Size: Double Robusto (5.0x54)
Body: Medium-Full
Wrapper: Sun-Grown Ecuadorian Habano
Binder: Estate Grown Nicaraguan
Filler: Vintage Nicaraguan
MSRP: $7-$8

This cigar review is part of an experiment conducted by fellow redditor "Nivuahc". He wanted to send out some unbanded sticks, and see what reviews he got back, without any preconceived notions of the stick or its quality. It is important to note that, while smoking this stick, I had no idea of its brand - or any information whatsoever, for that matter.

The stick that he sent is not a beautiful stick, but nor is it ugly. I couldn't wait to light up this mystery smoke, so I'll get right into the review.

My first thought upon taking a draw of this cigar was "wow, do you think they could give this thing any more spice?" It was certainly a spice bomb off the light - we're starting off with a full-bodied smoke. There are also very woodsy tastes along with the spice, lots of cedar, with a slight sweetness in the aftertaste. The spice begins to die down about halfway through the first third, and by the end of the first third the smoke has acquired a very leathery taste, with a bit of sweetness. The change from the woodsy, spicy flavors to this leathery, sweet taste was pleasantly surprising.

Getting into the second third, the body has become a more medium cigar. The flavor remains pretty consistent with the end of the first third throughout the second third - a sweet, leathery taste. The only difference is that a hint of spice works its way in every now and then, but it is neither consistent nor powerful.

The last third gave me some very interesting tastes. As I entered it, the spice began to make a bit of a comeback, and brings with it a woodsy taste, slightly different than the original, but a pleasant change of pace. This phases out about halfway through the final third though, allowing the sweet leathery taste to return. However, when it returns it brings with it an almost cinnamon taste with its sweetness - I actually had difficulty placing it, until my roommate said "man, your smoke smells like cinnamon," and it hit me.

The cigar required a couple touch-ups when it came to burn, but other than it wasn't too much of an issue. The draw was just slightly tight, but enough to really bother me - there was just a lot packed in there. The cigar had a good amount a smoke, but not huge globs, nothing overly impressive. The ash held on for a very respectable amount of time, so the construction was solid enough. In terms of appearance, construction, draw, and smoke, the cigar was respectable, but not impressive.

Overall I had a great experience with this cigar. It had a diverse enough flavor profile that was both pleasant and surprising, and had something in it for everyone - mostly a sweet leathery taste, but at both ends it had plenty of woodsy tastes and spice. I would definitely purchase this cigar if I saw it for a good price.

Overall: 4.3/5
Final Grade (factors in price): 4.1

Angolom