Olivia Serie "V" Maduro Double Toro

Way back in the day, the Olivia Serie "V" Maduro used to be a special release around the holiday season. Fortunately for us, that has changed and Olivia makes this cigar for consumption during all seasons. This cigar is filled with Nicaraguan tobaccos while being wrapper in a dark San Andres Mexican wrapper. It can be found in four sizes, Torpedo, Toro, Double Toro (Gordo), and Double Robusto. Each vitola can be purchased for about $10 USD.

Wrapper: Mexico

Binder: Nicaragua

Filler: Nicaragua

Length: 6"

Ring Gauge: 60

Size: Gordo

The Smoke: The first thing to point out on this cigar is the deep milk chocolate colored wrapper. The San Andres wrapper is oily, toothy, and filled with veins. It appearance is inviting while also providing a nice floral aroma. The cigar, itself, is well made. It has a nice solid feel 

in my hands and is stiff when squeezed.

I cut this smoke with my V-cutter since it has a sizeable ring gauge. After one cut, the cold draw was stiff and poor. I went ahead and made a second perpendicular to try and improve the draw with not much improvement afterward. I figured lighting the cigar would improve the outcome but that also did not help. The first half of the stick was a battle of will; would the cigar stay lit or would I raise the white-flag? Patience prevailed as the draw improved slightly after the mid way point.

The flavor from this cigar is good and was the only reason to go head-to-head with the poor draw. The smoke has a nice woody note that provides a nice solid foundation for cocoa, espresso, and some slight earthliness to build off of.  To me, the flavor profile and execution felt very "Cuban" like. The cigar retained its construction and maintained an even burn rate during the hour and half smoking session. 

Overall, this cigar was decent. The poor draw was frustrating and really made the positive features of this cigar difficult to enjoy. I have a box of 10 floating around somewhere. At some point I will be sure to revisit this cigar but for the time being I can only score this one way.

The Score: Buy a single

Nub 560 Habano by Olivia

This is the second Nub by Olivia I find myself reviewing in about a month. This time, it is the 560 Habano on a somewhat rainy NFL Sunday. Including this vitola comes in 5 different sizes from the stubby 358 to the beefiest variant, this one the 560. The cigar is manufactured at Olivia's factory in Nicaragua and is filled with Nicaraguan tobaccos that are wrapped by an Ecuadorian grown Habano leaf. These cigars are not cheap and come in around $9 USD per stick, even for the short and stubby versions.

Wrapper: Ecuador

Binder: Nicaragua

Filler: Nicaragua

Length:  5"

Ring Gauge: 60
Size: Gordo 

The Smoke: I used my Xikar Xi-2 cutter that I usually story in my vehicle, this time its strategic location helped me during my Sunday Afternoon garage clean-out project. The cap came off with ease. While examining the cigar, I found its auburn brown color to be somewhat unique as it has been a while since I saw a cigar with this hue. The Habano wrapper had some well defined veins as well. The cigar feels well constructed and feels firm when squeezed.

The cold draw is slightly on the tight side and provided notes of caramel and leather. After toasting and lighting the cigar, the flavor focuses on nut and cedar.  From there, the flavor changes a bit to add some leather and the caramel that arrived, first, in the cold draw.  Wood, earth, and leather finish the flavor profile in the final third of the smoke. I would place this cigar in to the medium strength category. 

The burn rate was pretty even during the life of the smoke, which lasted about an hour for the 5 inch cigar. The construction maintained well for the entirety of the smoke. 

I found this smoke to be pretty dang enjoyable. It was a perfect mid-afternoon cigar that took my mind off the awfulness that is the NFL team I cheer for. It helped me make quick work of my annual garage clean-out process and I look forward to when I pull this stick out of my humidor again.

The Score: Buy a 5 Pack

Nub Dub by Olivia Double Maduro

This cigar is the second in a series of limited release from Studio Tobac which is Olivia's side project arm that produces offerings for Nub and Cain. The Gordo vitola is 4 inches long and a wide 60 ring gauge. There is another Gordo vitola in this line with the same length but with a 66 ring gauge. The aim of this cigar is to provide a quick smoke while also packing in as much flavor as possible. To this affect, I have found other Nubs to execute that aim very well.

The Nub Dub is produced in Nicaragua and is filled with Nicaraguan long-filler tobaccos but instead of a binder, there is one Brazilian Maduro leaf that is for all purposes a binder and then another Brazilian Maduro leaf for the wrapper. For such a small cigar, they do not come cheap unless you score a good deal on an auction site; these cigars usually run over $8 USD per stick. Yikes! You can get some authentic Cuban Habanos sticks for cheaper if you know the proper avenues.

Wrapper: Brazil

Binder: Brazil

Filler: Nicaragua

Length: 4"

Ring Gauge: 60
Size: Gordo

The Smoke: Pulling this out of the tupperdor felt like the right choice for a smoke to enjoy while commuting into the office. I cut the head with a straight cutter. I do remember some Nubs that barely fit into my cutter but this one managed with no issue; I must have bought the 66 ring gauge in the past.

The Brazilian Maduro wrapper is dark and oily. The aroma of the cigar is full of leather along with a nice bouquet of fresh cut flowers. The light cigar had nice flavors of chocolate, nut, and light pepper. About mid stick a Ritz-cracker like buttered toast arrived and remained for the remainder of the smoke. I found the smoke to be of a stronger profile but manageable none the less.

The construction of the cigar held up well for the 30-minute smoke. The burn rate was also even and restored my faith in humanity (and cigar rollers) after my last smoke, the awfully expensive Padron 50th Anniversary Toro Maduro.

My impression of this smoke was favorable. I enjoyed it for what it is but when compared to the expense I think the value is a bit on the low side. I think, if you can find this smoke for $6 USD the value would be about right. 

The Score: Buy a pack of 5