Oliva Serie V Torpedo Review

Manufacturer: Oliva

Series: Serie V

Price Paid: +/- $8

Shape/Vitola: Torpedo

Length: 6“ 

Ring Gauge: 56

Body: Medium-Full

Strength: Medium

Wrapper: Habano Sun-Grown

Binder: Nicaraguan

Filler: Nicaraguan

Number Smoked For Review: 3

Let me begin by saying that I believe that Nicaraguan and Dominican cigars are coming to a point where I personally feel could hang with Cubans of similar quality. This is an argument that I will post in a separate entry sometime later. The point is that for all of the draw, allure and attention that the “all-mighty Cuban” cigars get, there are many, especially Nicaraguan cigars that have their own quirks and offer something very different and unique. But once you actually experience it, you can’t deny that there are some serious innovations being made in taste and body. Enter Oliva’s Serie V torpedo.

Initially I was fooled by thinking that the Serie V’s are maduro wrapped which as it turns out they are not. According to Oliva, the actual wrappers are Habano Sun-Grown wrappers. It would be very easy to confuse because the wrappers on these bad boys are downright obsidian sometimes and very oily. These sticks are absolutely gorgeous – sporting few veins, but if you’re going to cry about it you don’t deserve to enjoy one of these anyway. The band is very majestic looking, borrowing earthy tones from the wrapper with gold, cream and some red accents to make the gold and brown pop. I have yet to see any imperfections on a Serie V torpedo wrapper. I have noticed that the toros often look over-packed and that they may be prone to tearing/popping but I can’t say as I’ve never had one.

I had to knock a point off in the end tally for the “Draw & Burn” for something that even I find trivial. Of three cigars, it only happened once, but it did happen: The burn on one of the three was very inconsistent and required three touch up lights in the span of an hour before it started to behave itself. Very noticeable tunneling took place, but I will chalk that up to a fluke because even though I only smoked three for this review, Oliva’s are in full stock in my humidor and with good reason. It is not a common occurrence of any of Oliva’s lines to have such drastically inconsistent burn. If you look at burn as a construction issue, then that is my only issue with the construction. I have never once had a Oliva regardless of which serie, unravel or crack on me. The draw on the other hand was perfect for my tastes. Enough resistance to make you consciously smoke, but not so loose as you could accidentally draw if you left it in your mouth and tried to take a breath. On a side note, therein lies the beauty of the torpedo shape: The smoothness/tightness of your draw is all about where you make the cut. Closer to the body will get you a looser draw and cutting towards the cap will make it tighter and if you don’t like it, just cut a bit more but make sure you cut straight!

Here is where my intro paragraph will be expanded upon. What Oliva has done here is nothing short of brilliant. If you are a frequent Oliva smoker, you know that Olivas are all about taste, but usually have a mild-medium body profile. What the Serie V has done is shattered the preconceived notions that full-bodied cigars’ potential and occasional harshness is “the nature of the beast” and that Oliva cigars are usually lacking stronger body profiles. The serie V is an immensely full-bodied cigar that does not even have a trace of harshness or dryness whatsoever. It has an initial thick, rich spiciness to it that gives you a bit of a wakeup call (in a good way), but then tricks your senses by shifting into a series of lighter flavors that teem with coffee bean, caramel and dark chocolate keynotes. It always retains the initial richness as it takes your palette for a bit of a rollercoaster ride and slams on the proverbial breaks to give you a nice, smooth finish in the final third. Final verdict:

Presentation: 5/5

Construction: 5/5

Draw & Burn: 4/5

Flavor/Taste: 4/5

Overall: 4/5 [Not an average]

Last word: These cigars are a prime example of how a full-bodied, rich tasting cigar can still be enjoyed by casual smokers who don’t like the drop-kick-to-the-balls that a good bit of ligero gives you, but still want something a little stronger than what their measuring norm for body is. I really would recommend the torpedo over the other shapes because even though I’m usually more of a Toro/Churchill/Torpedo kind of guy, something about the torpedo is just different, I just wish I could put my finger on it.

Drew Estate Java Latte Review

Manufacturer: Drew Estate

Series: Java (Latte)

Price Paid: +/- $7

Shape/Vitola: Box-pressed Corona

Length: 5“ 

Ring Gauge: 44

Body: Mild-Medium

Strength: Mild-Medium

Wrapper: Connecticut

Binder: ???

Filler: Nicaraguan

Number Smoked For Review: 4

Now normally, I’m not a big fan of flavored cigars. I like to think that flavored cigars are for schoolgirls and a rich, full-bodied cigar puts hair on your chest. But macho nonsense aside, the Drew Estate Java is an excellent dessert cigar on its own merit. The Drew Estate Java takes keynotes of rich chocolate, espresso and premium tobacco and rolls them into a truly memorable and highly enjoyable experience.

The Drew Estate Java comes in a variety of vitolas and also has a maduro line of the same cigars (which frankly I think are awful), but for this review I went with the corona size. In the load out I specified it as a box-pressed corona, which is a little redundant because all Java’s come in a box-press format. The wrapper is a light-medium brown Connecticut, with little to no veins and a very smooth feel to the touch. I never detect any lumps when I indulge in these tasty sticks. The bands are stylishly simplistic with one near the shoulder that reads “Drew Estate Java” in a gold lettering against a burgundy background and at the foot is another small band that reads “Latte” in the same lettering. The band on the foot is what distinguishes the Latte from the Maduro besides the obvious fact that Maduro wrappers are naturally darker and more oily.

The construction of these cigars is positively amazing. The draw is very smooth and even, no matter how or where you cut it, the burn is in perfect equilibrium at all times and the wrapper has never once flaked, torn or even looked at me the wrong way. These things are just beautiful and make it much easier to enjoy when you’re not having to worry about any common cigar issues like unraveling etc. The smoke is thick and creamy and the ash is very responsive and not flaky whatsoever. However, where this stick truly shines is the taste.

As I mentioned before, I am usually against flavored cigars as it usually tastes like I’m smoking incense or tealeaves or some shit, but the flavors just hit your palette in all the right spots. It could easily be viewed as under-complicated and possibly one-dimensional because of it being distinctly flavored from the get-go, but we are talking about a cigar, the purpose of which is to be enjoyed with a nice, light coffee on a beautiful night, while the smoke brushes your taste buds with cocoa, coffee, espresso and light hints of pure, premium grade tobacco. I strongly recommend enjoying these with some coffee because they very obviously compliment each other, but once you actually taste it , it will bring the entire experience to life, while not being overpowered with too much sweet creaminess.

I literally have nothing negative to say about this cigar. Not because I haven’t tried, not because I’m a Drew Estate/Rocky Patel (this cigar was a joint effort of theirs) fanboy or any other such nonsense. This is one of the rare occasions where a cigar is made that is not a carbon copy or knockoff, but is highly affordable and offers all of the things you would come to expect of a cigar twice the price: Perfect burn and draw, thick creamy smoke that requires no effort to elicit, beautiful flavor and a solid 45-60 minute smoke.

Presentation: 5/5

Construction: 5/5

Draw & Burn: 5/5

Flavor/Taste: 5/5

Overall: 5/5 [Not an average]

Last word: A note to you Maduro wrapper fans: The Maduro version of this stick is an entirely different experience and I’ve found that it does not enhance the experience with the sweeter maduro wrapper and actually, in a way I can’t explain, detracts from it. Some of that indescribable creaminess is lost in the maduro series and I feel that should be made known if you decide to try this cigar and are left with both to choose from.

Gurkha Beast Toro Review (More of a rant than a review)

Manufacturer: Gurkha

Series: Beast

Price Paid: +/- $23

Shape/Vitola: Toro

Length: 6.5” 

Ring Gauge: 58

Body: Medium-Full

Strength: Low

Wrapper: Costa Rican Maduro

Binder: ???

Filler: Dominican, Honduran & Columbian

Number Smoked For Review: 1

Before you read further, I just need to make it known that I am a fan of Gurkha as a manufacturer. I have seen their best and know the quality they are capable of and their Beast line falls very far from some of their truly magnificent cigars such as the Regent and Grand Reserve series. This is not as much a review as it is a rant. If you want the skinny, just read the “Last Word” section.

Gurkha’s are renowned for being drop dead gorgeous cigars and the Beast is no exception. The maduro wrapper was practically flawless and very oily. The Gurkha bands are some of the most ridiculously lavish bands out there. It’s very classy and elegant looking with a touch of baroque elements. At the foot of the cigar is a very neat and beautifully scented cedar sleeve to preserve the cigar beyond the cellophane and a smaller, simple black and silver band around the tip of the cedar sleeve that merely reads” “BEAST” in silver lettering. Ok so, if this was a dog and pony show, the Gurkha Beast would get a prize of some sort, but unfortunately for Gurkha I need something more than a pretty stick to feel validated spending over $20 on a single stick. The next paragraph is a rant, so feel free to skip it.

The construction of this cigar was. fucking. abhorrent. Whoever let this one get off the line should be fired and then mercy killed so he never unleashes another overpriced stick with such poor quality ever again. Before I go on, I know that this is might seem like I didn’t give it a fair judgment because I only smoked a single stick for this review, but think about it: If you’re going to be paying between $20-30 per stick, it should be of high quality with no exceptions. I would liken it to someone going out and buying a $30,000 Mercedes and having the god damn frame fall to shambles while they’re doing 105 mph on the highway. Just because Mercedes is a good company and that was the only car it ever happened to, does that make it right? Not for me. Times are too hard to go out and buy an expensive stick for a special occasion if you can afford it only to have it self-destruct in your hands. But I digress – what actually happened you ask?

I had bought this cigar as my choice smoke for my friend’s 4^th of July party. I figured I had the extra change at the time and it was going to be a long night and one to celebrate, so why not go all out for a nice cigar for a fine night? After clipping it and nearly having an orgasm at the pre-draw aroma of the freshly toasted foot, I began to actually draw on the cigar. No more than an inch into the cigar, I heard a very loud cracking sound and realized the wrapper had split almost three inches up. For those of you who may be mathematically challenged like myself, let’s solve this problem:

This stick is 6.5”. If I smoke 1”, I’m down to 5.5”. The wrapper cracked through roughly 3” above that. We’re currently at 2.5” of cigar to smoke and as a gentleman I usually leave at least 1”-1.5” before I finish it. So I could have only smoked about 3.5” at most of this nearly 7” cigar. And it didn’t just unravel, it fucking fell apart. After the wrapper cracked, filler spewed out, the burnt wrapper corkscrewed off and left me essentially holding a slightly torn binder less than 4” long. I just found this to be unacceptable and seeing as how I only even smoked so little of it I don’t even feel it necessary to speak of the tight, choked draw or the flavors (No matter how good and complex they may have been).

Presentation: 5/5

Construction: 1/5

Draw & Burn: 3/5

Flavor/Taste: 1/5

Overall: 1/5 [Not an average]

Last word: This turned into a bit of a rant, but in the eyes of fairness I will say that the flavors I was tasting were really very good, but when the construction is so poor, you can’t enjoy the smoke because you’re barely able to keep the cigar together to smoke it anyway. I’ve heard a lot of people have the same problem. The cigar was most likely just over-packed and hit a dry spot in the wrapper, but that shouldn’t matter. Gurkha makes incredible high-end cigars. But this is not one of them. If you’re a Moneybags McGee kind of guy and want to spin the wheel to see if you get a well made Beast, be my guest. But for the rest of us who can only afford a high priced stick on occasion and you want a Gurkha, go with the Regent or Grand Reserve. It will be money well spent.

Punch Rare Corojo Magnum

Manufacturer: Punch
Series: Rare Corojo [2009]
Price Paid: +/- $13
Shape/Vitola: “Magnum” [Essentially a box-pressed toro]
Length: 5.1“
Ring Gauge: 54
Body: Medium
Strength: Mild-Medium
Wrapper: Colorado
Binder: [Supposedly] Connecticut
Filler: Dominican & Nicaraguan
Number Smoked For Review: 3

I’m a bit green as far as Punch’s go, but I heard through the grapevine that the 2009 series Rare Corojo was of top-shelf quality and so I set out to find if this was in fact true.

I don’t actually care, but in case you’re interested; there’s a bit of a story behind the name “Rare Corojo”. I’m far too lazy and disinterested to paraphrase, so here is a direct quote of why the Rare Corojo line sits at the cool kids table:

“The cigar starts with a red and rough looking Colorado shade wrapper that conceals a complex blend of Dominican and Nicaraguan long fillers. The result is a robust full-bodied cigar that is exceptionally full flavored. One of the most notable characteristics of the Rare Corojo is how well it ages. While these cigars are great right out of the box, an additional one to two years of aging takes the Rare Corojo to a whole new level. Many aficionados pick up at least two boxes every year so they can put one aside for long term storage.”

Bullshit back-stories aside, here is my take on the Punch Rare Corojo Magnum:

The presentation was excellent. The band is elegantly understated and the light brown wrapper is lightly speckled with gold flakes. I’m not sure if that was intentional or not though. It could have just been that the gold texture from the band flaked all over the damn place but at any rate it’s interesting if nothing else. The wrapper was smooth as butter with minimal veins and no bumps. Seemed to be well kept after a quick pinch test and a final visual going over.

The draw of these sticks is smooth and light for a very relaxed draw. You won’t feel like you’re breathing through a tube, but you also won’t have your cheeks touch inside your mouth just to get some smoke flowing. The burn is very even and consistent. If ever one side started to shit talk the other about how fast it could fall the other side evened up the odds before you realized it. What I really liked about this stick is that it smoked itself. With a slight draw it produced an obscene amount of pleasant, creamy white smoke; which to me is the hallmark of a well-packed cigar. My only issue with this cigar is the construction.

It was probably a fluke as it only happened with one of the three, but it burns my ass when a perfectly gorgeous wrapper starts to tear and/or unravel. I don’t care what the cause is – the fact of the matter is it’s annoying enough to keep you from truly enjoying the relaxed nature of a nice smoke. As soon as I cut it, the shoulder flaked a hair and I already knew I was in for some trouble. About half way through it started to become an issue but with a bit of patience and dexterity I was able to hold the wrapper together long enough to smoke it down to the nub. This was only a 1/3 occurrence, but still annoying enough to me that if I was a first time smoker, I would’ve said to hell with it after it was over if I even finished it in the first place. Laying that aside, the flavor and body that this thing packs is a bit strange in a good way.

The one that unraveled on me a little is the best example of how it was a little odd. It may have been my cut, but because of the loose draw of the middle stick, the first puff hit me pretty hard and gave me a very unwelcomed peppery kick. Now, I love peppery cigars. In fact one of my all time favorite cigars is the La Flor Dominicana Double Ligero Toro (DL-700) which is an absolute cocksucker of a cigar, but the kick from that first draw was just needlessly harsh and got me thinking almost immediately that I was not going to enjoy this stick. However, as I ended the 1st third and began the 2nd, the complexities of the flavors in this cigar started to unfold on my palette and it was so much so that I completely forgot about my unwelcomed kick in the face that I received at the start. There was a dominant overtone, which I cannot place. It is very creamy and rich tasting but is lost somewhere between a sweeter vanilla coffee taste and cocoa/milk chocolate. And when it gets on your palette, it stays there. I tasted it well after the smoke was long gone. Beyond that, the middle and finish were undeniably smooth with more notes of cocoa, a hint of nuttiness and some very faint woody tones in the very beginning and very end. Fairly complex flavors can be found if you give the smoke just enough time to roll around your palette.

They claim that this is a medium-full bodied smoke and I’m going to go ahead and agree, but not in the way it’s usually intended. Even though there are a good deal of complexities to the flavors, it’s a sweet tasting, incredibly smooth smoke that I would recommend to someone just getting started so long as I warned them about the initial harshness that may come. Thereby for my palette at least, being on the medium side of medium-full, but earning that off-hand title either way. As for the break down:

Presentation: 4/5
Construction: 4/5
Draw & Burn: 4/5
Flavor/Taste: 5/5
Overall: 4/5 [Not an average]

Last word: Despite the minor construction issues of what would otherwise be a wildcard or fluke, this is a fairly medium bodied, sweet tasting, smooth and at times very complexly blended cigar. If you’re looking for something medium-full with a fair bit of smoothness and sweetness to it, pick up a Punch Rare Corojo Magnum.

Good morrow fellow carcinogen ingestors

Greetings one and all,

My name is KC and I am a very strange man who enjoys cigar & pipe smoking and wants to share these pastimes with you (Yes, you!). Therefore, I have created this blog to share one of the last pure joys in my life with my fellow smokers and general carcinogens enthusiasts. This blog has been created for the sole purpose of celebrating cigars and tobacco products. I’ve been smoking and developing my palette for roughly four years and am currently employed by using my mighty tobacconist powers at DiFranco’s Pipe & Tobacco Shop on Route 33 in  Hamilton NJ...I’m also a graphic designer, but who cares about that? I will, to the best of my ability, upload at very least one review a week [probably more because I’m in the future cancer patient express lane] of different tobacco products  [mostly cigars] so that you can have more information on products before you purchase them and read honest, unbiased reviews, opinions and impressions. So whether you’re a seasoned aficionados or just looking for a good place to start, you’ll find everything you need here on this blog and if not feel free to e-mail me and ask me anything. Who knows, maybe I’ll even have some nerdy internet fights with some of you if I insult someone’s favorite cigar family for wrapping chicken shit and tiny tree roots in a wafer thin Connecticut wrapper and selling it as a premium tobacco cigar. You’ll never know unless you check back, so stick around. And besides, who wouldn’t want to get their information and advice from this well-adjusted member of modern day society?