I'm a fan of the Oliva Connecticut reserve and decided to give the Cheapo version (aka Factory selects) a shot to see if it was worthwhile.
Famous was running a couple of specials that made budget cigar purchasing too good of a deal to pass up. I always tell myself i'm done with cheap cigars but my wallet disagrees and insist that i stockpile when the going is good. Its all the wallets fault with Famous being an accessory
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The Oliva Factory Selects Connecticut is billed as mild but its quite a bit stronger and closer to medium. The cigar was stored for 10 days in my humidor at 72% rh and 67 degrees Fahrenheit.
The cigar started off with a nice pepper blast that settled down after about 10 minutes. The flavor was mostly a general woody earth with some spice and what i can only describe as caramelized sugar cane. The Draw was a little on the loose side but was not a problem. The burn was excellent and required absolutely no attention.
I paired the cigar with some ice coffee with creamer that went together excellently. The body of the cigar is on the lighter side but the nicotine level is much closer to medium. The performance of the cigar was excellent until around the 40 minute mark the cigar started to take on slightly more fruity sweetness and a slight burnt flavor (i.e. signal that it was burning hot). I was forced to slowed down and was rewarded with a dropped ash right to the lap. The flavor was still enjoyable so i ended up smoking it another 12 minutes until i had to drop it due to the loose draw not allowing the smoke to cool enough.
The flavor of the Oliva Factory Select Connecticut is similar to the Oliva Connecticut Reserve but not as complex. The strength, construction, and burn time are identical with only a slightly simpler flavor profile. For a "mild bodied" cigar the Oliva Factory Select Connecticut has good flavor with a nice little kick of nicotine that keeps everything interesting.
Overall the cigar is mild bodied (smoke texture), medium strength (nicotine), with a flavor profile of woody earth with some pepper and a hint of sweetness that will last ~50 minutes.
Famous was running a couple of specials that made budget cigar purchasing too good of a deal to pass up. I always tell myself i'm done with cheap cigars but my wallet disagrees and insist that i stockpile when the going is good. Its all the wallets fault with Famous being an accessory
.The Oliva Factory Selects Connecticut is billed as mild but its quite a bit stronger and closer to medium. The cigar was stored for 10 days in my humidor at 72% rh and 67 degrees Fahrenheit.
The cigar started off with a nice pepper blast that settled down after about 10 minutes. The flavor was mostly a general woody earth with some spice and what i can only describe as caramelized sugar cane. The Draw was a little on the loose side but was not a problem. The burn was excellent and required absolutely no attention.
I paired the cigar with some ice coffee with creamer that went together excellently. The body of the cigar is on the lighter side but the nicotine level is much closer to medium. The performance of the cigar was excellent until around the 40 minute mark the cigar started to take on slightly more fruity sweetness and a slight burnt flavor (i.e. signal that it was burning hot). I was forced to slowed down and was rewarded with a dropped ash right to the lap
. The flavor was still enjoyable so i ended up smoking it another 12 minutes until i had to drop it due to the loose draw not allowing the smoke to cool enough.The flavor of the Oliva Factory Select Connecticut is similar to the Oliva Connecticut Reserve but not as complex. The strength, construction, and burn time are identical with only a slightly simpler flavor profile. For a "mild bodied" cigar the Oliva Factory Select Connecticut has good flavor with a nice little kick of nicotine that keeps everything interesting.
Overall the cigar is mild bodied (smoke texture), medium strength (nicotine), with a flavor profile of woody earth with some pepper and a hint of sweetness that will last ~50 minutes.
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