Oliva Serie V Melanio Cigar Review

NAME: Oliva Serie “V” Melanio 

DATE: 3-23-2021 

RATE: 93 

PRICE: $12.50 

STRENGTH: 1  2  3  4 (5) 

REVIEWER: Aaron M. Paoletta – www.lavegalounge.com 

  

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 I have only had a few sticks by the Oliva brand. Why? Well it’s not because their bad, it’s more due to the fact that the local cigar shops in my area don’t really carry this brand. Well, they do, but, it’s mostly the Serie “G”, Serie “O” or the regular Serie “V”. I got lucky in this case, My Cigar buddy, Mr K., Sent me a sampler pack from the Florida Keys whilst he was at his condo over the winter and this lovely stick was in the pack. 

Now, before I try a new cigar, I always do a little bit of research before smoking it. I do like to have some sort of knowledge. This is not for any reason in particular, I just want to know what I’m smoking. Ie… origin, blend ect… I am very careful to not read anything about flavor profile and what the ratings are. I do not want to taint my opinion. One of the things I found is that this was the follow up to the V and starting off, it looks fantastic. I have had the V and it was worth the money, it was also given a 94 by Cigar Aficionado Magazine and although it was good, in my opinion, it was not a 94, I gave it a 91, but still a damn good smoke. 

(SIDE NOTE: At the time of typing this review, I have already smoked the Melanio and I will throw out this piece of information. Cigar Aficionado Magazine named this cigar of the year in 2014 with a rating of a 96.) 

Now, lets get to the cigar. It has a beautiful looking Ecuadorian Sumatra wrapper that has a wonderful aroma consisting of dark cocoa and freshly baked sour dough bread. It looks to be a thicker, well constructed leaf and has fillers consisting of Nicaraguan Ligeros from Esteli, Condega and some extra tobacco from Jalapa. It is quite the blend and I do expect this to be a great cigar. To say that I have high expectations for this cigar is a complete understatement. 

The dry draw of this stick produces the same notes of deep dark cocoa and sour dough bread as is the aroma but as I light it up, it produces notes of a whole different platform. A strong burst of leather and fresh cedar open up this cigar. I’ve noticed when smoking Nicaraguan tobaccos, these are the 2 main notes but I do love when its fresh cedar. It adds a different experience to the stick. Half way through the 1st third, There is a blast of black pepper. Just as I’m starting into the 2nd third, the pepper subsides a little which is a good thing because it was almost too powerful. But, there is a lovely addition of unsweetened cocoa that appears in the 2nd third with a slight touch of figs, and as I get into the final third, the leather, cocoa and figs remain the primary. 

I will say although it went #1 and received a rating of 96, I only gave it a 93 but do agree with the #1. It is a fantastic stick and I ordered a box whilst I was smoking this stick. Just fantastic!

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