Video review HERE.
Following the great success of the Oliva Serie V Melanio last year comes the maduro version. The only difference is the San Andres Mexican maduro wrapper. The binder and filler are the same as the original and are from the Jalapa region of Nicaragua.
There are only 10,000 boxes of 10 produced; a total of 100,000 cigars.
The wrapper has a nice shine to it. The cigar feels dense in the hand. Here is a shot of the foot.
The initial cut of the cap produced a very firm draw. I decided to cut a little more and the draw improved but it was still a little firm. The initial flavors were coffee, milk chocolate, and sweet cedar. The pepper is very good and rated at an 8. There seem to be some cream notes to go along with the cedar but that may be a carry over from the chocolate notes.
About 3/4 inch in the cigar is burning very evenly. The flavors are like the initial assessment. I am a little surprised at the effect the maduro wrapper is having on this cigar. The coffee and chocolate notes are not overwhelming but definitely nice. The finish is one of a very sweet cream with some underlying milk chocolate notes. The cigar is medium bodied at this point.
A little over an inch in the cigar is still burning very evenly. Look at the burn line. This is very impressive to me since this is a box pressed cigar. The bands were both very loose telling me the cigar is very ready to smoke. The flavors are about the same and there is some richness now developing in the cedar. This cigar reminds me of chocolate covered cherries that we've all had at Christmas. Now, this is not a cherry flavor but the rich, sweet cedar and chocolate notes remind me of chocolate covered cherries. I would still call the cigar medium bodied but it seems to be moving a little heavier.
Close to the midpoint the cigar is definitely moving up in body. From my experience with Oliva Serie V's they have a very sneaky ligero. The cigar is now at least medium to full bodied and very close to full bodied. The cigar flavors are about the same but there are now some charred oak notes here and there. The draw is still a bit firm but it has loosened up some. I removed the lower band since the burn line is encroaching on it.
Only a couple inches remaining and the cigar is well into the full bodied range. The burn continues to be almost perfect. The coffee notes are a little more prominent and the other flavors are about the same.
At the end the cigar stayed very full bodied. Make sure you have something on your stomach when you smoke this cigar. The flavors remained consistent. This is a great addition to the regular Melanio line. Remember, only one size in this cigar; torpedo. The burn was great throughout. The cedar, chocolate, and coffee notes played very well together. As you will remember, I described this cigar as reminding me of chocolate covered cherries. Great cigar. Grab some while you can!
Score: 93
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