Oliva Master Blends 3 Cigar Review

• Size: 5″ x 50 (Robusto)
• MSRP: $221.72 (box of 20); $11.05 for a single
• Country of Origin: Dominican Republic
• Wrapper: Nicaraguan Broadleaf Sun-Grown
• Binder: Nicaraguan Habano
• Filler: Nicaraguan Ligero
• Body: Medium / Medium Full
• Strength: Medium
• Humidor Time Prior to Review: 1 year
• Cigars smoked prior to review: 15
• Date Smoked: August 4, 2018

The Oliva Master Blends 3 is a cigar that doesn’t get much press. Oliva is best known for their Serie V, Serie V Melanio, G, and O lines. For whatever reason, the Master Blends 3 is something of a red headed stepchild for the brand.

Accordingly, it is a heavily discounted cigar. This is kind of odd as its a limited edition artisanal blend, which normally equates to big bucks. While the MSRP is north of $10, I paid about $4.00 a stick. Here is a link to the manufacturer’s page on the cigars where you can see what Oliva has to say about it. Not much. Maybe they should retain me to write some copy on it for them.

I picked up Holt’s Monster Deal on the MB3s over a year ago. I have enjoyed many of them over the past year, but my stock is starting to dwindle. I figured if there was a time to review this cigar, now would be the time.

I’ve smoked this in all vitolas, and recall enjoying the 6 x 52 Torpedo quite a bit. These days I’m mostly down to the Churchill and the Robusto sizes. At 7″ long, the Churchill is an intimidating cigar. Fine for a lazy afternoon with a book or something, but I write these reviews stream of conscious style. If I want to avoid writing a novel-sized review I think the robusto will be a much better choice.

Appearance and Pre-Light Aromas

I store most of my cigars in the cellophane. This MB3 Robusto is no different. I’ve been sitting on this cigar for over a year now, and the cellophane has begun to yellow. Not all cigars get better with age, but I think the Master Blend 3 is one blend that will benefit from some extended humidor time. I pull the stick from its cellophane and give it a thorough once over.

This cigar has been gently box pressed into an oval. The dark brown broadleaf wrapper is mottled and rustic with some minor lumps and bumps. The seams are tight and there are a couple larger veins running along the backside of the cigar. It feels somewhat light for its size. There is a double cap.

Sniffing the wrapper yields an earthy aroma with hay and some barnyard. From the foot I get cedar, hay, fruit, and more earth. I snap a couple photographs of the cigar in my lightbox, and drag all my crap outside to begin the review. I review all of my cigars in my back yard, and today is no different. It happens to be August, and I happen live in South Florida, so it’s guaranteed to be hot as hell. But it’s the weekend and I want to smoke a cigar.

I’m now outside. I clip the cap and take a test draw. It’s a little tight. The cigar feels firm around the band, but I think it will open up once I get going. On the prelight draw I’m not getting much. Mostly earth and raisins. I start toasting and light ‘er up.

Start time is 1:00 P.M.

First Third

The first puff yields a big blast of earthy flavors. Tough to describe right now but I’ll let it settle in and report back.

I’m back. It’s a medium full bodied cigar right off the bat, trending towards full. I’m being hit by a wall of flavors. Earth leads the charge, but there is chocolate, sweetness, dried fruit, wood, leather, and a tiny portion of pepper. A lot of those flavors make it to the retrohale as well.

There is a lot going on and I’m still trying to make sense of it all. The nice thing about writing these reviews is that it forces me to focus on the cigar. To try and express what is happening to the best of my abilities. I may not be the best at distinguishing flavors, but the exercise of doing these reviews has helped me substantially. Hopefully they are useful to someone.

10 minutes in and the finish is long and peppery. The pepper has picked up, but isn’t anything extreme. The woody notes have picked up as well. I’m getting cedar, but other wood flavors as well. I’m not getting a ton of flavor on the draw. It’s more as I exhale the smoke. Wood, earth, pepper, chocolate, fruit, but also now notes of vanilla and cream. They are subtle, almost momentary, flavors.

This is kind of a kitchen sink blend. All sorts of stuff is going on with flavors weaving in and out with each puff.

The burn is a little wavy on my cigar. It looks OK, staring at the front, but the back is jagged and trails by over a quarter of an inch at parts. I coax it along with my torch lighter. The cigar is producing half an inch of gray flaky ash.

The aroma is sweet and bready. The draw is on the snug side, but no where near plugged and producing plenty of smoke whether I’m puffing on it, or letting it rest in my ash tray as I type.

There is a good breeze this afternoon. Not ideal for smoking cigars, but in this south Florida heat I won’t complain. It’s almost pleasant in the shade.

At 20 minutes in the cigar appears to be smoking slowly. The flavors are still big and bold. I’m predominantly getting earth, wood, and chocolate. Pepper is at a medium, and then certain ancillary flavors come in and out. That’s the best way I can describe this cigar right now. I take another draw and I get a dried fruit flavor.

The burn is getting a little fucked, with a pretty serious run happening. Here is a picture:

The ash fell off right before I took the picture, so it doesn’t look as bad, but you get the idea. Actually, removing the ash helped a little. I torched the high spot and that helped out tremendously.

I’ve had some of these smoke perfectly, and others require a few touch ups. Unfortunately, this one will probably require some touch ups. It isn’t for lack of rest in my humidor. That’s for sure.

Second Third

Smoke time is 25 minutes. A few paragraphs ago it was burning slow, but then that run escalated things quickly. Not the best sign from a construction standpoint.

I’m getting a strong leather on the retrohale now. Plenty of earth, wood, and chocolate on the draw. The finish is chocolate, wood, and a little pepper. And I’m still getting a pungent fruity element.

I’m smoking underneath a large oak tree. It casts the backyard in dappled shade. It’s a beautiful tree, but the shade moves around. It makes for funky photographs and I occasionally need to move my seat to avoid getting blasted by sun beams filtering through the branches.

The cigar is once again burning unevenly. It looks to be correcting itself, so I’ll leave it alone for now.

Pepper is ticking up, and the wood flavors are in full effect. It’s a woodsy, earthy, chocolately smoke. Not getting much in the way of major transitions so far. The major flavors seem to rotate, and then we have secondary flavors come in and out as well. Now the chocolate picks back up. It’s a flavorful cigar so I’m not complaining.

What I can complain about is the burn. It’s not pretty. I’ll touch it up again now, but snap another picture first. I like pretty pictures, but I also like to give people the unvarnished truth about what I’m smoking. The ash flakes away in the breeze as I torch the offending portion of the wrapper.

A new flavor is developing: coffee. There may have well been a little coffee in this stick before given the complexity of this cigar, but it’s picking up. It’s a light coffee with a splash of milk right now. It plays nicely with the chocolate and wood. A light leather returns to the fold. It’s a secondary flavor that makes its presence known every few puffs.

Body has remained at a medium full. I’m not noticing much strength in this cigar, despite having little to eat so far today. I’m getting hungry so if this turns into a nicotine bomb I’m going to be in trouble.

The ash is splintery. It falls harmlessly to the ground as I study the cigar.

The wood has mellowed out. The major flavors are now chocolate, earth and coffee. Pepper goes up and down, but it never manages to reach critical mass. As if on cue, I take another puff and wood rejoins the mix.

Final third

Smoke time is at 50 minutes.

I continue to move my setup around in the shifting shade. A sweet raisin moves in to compliment the earth, chocolate, and coffee flavors. This continues to be a rich and flavorful cigar. Not a powerhouse of strength or a wizard of transitions, but the kind of pungent flavors you would expect from a broadleaf wrapper. Body has dipped down closer to medium.

As usual the burn is wavy. On one side of the cigar we are less than a quarter inch away from the band. On the other side we are about half an inch away. I take another puff and pick at the band. It peels away easily. The band art is colorful, and a strong departure from Oliva’s typical banding.

The blend has gotten very chocolatey now. Coffee is picking up to the point where we have a mocha flavor. It’s nice. In stark contrast, the burn continues to be incredibly wavy and fucked up. A low point on an otherwise highly enjoyable cigar. Torching a large swath of wrapper introduces dark fruity flavors. A ripe plum comes to mind.

Speaking of ripe fruit, I’m eyeing a small pineapple plant from across the yard. The pineapple is about the size of a grapefruit, smaller than what I’ve grown in the past, but it’s yellowing. I will probably pick it after the review. I let the last pineapple ripen on the plant too long, and a raccoon got it, leaving the leafy top and a chewed up core. Best to let it fully ripen inside under adult supervision.

Back to our Master Blends 3. It’s chugging along, with chocolate currently being the dominant flavor, and with wood and coffee notes supporting it. The burn is doing better after my last round of triage, but it’s still wavy. Body has pulled back to a medium. Surprising, but it is what it is.

The nicotine is slowly creeping up on me. Not nauseating or overpowering. Instead, I feel calm and relaxed. A nice feeling after a hectic week in the office. Lots of shit hitting the fan in my various legal cases. Elbows being twisted, screws turning, and sausage being made. I try to leave that at the office, but sometimes that is an impossible task.

The burn issue is trying to self correct. That would be cool. Plenty of earth, chocolate, and coffee coming off of this cigar right now. The coffee has been a nice addition and is the biggest flavor transition of the cigar so far. We are an hour and 10 minutes in, so I think we have around 10-15 minutes left here.

2 minutes later and the burn has corrected itself. That’s great news. If only that happened, oh, I don’t know, about an hour ago. That would have been cool. Beneath the wrapper I see tell tale signs of tunneling, but it’s smoking well. Producing lots of flavorful smoke.

Fruitiness is coming back. Chocolate and coffee. Light woody notes and an earthy backbone. Only a faint hit of pepper. The aroma is sweet bread and chocolate. The nub is going warm, but the smoke is still cool and smooth.

The hanging ash is odd. The outer part of the ash has flaked away to reveal a tightly wound core. That is why I’ve been having burn issues with this one. It wasn’t rolled 100% right. Even a year of rest can’t fix that. This can happen with a handmade product like this, but it’s a shame that had to happen on the review smoke.

I take a puff and am greeted with a deep leathery flavor. It’s one of the secondary flavors, and it has come in and out throughout the entire smoke. A BBQ element has emerged in the final inch. Still getting coffee and chocolate, earth and wood.

At an hour and a half I’m still smoking. We are down to an inch and a half or so. Body has ticked back up. The smoke is growing warmer, but still smooth and enjoyable. It has rallied a little at the end. A nice surprise.

Finally it backs down. The flavors begin to grow muddled. Harshness rears its ugly head. My stomach grumbles and I decide to end the review.

Oliva Master Blends 3 Review – Final Thoughts

This is a rich and satisfying cigar. It started out with a bang, dipped down to a medium bodied stick by the end, rallied near the nub, but it offered plenty of robust flavors, and some transitions throughout the smoke. It’s a nice cigar, but ultimately it’s the lack of consistency in the construction that keeps me from putting this cigar on the same level as the Oliva Serie V Melanio or the Melanio Maduro.

But it’s a flavorful cigar. More in your face than the Melanio with the pungent ligero and broadleaf tobaccos. And you can get them for a fraction of the price of the Melanio blends. I’ve had some Master Blend 3s that were truly sublime. All the rich and beautiful flavors described in this review paired with excellent construction, delivering a cigar smoking experience that is hard to match for the price. For this reason I still recommend this blend. Price can be a great equalizer, and for $4 a smoke you are getting towards ‘yard-gar prices. Who cares if you need to touch it up at that price? It’s perfect for enjoying casually, and it can be a great cigar to smoke intently as well. I’m going to give my review sample a 3.75/5, but if you get one without construction issues it’s a solid 4+

It’s a cigar I recommend and would buy again, but not at that double digit MSRP. Get them on a deep discount while they are still available. They may not always be perfect, but here is a lot to like here for value-oriented smokers like myself.

Final Score: 3.75 / 5 or a “1” on my 0-2 scale. I’d buy it again at the right price.

Final Smoke time: 1 hour 30 minutes