Oliva Serie O Perfecto

Buy the Oliva Serie O Perfecto at Famous Smoke Shop

• Size: 5″ x 55 (Perfecto)
• MSRP: $166.20 (box of 20); $8.30 for a single
• Country of Origin: Nicaragua
• Wrapper: Nicaragua Habano
• Binder: Nicaragua
• Filler: Nicaragua
• Body: Medium
• Strength: Medium
• Humidor Time Prior to Review: 1 year
• Cigars Smoked Prior to Review: 0
• Source: Purchased with personal funds
• Date Smoked: January 19, 2019

Today we are going to take a look at a classic from Oliva. Some cigars are great base line cigars, and I think that’s true for pretty much everything in Oliva’s lineup. The Serie O may not have the cache of some limited edition boutique brand, but they are readily accessible and can usually be had at a great price. Case in point I paid a little over $3 for this stick when I bought an Oliva sampler last year. I’d like to review the entire Oliva line, and the only way to do that is to review their cigars one at a time.

I reviewed the Serie O in the Torpedo Vitola a year ago, and actually it was the first review I ever wrote. Time to revisit the blend and review the cigar in a different size. I thought this perfecto shaped cigar looked super cool and inviting to smoke. It has been resting for a year now, so it’s ready to go.

Appearance and Pre-Light Aroma

As I mentioned in the intro, I enjoy the look of this perfecto shaped cigar. Construction is pretty good. There are some loose seams near the head and some prominent veins in the light brown wrapper, but it lends an unpretentious look to the cigar. For $3 I can’t complain.

The wrapper leaf is soft and has a light toothiness. The cigar feels a little light for its size.

Sniffing the wrapper gives you big barnyard notes with some light sweetness. Quite pungent. From the foot I get more barnyard and a touch of cedar.

I clip a quarter inch or so off the head and take a test draw. The draw is good, and I’m getting flavors of caramel, hay, and a little spice on the pre-light draw.

I start toasting and light up. Start time is 2:45 P.M.

The First Third

From the very first puff I’m smacked with a delicious sweet note. Milk chocolate, caramel, breadiness, and a spicy finish. What a treat. The flavors have started out simple, but they are good.

After a few minutes I detect some light cream, graham cracker, and toasty notes to accompany the sweetness. Through the nose I get mostly black pepper and some wood. A little lightly roasted coffee is also coming in. Man this thing is all over the place in a good way. The finish remains long and spicy.

So far the smoking characteristics are good. The burn line is a little wavy, but nothing crazy. A good draw and plenty of smoke output. I’d place the body at a solid medium.

It’s a beautiful day in S.W. Florida. Azure blue skies with whisps of thin pale clouds. It’s windy, and the ficus tree overhead is shedding like a Labrador Retriever. I’m tucked back in a protected corner of the house, so not much wind is making it to my resting cigar. The temperature is a balmy 75 degrees or so and I’m sitting outside in shorts, sandals and a t-shirt.

Back to our Serie O in Perfecto. The cigar has developed a rich nuttiness. It plays well with the sweet chocolate and pepper. Kind like what I would expect a Mexican snickers bar to taste like. Sweet and spicy. But there is still these darker coffee and earth undertones that balance the cigar out. To say it smokes like a candy bar would be inaccurate.

I haven’t written a cigar review since the new year. I’ve been busy trying to get my office organized. Working Sundays and spending my Saturdays not reviewing cigars. After the new year half my clients wanted to know the status of their legal matters, and that has kept me on my toes. Plus there is nothing like a new year to make you want to get organized. I’ve been closing files, sending invoices, and hauling crap out of my office. A bit of that has to do with watching Marie Kondo’s show on Netflix, but I periodically like to organize my business. A weak attempt at working “on the business” instead of “in the business”.

The burn on my cigar has grown progressively more uneven, so I give the high spot a touch up with my torch. That seems to help. I imagine these perfectos aren’t easy to roll, especially at this price point.

The Second Third

Smoke time is 15 minutes. This cigar is burning fast, but we are finally at the thickest part of the cigar. My guess is it will slow down a little.

The flavors have shifted. The sweetness is slowly fading while the coffee is picking up steam. Still getting a good amount of nuttiness along with dark chocolate and toast. Pepper continues to find its way into the finish. More of the aromatic black pepper rather than a burning hot red pepper.

The burn continues to be wavy, but it looks like it is trying to correct itself. I’m going to see if it will autocorrect for the time being.

I’m currently reading The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin. I am almost done. Maybe 20% left. So far I’m not sure what to make of it. It started out a little slow and confusing, but it has picked up the pace and is enjoyable. It has the sparse quality of older science fiction.

The book is known for exploring gender, but most interesting line I’ve read is about religion: “To be an atheist is to maintain God. His existence or his non existence, it amounts to much the same, on the plane of proof.” An interesting concept and not an idea I had considered before. Does it take the same amount of effort to believe in something as it does to not believe in it? I know politics and religion are two topics that should stay out of a cigar blog, but the quote made me stop and think.

We are near the halfway point and are at the band of this cigar. The band pulls away easily, and the ash is still intact. Here is your band shot:

The flavors haven’t changed a whole lot. The sweetness is dialed back, but it’s still here. The cigar has a great balance of flavor. Sweet chocolate notes vie with dark chocolate and coffee. Nuts are balanced by toast. The black pepper has tamped down slightly, but it’s still present on the back of the tongue and retrohale. It’s a smooth medium bodied cigar. Easy to enjoy. The year of rest has been good to it.

Also I’m pleased to report that the cigar self corrected and the ash fell off on its own into the ash tray. Good construction on this stick. Nice to see. We are left with a little ham hock of a stogie that throws off plenty of resting smoke.

The Final Third

Smoke time is 35 minutes. We have burned through the very fattest part of the cigar, and are smoking our way down towards the tapered head.

Flavors continue to be solid. The sweetness is rallying and it has a syrupy quality. Quite nice.

In other news, the cigar is smoking fast. Maybe not Hemingway Short story fast, but it may not last an hour.

Strength is what I would call a medium. I’m feeling relaxed. Calm and collected. I’m in a good spot as far as the strength is concerned.

I’m getting some wood notes now, and something that may be trying to be tangy cedar or even citrus, but it’s not quite there. It’s transitioning like a character in Ursula Le Guin’s book. That would be welcome here. The flavors have been great, but this hasn’t been a very transitional stick.

Sure enough the pepper is leaving the retrohale and I’m getting a more aromatic flavors. Something bordering on dry wood and cedar mixed with milk chocolate. It’s different.

The smoke is growing a little hot. Coffee is building up. It’s getting kind of fruity. Raisins or even prunes. Spice is returning, but now its landing on the tip of my tongue. All of the oils and resins are concentrating in the nub, and the cigar is growing intense. I sip it gently.

Fresh coffee bean, dried fruit, chocolate, and a touch of leather are all present and accounted for in the final inch. The smoke is a little harsh and bites the tongue but I’m still enjoying it as I smoke slowly.

The second chunk of ash fell off after hanging on for an inch or so. The nub is warm and growing hot, so I’ll end the review here.

Oliva Serie O Perfecto Cigar Review – Final Thoughts

I liked this cigar. It may be a fairly pedestrian smoke from a marketing perspective, but don’t let that fool you. This is a great cigar offering lovely balanced flavors, good smoking qualities, some transitions, and a crowd pleasing medium bodied, medium strength experience. I think there is a little something for everyone here. It’s approachable for a novice smoker, but I also think more advanced smokers will appreciate the rich and balanced flavors and excellent construction. And the perfecto shape is a lot of fun.

Maybe not the most complex stick, and certainly not the strongest, but for $3 this is an excellent cigar. This perfecto shape in particular is great as a shorter smoke. Oliva includes one of these in their 5 cigar samplers, and I think it’s a great addition to the sampler.

Final Score: 4.0 out of 5 or a “1” on my 0-2 scale. I’d buy it again, and would consider a box if I smoked every day.

Final Smoke time: 55 minutes.

I recommend purchasing the Oliva Serie O Perfecto 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.