La Flor Dominicana Tasting - Part 2 - Oliva V Series Figurado

I headed up the second part of the tasting with another cigar that was again not featured by the visiting representative. I chose the highly rated Oliva Series V Figurado. This cigar uses a Habano sun grown wrapper, Nicuraguan binder and Jalapa Valley Liguero filler. Due to the sun grown nature of the wrapper and the Liguero filler this cigar is bound to have a stronger taste and higher potency. I was actually told by another frequent cigar smoker that this cigar would "put my dick in the dirt". I decided not to heed the warning and I lit up.

I'd like to start by saying that if cigars were school children this one would be the fat kid that knocks the wind out of you and steals your money. I immediately had issues with the draw and since I paid about $10 for the cigar I was not happy. I'm not sure if it was because of the shape or because it was very tightly packed. The tapered end of the cigar is supposed to ensure that it burns much more evenly.

This however was also dissappointing since after I took a few pulls it began to burn only on one side like it was racing to the cap. I corrected this as best I could with a torch but ultimately had to set it down and come back later. It eventually fixed it self and began to burn evenly for the remainder. The draw however was not improved.

As I fought to pull smoke I realized that the taste was really not bad. The bold and smooth taste was actually pretty nice. I complimented this cigar with a Brooklyn Summer Ale.

The tightness and lack of any real nice draw was a deal breaker for me. I ended up putting it out shortly after half way down the stick. I would try this cigar again because of the bolder flavors but I would not try this shape. For a better review on this cigar check out Dans Humidor at http://danshumidor.blogspot.com/2008/04/olivia-serie-v.html . He seemed to have better luck than I did. However we did both agree that a nice ale seems to be a good companion.