Oliveros Classic Collection Maduro
I ran across this cigar from a couple sources. I won one in a raffle, and I believe I was sent one in a grab bag awhile back. There really isn’t a big story behind this cigar that I’m aware of. As we all know, I paired up with PUR filtered water and got to the review.
Wrapper: Nicaraguan Maduro
Binder: Dominican
Filler: Dominican & Nicaraguan
Size: Robusto 5 x 50
Price: Around $3.00
Pre-light & Construction:
First things first… During the pre-light inspection I was immediately annoyed. This cigar was rock hard. I had to massage it and ended up using a draw poker to make it acceptable. I was moments away from trashing the cigar and review, but I pressed on. Not a good way to start a review. Moving on… The wrapper looked nice and had a woody, earthy, and grassy smell. The foot produced a similar smell, with a tinge of pepper. As for the pre-light draw, as I mentioned, it was tight. I was too annoyed with that and didn’t even take notes on what it tasted like. The burn required a few corrections, and the ash was rock solid for over an inch.
Flavor:
The first third had a simple earthy taste. As I reached the end of this third, a slight sweet, dry mocha flavor arrived. Not bad, not great.
The second third didn’t offer much more then the first. I still had plenty of earthy notes, and a buttery flavor came about. Later on I had a bitterness that wasn’t terrible, but it wasn’t pleasant either.
The last third really didn’t do anything for me. I was pretty bored at this point, but I pressed on. The earthy flavors fell back a lot, and that buttery component remained. That bitterness remained and started to get on my nerves. As the cigar came to a close, I may have gotten some slight nutty notes that weren’t bad.
Conclusion:
This cigar wasn’t for me. The flavor profile just rubbed me the wrong way. The tight draw was the most annoying part of the experience. If you took that away, I would have enjoyed this cigar a little more. I think it boils down to a cigar that doesn’t fit what I like in a flavor profile. Your mileage may vary, so give it a shot. It wasn’t horrible.
