Buy the Serie V Lancero at Famous Smoke Shop
If you have been into premium cigars for any length of time, the Oliva Serie V won’t need much of an introduction. It’s ubiquitous, and a natural choice for those branching out into more premium cigars. That’s because Oliva is a well known manufacturer, the cigars are priced right, and the Serie V is almost universally regarded as excellent smoke, provided you can handle a full strength cigar. This is low hanging fruit for those wanting to get into the hobby and see what a premium cigar is all about.
The Serie V is the bigger, bolder brother in the company’s lineup. It’s a strong cigar that packs a punch. I’ve had this blend in a number of different vitolas, and can say that it is not to be enjoyed on an empty stomach. I thought it was interesting that Oliva offered the V in a lancero variety. Would it temper the strength of the cigar and concentrate the flavors? I was curious so I picked up a 5 pack a few months ago.
Appearance and Pre-Light Aromas
The Serie V comes in a toasty brown wrapper with a light tooth and soft sheen. There are some visible veins, but the seams are tight and near invisible. The cigar feels on the heavy side for its size. The pack feels even and firm. Topping things off is an exquisite triple cap.
I removed the cigar from it’s cellophane wrapper and was immediately hit with a pungent cedar and barn yard aroma. Sniffing the wrapper directly yielded plenty of earth, musty aged tobacco, cedar, and barn yard aromas. Sniffing the foot provided similar flavors, but with a little sweetness.
I clip the cap with my Xicar cutters. I take a test draw. It’s a little tight, but I get some cream, generic wood, and cedar. I get to toasting.
Start time is 9:10 AM.
First Third
The first puff is creamy and spicy. After the first couple puffs the cigar begins to settle in. Still plenty of cream and spice, but I’m getting earth, bread, light caramel, and a nice nuttiness as well. A peppery finish lingers on the roof of my mouth.
It doesn’t take long for the cigar to begin producing a tight snow white ash. The burn is sharp and even. Out of the gate I’d peg the body at a solid medium.
You may notice I’m starting this review early. Usually I wait until the afternoon to smoke my first cigar. That’s usually after I’ve done all my chores. Well, it’s Saturday morning, and my girlfriend has left the house early to go volunteering. When the cat’s away…
At around the 10 minute mark the Serie V Lancero is settling in. I’m getting a nice creamy flavor at the start of the draw. From there complexity spins its gears and I’m getting some good toasty and nutty flavors. A little sweetness is present as well. Some puffs remind me of a mild chocolate, others have more of the aforementioned caramel profile. I’m getting some baked good flavors. Ginger bread, graham crackers, and toast all swirl around. Pepper remains on the finish. Not getting a ton of pepper on the retrohale. But this cigar has a good long peppery finish.
After 10 minutes the first chunk of ash drops off. It’s about half an inch long and solid. It hit the bottom of my ash tray with an audible “thunk”.
I’m starting to get some light bright coffee. Lots of nuttiness on the retrohale at the moment. The aroma is sweet and permeated with baking spices.
I received my first comment on this blog a couple days ago. I’ve been blogging on other websites for the better part of a decade now, have posted a hundred videos on YouTube, and have a fair amount of comments in my day. This was one of the nastiest comments I have received to date. My manhood was called into question. It appears not everyone is a fan of my long-winded hyper descriptive style of cigar reviews. And my description of flavors was snobbish and self-important.
I appreciate the criticism, but not the personal attacks. I’ll just delete the comment if it gets personal and nasty.
On one hand I get it, these are long winded pretentious reviews. A lot of mental masturbation goes on in these digital pages. But they are the kinds of reviews I want to write. If you want a one paragraph review, go to the retailer’s websites. Plenty of one paragraph reviews there. I am writing these reviews for myself as much as anyone else. It’s my journey into exploring cigars, and also a writing experiment for me. They are free to enjoy (or hate) and no one will force you to read them. I want to dive deep into the experience of each cigar, and build a well organized catalog of long-form first person reviews. That’s the whole point of the site. It may not be to everyone’s taste, but I’m not here to please everyone.
OK, back to our cigar. It’s cruising along and smoking beautifully. Still getting lots of cream, bright coffee which is so bright and aromatic its morphing into cedar, and a bevy of secondary flavors including generic nuttiness, and toast. The finish is not as spicy as before, but I’m still getting a nice lingering pepper finish.
Second Third
Smoke time is 25 minutes. We are cruising along.
The guy who commented also said I smoked the cigars too slow. He’s probably right. When reviewing a cigar I tend to slow down and smoke as slow as I can. I do this to try and maximize the flavors. If you puff too frequently, the cigar overheats and the flavors get bitter.
I’m also jabbering a lot on the keyboard. I could probably pick up the smoking cadence on some of these sticks. Good point and I’ll be more mindful of that. But I do smoke on the slow side. That’s how I like to enjoy my cigars. I don’t chain smoke them. A puff every minute or so is what I usually go for.
This Serie V Lancero is smoking great though. It practically smokes itself. I really appreciate that. Nothing worse then a cigar with burn issues. Sometimes Lanceros can be finicky. They are tough to roll and can get plugged up. Knock on wood, but I haven’t had an issue with any of the lanceros in this 5 pack.
We are getting something of a flavor transition. The coffee and cedar are continuing to build. The cigar is getting rich. Meanwhile the pepper continues to subside. Still getting mostly nutty flavors through the nose. Not a particularly strong retrohale at this point.
The coffee is growing more intense, and the cigar has taken on a beautiful fruity coffee flavor. It plays well with the creaminess in this stick. I have always enjoyed that aspect of the Serie V. To me it has always been a creamy coffee forward cigar. At least in the first couple thirds. The cream may end up slacking towards the end.
The Serie V is also notorious for being a strong cigar. I have gotten the spins from the higher ring gauge vitolas. This lancero seems to temper the strength. Probably because you aren’t smoking as much of that potent ligero filler. That’s fine by me. Some folks enjoy super strong cigars. I’m more of a pussy. I don’t mind a little strength, but would just as soon hold onto my lunch. Or breakfast in this case.
It has been a beautiful and quiet morning. Relatively cool in the shade with a gentle breeze. A neighbor in the distance is mowing their lawn, but beyond that it’s just wind in the leaves. So nice. Every morning this week I had to rush off to the courthouse or a meeting. I love a good Saturday when I can get up and not have a huge agenda.
The strength of this cigar is creeping up on me. It’s present, but not overwhelming. The body has remained at a solid medium, leaning towards medium full. It’s a smooth cigar.
I had a Serie V Melanio after work yesterday to get into the mood for this review. The Melanio is such a nice cigar. It smoked perfectly, and with a year plus of rest it had plenty of wonderfully balanced flavors. Oliva makes great cigars throughout their lineup. This Serie V lancero is another fine example.
Final Third
Smoke time is around 50 minutes. We are cruising along. The ash drops off every half inch or so. Beautiful light gray ash.
The flavors continue to slowly morph rather than wildly transition. I love good transitions, but I don’t mind the gentle story arc of this cigar either. Variations on a theme. Still getting the core flavors of cream and coffee. Still getting nuts. I’d say its a cashew flavor. Mild and buttery. Still getting toasty elements. Just a hint of pepper on the back of my tongue now. But the coffee is slowly building. Mild cedar backs it.
The song birds are out. I can’t see them, but I can hear them chirping brightly in the trees. Then a weed eater joins them in song. Welcome to suburbia.
Dark chocolate is coming in behind the coffee, lending a round sweetness to the flavor profile. The creaminess is fading. We are nearing the band. Body is ticking up as the cigar builds to a crescendo.
The band pulls off easily. This is your standard Serie V band, but it has been trimmed down with a pair of scissors to fit the slim stick.
The flavors continue to darken. Cream drops out, while dark chocolate and earth fill in to compliment the strong coffee flavor. Pepper is building back up on the retrohale. We are at the hour mark with a couple inches remaining.
A little raisin comes in to support the coffee and dark chocolate. This isn’t a very sweet cigar, but there appears to almost always be some sort of sweet element present in the profile. A little something for everyone.
The ash continues to tumble in neat chunks. I count 5 in the bottom of my ash tray. None in my lap. It’s a Christmas miracle in September.
Light baking spices compliment the pepper. Coffee turns to espresso. Earthy and warm.
The burn continues to be even and trouble free. Strength is present and I’m comfortably numb. I stand to snap a photo. I’m relaxed but not overwhelmed. Perfect.
The sun continues to rise behind our ficus tree. The edge of the yard is now bathed in an even yellow light. All the rain we have been getting is making the back yard green and lush. Our hedge of bushy palms is slowly growing in and peeking above the fence line. I can’t wait until the back yard is a wall of green. Probably another year before that happens. Then we will have our own private oasis.
The smoke is growing warm, but still smokable. I’ll keep going. A little leather creeps in. Oily and thick smoke pours from the cigar with each puff.
I take this one down to the nub. It finishes with plenty of leather, black coffee, earth, and raisin. This was a highly enjoyable cigar.
Oliva V Lancero Review – Final Thoughts
I enjoyed this cigar. If you like the flavors of the Serie V, but can live without the strength, then I think this is a great option. It’s not quite as complex as the higher ring gauge vitolas, but its nice and balanced. Smooth and even. Nothing wild, but more a slow acceleration of flavor. It starts creamy, and the coffee slowly builds, peaking around the 2 inch mark. Nothing too exotic in the flavor profile, but a great Nicaraguan stick.
Construction is superb and the price is right. I think it’s a solid medium bodied cigar that peaks at medium full near the end. For those wanting to experiment with lanceros I think this is a fine example of the vitola. Recommended and I would buy it again.
Final Score: 4 out of 5, or a solid “1” on the 0-2 scale. I’d buy it again. Perhaps even a box or a box split. I’ll be curious to see what some age does to this one.
Final Smoke time: 1 Hour 20 minutes.
I recommend purchasing the White Series at Famous Smoke Shop. Please consider that purchasing things through any of the links on this website, including Amazon.com, helps support the website and keeps it going. Any and all support is greatly appreciated. Thank you very much.
Leave a Reply