Score: 9.3
By Hayward Tenney
I have heard some very good things indeed about the Oliva Serie V Ligero. They’re released in such limited quantities that it’s been difficult to find one, so today’s cigar comes from a very generous BOTL. Special thanks go out to “Baboruger” from Cigarlive.com.
To start with, this is an especially impressive-looking cigar. The body is smooth and oily with no pronounced veins to speak of. A triple cap flawlessly adorns the head, and the wrapper is a beautiful, deep shade of brown.
The cigar was very well packed and had that sweet, barnyard aroma. After clipping it with a double guillotine, I found the initial draw almost alarmingly loose. It was sweet, with a toasty hint of nuts. This cigar takes a while to light, but I did so slowly. With all the extra oils in these dark tobaccos, there’s no sense in overheating them to the point of bitterness.
With a name like “V Ligero,” you would expect a big blast of pepper. So imagine my surprise when it started firmly in the medium-bodied range, with very creamy smoke. The initial flavors were sweet, with notes of black pepper. Moving into the 1st third, the draw tightened up to provide some good resistance. The cigar’s strength developed very quickly thereafter, with the pepper becoming more pronounced, and the smoke stinging my nose a little more with each pass through my nose. By the 2nd third, it had rounded out into a flavorful heavy-hitter, yet remained remarkably creamy – indicative of careful fermenting and masterful blending.
I did encounter some sharpness moving into the middle portion of the cigar, but in a good way; like semi-sweet dark chocolate splashed with dark-roast coffee and nuts on a long, luxurious finish. The ash was nearly shock white, with the cigar producing a thick could of wonderfully aromatic smoke.
The cigar burned true through its entire length, with all those nutty chocolate and coffee flavors developing and strengthening. With less than 2″ remaining, the wrapper developed a tiny crack, so I let the cigar expire with dignity.
All-in-all, I’m very impressed with this cigar. It’s not often that a full-bodied, full-flavored cigar can retain such smoothness, yet that’s exactly what I experienced. With all the talk about the Lancero vitola, I would LOVE to get my hands on one soon…keep your eyes peeled for an upcoming review!
Appearance: 10
Construction: 8
Burn: 9
Draw: 10
Aroma: 10
Flavor: 9
Final Score: 9.3
When he's not busy writing, editing, smoking cigars, or raising his many, many children, Hayward " "It's Lou, not Hayward" " Tenney spends his days combating confusion about his real name (it's Hayward, but please - call him " "Lou" ") and mourning the matrimonially-induced loss of his moustache (what's he gonna do with all that moustache wax he made?).
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