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| Oliva Serie V Maduro 2010 |
In 2007, Oliva Cigars introduced the Oliva Serie V and it soon became a staple of many cigar enthusiasts. A year later, Oliva introduced their first maduro version of the Serie V. Unlike the core Habano Sun-grown Serie V, the Oliva Serie V Maduro is an annual limited production release – with some variations from year to year. Just this past year, Oliva introduced the 2011 version, but in this assessment we will take a look at the 2010 version. While there were a couple of shortcomings with the 2010 edition of this cigar, I still found this to be a positive smoking experience.
With the Oliva Serie V Maduro, it is produced in a single vitola – and the size and shape has varied from year to year. The Oliva Serie V Maduro 2010 was released as a torpedo. There were 50,000 cigars produced in this run, and for the most part, it was made available at the top Oliva retailers in the country.
Let’s break down the Oliva Serie V Maduro in some more detail and see what this cigar delivers.
Blend Profile and Vitolas Available
Normally these are separate components to the assessments done on this web-site, but in this case they will be combined as it will be easier to contrast the Oliva Serie V Maduro 2010 to some of the other releases. The 2010 blend was the first Oliva Serie V Maduro to use a San Andres wrapper. It was also produced in a 6 1/2 x 54 torpedo. This has been the largest ring gauge (54) of the Oliva Serie V Maduro series.
The Oliva Serie V Maduro 2010 is as follows:
Oliva Serie V Maduro 2010
Wrapper: San Andres Mexican Maduro
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan
Vitola: 6 1/2 x 54 (Torpedo)
For historical purposes, here are the other cigars that have made up the Oliva Serie V Maduro.
Oliva Serie V Maduro 2008
Wrapper: Connecticut Broadleaf
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan
Vitola: 6 1/2 x 52 (Torpedo)
Oliva Serie V Maduro 2009
Wrapper: Nicaraguan Habano Maduro
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan
Vitola: 6 1/2 x 52 (Torpedo)
Oliva Serie V Maduro 2011
Wrapper: San Andres Mexican Maduro
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan
Vitola: 6 x 50 (Toro)
Appearance
The Oliva Serie V Maduro 2010 has a classic chocolate look to it. It has a sandy and rough feel when you touch the wrapper. The cigar does not have a lot of veins, but the wrapper seams are visible. The cigar is packed very tightly and felt harder for a cigar stored under ideal humidity (68%) and temperature (70 degrees Fahrenheit). There is a feint cedar aroma to the cigar.
The band uses the classic Oliva Serie V band. There is no noticable differences from the core Oliva Serie V band.
Preparation for the Cigar Experience
As I always do with a torpedo vitola, I placed a straight cut into the tip. When I started the pre-light draw, I noticed the end was still well-packed by the tip where the cut was placed. The actual dry notes did not excite me that much – I pretty much detected cedar and not much else. While I didn’t do handstands for the pre-light draw, I still was anxious to fire up the Oliva Serie V Maduro 2010 and see what would be in-store.
Flavor Profile
The initial draws of the Oliva Serie V Maduro 2010 provided bolder notes of cedar than I originally got on the pre-light draw. The cedar eventually turned to more of a classic black pepper spice – which was then accompanied by wood notes. On these early stages, I was very surprised to see this flavor profile from a San Andres Maduro wrapper.
In the first five percent of the smoking experience, the flavors opened up some more as a cherry sweetness emerged. As for the pepper notes, they lingered in the background and did not dominate. It was around this point where some citrus notes joined into the equation. The cherry and citrus formed a very interesting combination early on. By the time the Oliva Serie V Maduro 2010 reached the ten percent point, I also detected some secondary notes of nut. This would set the table for the flavor profile of this cigar going forward.
The cherry/citrus notes were in control for most of the first half with the nut notes remaining secondary. Around the midpoint of the Oliva Serie V Maduro 2010 the pepper started to emerge – and took turns with the cherry/citrus notes in being in the forefront. While there was a peppery finish, there were no harsh notes. The resulting nub was perfect – cool in temperature and firm to the touch.
Burn and Draw
The burn of the Oliva Serie V Maduro 2010 scored high marks. The cigar burned straight throughout the smoking experience – requiring minimal touch-ups. The burn rate was slow, yet did not produce any harshness (a positive). The burn temperature was also ideal from start to finish. As for the draw, this is where I normally have an issue with torpedoes as in many cases I cannot get a good one. For the case with the Oliva Serie V Maduro, the draw was tighter than I prefer (and I usually like a little resistance on the draw). In the end, while the draw was tighter, it still was better than most torpedoes.
Strength and Body
The Oliva Serie V Maduro 2010 has a little more strength than I originally anticipated. From a nicotine profile, it has just enough strength to qualify this as a full-strength cigar. As for the depth of the flavor notes, the Oliva Serie V Maduro 2010 did not have the deepest ones. In the end, the depth of these flavors put this cigar in the upper end of medium-bodied. When comparing strength and body, I still felt the strength had an edge over flavor for this cigar – but the strength did not smother out the flavors.
Final Thoughts
I’ve smoked many San Andres Maduro wrapper cigars. The Oliva Serie V Maduro 2010 one seemed to lack a lot of the classic coffee and chocolate notes that I normally get from a cigar with a San Andres Maduro. At the same time, I liked the fact that this cigar provided a different flavor profile from many other San Andres wrappers. I usually also prefer a little more equilibrium between strength and body in a cigar. I’d probably steer this away from the novice enthusiast unless they are looking for something full strength. As for experienced cigar enthusiasts, I would encourage them to give this a try. In the end, this was still a positive smoking experience, and this would be a cigar I would smoke again.
Summary
Burn: Excellent
Draw: Good
Complexity: Medium
Strength: Full
Body: Medium
Finish: Excellent
Assessment: Nice to Have
Score: 89
Source: The cigars for this assessment were purchased from Outland Cigars in Charlotte, North Carolina early in 2011.
This cigar confused me. I mainly got a kind of harsh bitter flavor, and the nicotine kicks made me feel nearly sick. A few weeks later, I had a regular Oliva V Churchill and the flavor was just heavenly, as I always found the Oliva V. Perhaps even moreso, since I had the cigar resting for over a year. And the nic-kick was much more manageable. Oh well, the maduro was worth trying.