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Oliva Serie G "Cameroon" Cigarillo

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Just had one of these very pleasant little sticks, so I thought I'd pen my thoughts. :)

The Oliva Serie G Cameroon Cigarillo is a small 4x38 stick with a cameroon wrapper and Nicaraguan filler, hand-rolled in Nicaragua. This is a mild-medium stick with a very pleasant smelling smoke. Having smoked mostly Habanos - the only other exceptions being a Phillies Blunt and a Dominican Montecristo White Label - this is my first Nicaraguan, and will certainly not be my last.

Construction:

The wrapper had very few veins, was relatively smooth, quite unlike the slightly lumpy Maduro 5 Secretos I reviewed in the Habanos folder. The seams were very tight and the cap was beautifully applied. Appearance-wise a very beautiful cigar, especially since Oliva has a knack for making nice bands.

The draw was unfortunately very tight, though it did loosen up slightly halfway through. Prelight draw had flavors of tea and hay.

Since this is such a small stick with relatively little evolution, so I'm going to review it in halves rather than thirds.

Opening and 1/2:

As mentioned earlier the draw was too tight for my liking. Nonetheless the cigar opened with a slight sweetness and a very pleasant cocoa, mild caramel flavor and what resembled toasted bread. The flavors settled down to cocoa and a sweet cedar smell. The smoke was very mild, producing almost zero sting on retrohaling. Retrohaling produced very pleasant wood smells.

At this point the smoke was quite thin though, which was a little disappointing especially on the back of the very copious Maduro 5 I had late last week.

Finish is of nuts, particularly hazelnut. The cigar burn was perfect, producing light smoke when not drawing. There was no need for touchup or relighting.

The ash fell on me after 1", so you do need to remember to ash your cigar every inch or so.

2/2:

At this point there is light spice on the front of the tongue, while the cedar flavors have increased and are really very nice. The draw has loosened slightly and the cigar is now producing copious amounts of smoke. Other than that the flavors are dominated by cedar, with a cocoa/milky and nutty finish. I smoked it down to about 3/4 of an inch at which point the smoke got too hot.

Overall this is a very pleasant cigar, and the smoke has a very nice scent of wood and cedar. I think this is one stick that you can smoke without causing very much offense to fellow smokers around you (non-smokers often get offended with anything.. ugh). The smoke is so pleasant it's very much like burning a stick of incense.

A very good 30-40 minute cigar. Unfortunately the relative lack of complexity and tight draw makes me give this around a 78/100. You can also forget about aging this cigar. As Oliva themselves say: "Aging: Cameroon is a thin wrapper with little oils, its flavor will changed little (sic) from aging."

Still it's pretty cheap as far as premium hand-mades go, coming in at around US$2-2.50 per stick, making this a must-have for breakfast and in-between appointment smokes.

I rank this a mild-medium flavored cigar, with a nice medium strength that left me mellow but not light headed. Please feel free to post your own experience of Serie-G cigars. I'd love to hear from you. :)
 
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javajunkie

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thanks for the review, and especially of something left of center like the teeny oliva! by and large, most of the lower to middle oliva blends are decent and reliable, if not as memorable as the serie V, and usually a safe bet.
 
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thanks for the review, and especially of something left of center like the teeny oliva! by and large, most of the lower to middle oliva blends are decent and reliable, if not as memorable as the serie V, and usually a safe bet.
Thanks Java! I have a box of Serie V Double Robustos.. can't wait to try those! :D

The Monte White Label was quite forgettable. Burn problems, boring flavor. Might do a review on it the next time I smoke one.
 
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Thanks guys. :)

@Fox: I'm a slow smoker, so your mileage might vary. :D Actually I just looked at the tin and it doesn't actually say cigarillo but that term is used on sites like Atlantic Cigars. The official Oliva name is "Serie G Cameroon Tins". At 38 RG (15mm) and 4", it's certainly longer and fatter than most cigarillos.
 
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