Cigar Review

Summer is here, the trees are finally full up here in the north, everything is green and lush and it just seems right to celebrate this season with an amazing cigar. For this lounge occasion, the cigar is Oliva's Serie O, the Habano wrapper version in a Robusto Vitola.

I've been a fan of Oliva O's for a while now but this time I'm trying out the Robusto size. JB had some issues with his, a stiff draw which is odd because Oliva has a very reliable roil and draw. I've had hundreds of them and I can't recall an issue. It was so odd that Barg and I didn't believe him at first. My humidor humidity had gone low for a several days while my attention was drawn to outside activities and I'd bet that's why he had issues. I had unwrapped these cigars in preparation for the lounge and they ended up more dry than they should have been. The tight roll of an Oliva does need the right humidity. It's a good reminder that even an excellent cigar needs appropriate humidification, so investing in things to maintain humidity will improve your experience. Think about a travel humidor, Boveda packs, and electronic humidifiers. The cigars Barg and I smoked had the dense roll and perfect draw that I expect from Oliva. The Robusto had the familiar Serie O flavor right from the start. A slightly sweet, cedar, rich flavor that's not too dark. Good volume of smoke too. A lot of reviews list this cigar as medium-full, but I think I think it's closer to medium. I often begin a lounge night with one of these and work my way closer to medium-full for the second or third cigar.

The ash started burning my fingers as it approached the head of the cigar, and I wished it was a Toro or Churchill so I could enjoy it longer.