Oliva Serie V Maduro Especial 2013

The Oliva Serie V Maduro Especial is an annual limited production release that is a maduro version of the popular Oliva Serie V (which uses a Nicaraguan Habano Sun-grown wrapper).  Each year, the Serie V Maduro is done in a single vitola, and there have been many blend/wrapper variations over the years.  The Oliva Serie V Maduro Especial 2013 marks the sixth consecutive year this cigar has been released.  It also marks the fourth consecutive year a San Andres Mexican wrapper has been used.  However, the one big change is the introduction of a new frontmark – a double robusto.  I’ve had mixed results with the San Andres wrapper on the Serie V Maduro Especial series.  In the case of the 2013 installment, I was quite pleased.  This might be the best of the four San Andres releases in this line.

The release of the 2013 edition comes in the timeframe that Oliva has been known to release the Serie V Maduros – i.e. the end of the calendar year.  Like previous editions, the Oliva Serie V Maduro Especial 2013 comes packaged ten cigars per box.

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 2012 to the other releases.  
Like the 2010, 2011, and 2012 editions, the Serie V Maduro 2012 uses a San Andres Mexican maduro wrapper.  There are no specifics on whether the blend changed or not since the introduction of this wrapper.

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 Especial 2010
Wrapper: San Andres Mexican Maduro
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan
Vitola: 6 1/2 x 54 (Torpedo)

Oliva Serie V Maduro Especial 2011
Wrapper: San Andres Mexican Maduro
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan
Vitola: 6 x 50 (Toro)

Oliva Serie V Maduro Especial 2012
Wrapper: San Andres Mexican Maduro
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan
Vitola: 6 x 50 (Toro)

Oliva Serie V Maduro 2013
Wrapper: San Andres Mexican Maduro
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan
Vitola: 5 x 54 (Double Robusto)

Appearance

The Serie V Maduro 2013 has a chocolate brown color to it. While it had a sandy and rough feel like the 2012 edition, the Serie V Maduro Especial 2013 also had an oily sheen to it. There are also visible wrapper seams and some visible veins. Like the 2012 edition, the Serie V Maduro 2013 seemed to have a very tight pack to it.

Like previous editions, the Oliva Serie V Maduro Especial 2013 uses a similar band to the Oliva Serie V band . It features the same brown, red, beige, and gold color scheme. The one difference to the core Serie V line is that it says “Maduro” and “Especial” in brown script to the left and right of the “V” logo.

Preparation for the Cigar Experience

Prior to lighting up my Oliva Serie V Maduro Especial 2013, I opted for my usual selection of a straight cut. Once the cap was clipped, I moved on to the pre-light draw experience. The dry draw gave me a mix of chocolate and leather notes along with a touch of cherry sweetness. I actually did not derive much in the way of spice on this pre-light draw. Overall I considered the pre-light draw of the Maduro Especial 2013 to be positive. At this point, I was ready to light up this cigar and await what the smoking phase would deliver.

Flavor Profile

For the most part I have not found the Oliva Serie V Maduro Especal releases with the San Andres wrapper to be ones that undergo radical flavor transitions. However, the 2013 seemed to have a little more to offer in this area.

The start to the Serie V Maduro Especial 2013 provides a mix of black pepper and milk chocolate notes. This is shortly joined by some earth notes in the background. The pepper was also something that was prominent on this cigar’s retro-hale. The flavors held through the first third. Toward the end of the first third, some cherry sweetness surfaced in the background.

By the midway point of the Serie V Maduro Especial 2013, the pepper and cherry notes moved into the forefront. The milk chocolate notes became a secondary note. I found the earth notes to be more of a distant flavor in the background. Even further in background, I detected some nut flavors. This is the way the flavor profile held until the end. The resulting nub was excellent – cool in temperature and firm to the touch.

Burn and Draw

For the most part the burn of the Oliva Serie V Maduro Especial 2013 performed well. The only issue was I did get a burn line that was more on the jagged side. The cigar never was in danger of canoeing or tunneling. The ash was on the firm side. It was mostly white in color with some dark speckles. The burn rate and burn temperature were ideal.

Burn of the Oliva Serie V Maduro Especial 2013

I found the draw to the Oliva Serie V Maduro Especial 2013 to be ideal.  It contained a touch of resistance – which I consider ideal.

Strength and Body

While it isn’t known how different the Oliva Serie V Maduro Especial San Andres blends have been, I have always seemed to get some variations when it comes to strength. For the 2013 edition, I found this cigar to be on the upper end of medium strength. As for the flavors, I found some nice depth to them. I assessed the Oliva Serie V Maduro Especial 2013 edition as being medium to full-bodied. In terms of comparing strength versus body, I definitely gave the edge to the body here.

Final Thoughts

As I mentioned I have had some mixed results with the Oliva Serie V Maduro Especial San Andres series. While I found the Oliva Serie V Maduro Especial 2011 to be the best scoring one (but keep in mind we made some scoring adjustments at the start of this cigar year), it seems to be the 2013 edition is making the biggest impression on me. I think the double robusto 5 x 54 format worked ideally for this blend. This blend also seemed to have the right combination of both strength and body. Overall I found this cigar as one that I could recommend to either a novice or experienced cigar enthusiast. As for myself, this is definitely a cigar I would smoke again – and its one worthy of a box split.

Summary

Burn: Good
Draw: Excellent
Complexity: Medium
Strength: Medium
Body: Medium to Full
Finish: Excellent
Assessment: 3.5 – Box Split
Score: 90

References

Price: $8.50 (SRP)
Source: Purchased
Stogie Geeks Podcast: Episode 75
Stogie Feed: Oliva Serie V Maduro Especial 2013