- Size: 6.5 x 52 (Torpedo)
- MSRP: 7.65 (single) 129.95 (box of 20)
- Wrapper: Nicaraguan Habano
- Binder: Nicaraguan
- Filler: Nicaraguan
- Country of Origin: Nicaraguan Puro
- Humidor Time Prior to Review: 3+ months
- Cigars smoked prior to review: 1
For my first cigar review ever I decided on the Oliva Serie O in Torpedo. I’ve smoked most of the standard Oliva lineup. This is the last “O” I have, and figured if there was a time to review it, now would be it. It’s a hefty cigar and I have some time on a warm December afternoon in Florida.
I’ve rolled the idea of a cigar review blog around in my head for months now. I think the key will be to have low expectations and keep it fun.
It’s a couple days before Christmas, and I have the day off from work. Lets give this a shot.
Construction and Pre-Light
The Serie O comes in an attractive light brown habano wrapper. The cigar feels light for its size, but is firmly packed with a double cap. The seams are tight, and while there are plenty of veins they are relatively small. There are also some lumps and bumps rendering a rustic appearance to the stick.
The cigar gleans slightly in the sun. Not particularly oily, but with a slight amount of tooth. Oliva suggest storing these at over 70 RH. That sounds too high. I’ve been storing mine at a RH of 65.
I detect a light hay aroma from the shaft. More hay and some cedar from the clipped cap. I forgot to do a pre-light draw. Maybe next time.
The foot has suffered some mild trauma despite being stored in the cellophane. I’ll burn through it quickly and don’t expect any problems. I start toasting and then light her up.
First Third
Initially I get a blast of cedar. The draw is loose and smoke pours freely from the foot. The cigar quickly settles in with more cedar and some creamy notes. Cedar again on the retrohale with a light dose of pepper.
This cigar puts off a wonderful sweet aroma, and I am beginning to detect light sweetness on the draw as well. The burn started a little wavy, but it’s settled down now. 10 minutes in and I am already finding this to be a relaxing smoke.
As I consider my review style I have to confess right off the bat that I am heavily influenced by Katman’s style of reviewing. In case you couldn’t already tell. The guy has been doing it for a while and has a good system. And he is way funnier than I will ever be. I think he has the best reviews on the net.
Stream of conscience seems like the way to go. At least for now. Who knows what strangeness we may encounter. Katman is a far more experienced reviewer than me, and can pick up on all sort of nuances my palate has yet to appreciate. Hopefully he doesn’t mind me copping his steeze a little bit. He has written thousands of reviews. This is my first. I don’t think he has much to worry about.
I’ve reviewed a number of things over the years, mostly knives, and while knives lend themselves to weeks of use and reflection I have found that cigars are fleeting. Best to put some thoughts to paper before my tasting notes are subsumed by grocery lists, my inbox, and whatever else competes for my limited attention. I considered a more formal scoring system and review style, but haven’t hit on it yet. Maybe in time.
Back to the smoke. The flavors on this O are mild and smooth. I love the aroma of a good cigar, and this one puts off a wonderful sweet toasty smell.
I also enjoy the creamy profile that appears to pervade most of the cigars in Oliva’s basic lineup. I think you get a good bang for your buck with them, and imagine this is a daily smoke for many. Especially given how Olivas can often be found on discount. For that reason I have been gravitating to the lauded Serie V Melanio and the Melanio Maduro, but I have had good experience with the O and G as well. Plus their Master Blends.
I’ve got about an inch of ash on mine now. The ash is a mottled salt n’ peppa color streaked with brown. It resembles a twisting stack of coins, and it falls off in a single chunk when I lay the cigar down for a moment. The burn is slightly wavy, but no where near needing a correction.
I’m playing around with my camera settings. I’m not a great photographer. After a handful of years I can photograph a knife on a white background with some consistency, but that’s about it. Here I’m outdoors and brought the DSLR out with me. My cell phone camera is crap so I won’t even bother with that. This will be a whole new ball game. Please bear with me, and I’ll try to improve my photo skills.
Rounding out the first third I am getting predominantly cream, cedar, and slight earthiness. Pepper on the retrohale. Pleasant, but nothing crazy.
Second Third
We hit the second third at 30 minutes. The cigar continues to burn nicely, with a thin line of smoke continuing to trail off the foot. The flavors haven’t changed much.
It would be borderline inappropriate to write this review without mentioning the recent passing of Gilberto Oliva Senior. Rest in Peace Mr. Oliva. The cigar industry lost a couple legends these past few weeks. First with José Padrón, and now with Gilberto Oliva Sr. Sad days in the cigar world, but both men seemed to live long and rich lives. I imagine they saw a lot over the decades as they built their cigar empires.
I now detect fleeting hints of cinnamon. Especially on the room note, which I will refer to as the “aroma” as I’m smoking outside. The cinnamon is a welcome addition to the mix.
And it’s burning great. No issues with construction and nary a touch up required. No small feat with this torpedo vitola. Torpedos are more difficult to roll properly, and some folks avoid them like the plague. My draw was initially on the loose side, but it has settled in perfectly. Maybe I’ll buy some lottery tickets after I’m done with this cigar. I am sure the 3 months+ of rest helps.
I hope my ash tray isn’t too distracting. No, I haven’t landed a sponsorship by Montecristo, but I did win this try in a raffle at a cigar shop in Boca Raton. I don’t typically use ash trays, preferring to ash onto the ground (as God intended), but need something to hold my smoke as I bang away at my keyboard like a confused ape. If I go at this long enough, maybe a line of Shakespeare will eventually emerge.
Speaking of emerging, I just got some citrus. But mostly cream and earth. The cedar is morphing, and that is where I get this citrus from. A light spiciness tickles the back of my throat. The “O” keeps on burning, and the leaves gently rustle in my back yard. Smoke time hits an hour, and we are still working through this second third.
The burn becomes a little uneven. It canoes by about half an inch, and smoke output begins to wane. As I reach for my lighter to correct it a small chunk of ash falls onto the table. I try to scoop it up for the ash tray, but it disintegrates at the touch. Amateur hour. Fuck it. I blast the offending portion of the wrapper and all is right with the world again.
The fruity notes are fading into more of an earl gray flavor. Still getting some cream and earth, but the cream is backing down as the late afternoon sun dips behind the trees.
Final Third
One hour ten minutes in as I begin the final third. The body is still at a medium, but the darker flavors are intensifying and the creaminess is dropping away. Something is happening, and I’m noticing a slight nicotine buzz.
The burn continues to be wavy, and I think it will need another touch up soon. Still, it’s smoking well all things considered. Smoke continues to pour off it and I’m having a hard time putting the cigar down.
We have had some wind the past few weeks, but not much earlier today. Now the air has grown still. Birds and squirrels are chittering. A red headed woodpecker lands on my wood pile. This is a nice change of pace from my day job where I’m locked behind a desk.
I lance an unburned portion of wrapper with my torch lighter and am greeted with a torrent of smoke.
Tea, wood, and slightly bitter earth are the biggest flavors. The transitions are coming faster now. Pepper is hitting my tongue. I don’t retrohale with every puff, but when I do I get a good dose of pepper.
I am enjoying this cigar. Good choice. This cigar reviewing thing could have legs. This cigar is also developing some legs and walking me into medium full territory. My eyes begin to water and I reach for my handkerchief to blow my nose.
Coffee notes are coming on, and this once mild mannered smoke continues to intensify as we march towards the band. A hint of saltiness. A sip water to cleanse the palate, and the salt drifts away. I usually drink water with my cigars. Beer or spirits only if I’m with friends. And certainly nothing but water if I’m going to attempt a review.
We are an hour and a half in, and I move to pull off the band. It comes off easily and without issue. My nose is running but I’ll spare you the play by play. This “O” has crept up on me, and another 3/4″ of ash falls off cleanly. The burn has evened out as we turn to the home stretch.
I have been trending towards robustos and other smaller sizes, but I love the luxury of a long smoke like this. And it seems like the O is slowing down. Not a problem, as I’m on vacation, and the year is almost over. Life is good.
Tea, or an indescribable cloying fruitiness, is what hits me on the front of the palate. A pleasant bitterness makes up most of the finish. Spice pervades throughout. I’m getting some tunneling here and wonder if a relight is in my future. These are the things us cigar smokers ponder. Suddenly the ubiquitous foot smoke ceases. Sometimes I hate being right.
I reach for my pocket knife to scrape away the ash prior to my relight. A Strider SnG if you are into knives. I’ve got about 2 inches to go here, so this will be the first and only relight. I make a small offering to the cigar gods and hope for the best.
I lost the tea, and am now getting more coffee, earth, and pepper notes. I am also getting smacked with nicotine. The nub is growing slightly soft and squishy. The once cool smoke steps up a few degrees. Still very smokable. The tea re-emerges. The room note is still sweet, but I don’t dare breath too deeply if I hope to finish my first review. The nicotine is making me wish I had a larger lunch.
The birds have stopped chirping. Either they have moved to greener pastures or a jungle cat lies in wait. Much to consider as we near the two hour mark.
The ash is intact, but flakes off slightly. Dust leaves a telltale trail across my keyboard. The flavors are consistent with my last update except a plain tobacco taste joins the draw flavors.
The smoke output starts to fade, and I hit the Serie O with a couple strong draws to try and resuscitate it. No luck. I’m fighting the cigar at this point, and decide to end it on a high note.
An inch left, and just over the 2 hour mark. Afternoon turns to early evening. I can hear cars on the road. People coming home. A delivery truck clatters by. Fine grains of ash coat my table, and the Serie O fades out in a graceful denouement.
Oliva Serie O – Final Thoughts
It’s no wonder the O has been a mainstay in the Oliva catalog. It starts out easily enough, and rewards the smoker with increasing strength. It’s not a super complex smoke by my palate, but the flavors are pleasant, the intensity builds, and the transitions keep me interested. Another solid stick from Oliva
My head spins slightly from the nicotine. I don’t recommend smoking this one on an empty stomach. Not as gut wrenching as the Serie V, but still strong. I’ll need to lay down for a minute after this. All in all a satisfying cigar, and an excellent value if you can get it on sale in the $4 range.
At this point I won’t buy a box, but would definitely smoke it again if presented with the opportunity. On the scale of 0-2, with 0 being “I won’t buy this again” and 2 being “box-worthy” I’d rate it a 1, and I’d buy it again.
I am not a huge fan on the Cigar Aficionado scoring system as it seems heavily weighted towards the top, but people seem to understand it. So I will score this a solid 90. Not a world changing cigar, but damn good for what it is. Recommended.
Final smoke time: 2 hours 5 minutes
Score: 90/100
Phil Kohn says
I am humbled by your compliment about my reviews. Thanks for the shout out.
I am only funny or clever while heavily inundated with drugs.
Great review!
All the best,
Phil Kohn
Phil Katman Kohn says
Dan,
You honor me with your kind words.
I believe this review is all you. I appreciate the mention of my incantations that subconsciously forced you to thank me for being a bitch’n fella.
I am currently residing in Atascadero Mental Hospital in California. I do my best work there. We are not allowed cigars so I make them up. None of my reviews actually took place. I think it is the cocktail of drugs they give me that allows my mind to wander. I must admit I do tire of taking LSD daily.
You need anything from me…mow your lawn, wash your car, babysit, tell your wife you are not the dick she thinks you are, or ask for advice anytime. My password for getting through to me at the crazy house is “Nurse Ratched,”
All the best,
Phil