Dimensions: 6×56 Torpedo
Wrapper: Nicaraguan
Tobacco: Nicaraguan
Strength: Medium+
Price: $6.00 to $8.00

Anyone who knows me well enough knows my enjoyment for fine cigars. With some regularity, I’ll have friends over and happyily pass along cigars to any of my friends who want one. And typically, my friends know which cigars they can and can not take. The Oliva Serie V Torpedo is one of those that is usually not in my humidor long enough for it even to be a consideration.

Inspecting the Serie V, I was greeted with a very-well made cigar. The cinnamon-brown, veiny wrapper was slightly oily to the touch. The gold, red and brown colors from the band are highlighted well from the hue of the wrapper. I found zero imperfections throughout the length of the cigar; no extra glue globs from the band or cracks or chips within the wrapper. It simply told me one thing: smoke me.

Lighting this cigar, I was met with an effortless draw that brought about a now-common characteristic in Oliva cigars that I have smoked: spice. It’s not overwhelming by any means, but there is no effort to hide it. The spice hits all points of the palette: lips, mouth and tongue. The earthy notes I detected upon inspection was much more prominent now, along with slight hints of cinnamon and coffee. The combination of the these noted flavors, the spice and a slightly oily wrapper gave this cigar a slightly stronger-than-medium strength. I did find, again like typical Oliva cigars, that the spice noted at the beginning of the cigar, subsides around the 30 minute mark. I also found that this cigar produces billows of thick, white smoke, making it a great way to thicken up the air in certain spy lairs. I never had to retouch the burn on this. It burned even throughout the entire length of the cigar. It stayed a pleasant smoke through the almost two-hours of smoke time, never once becoming harsh or bitter in flavor.

Recommendations: Do I really need to say anything else besides buy it? I think the price for what you are getting for this cigar is completely fair. I’ve smoked at least a dozen of these during 2008 and I never had a bad one. You really can not go wrong with these. If you are looking for a medium+ strengthed cigar with a great combination of flavors, here you are. And if anyone out there needs any suggestions for my birthday (a mere four months away), the Oliva Serie V Torpedo would be well appreciated.