12-07-2007, 07:21 PM
The past two nights I smoked two wonderful cigars, the Oliva G and V torpedos. I must say that I had two nights of pure joy and a surprising twist. With that said, on with the bout. The G has an ever-so-slight reach advantage while the V a slight weight advantage. V looks to be in better shape.
The Oliva Series G 6.5x52 Torpedo is a box pressed medium body cigar with an African Camaroon wrapper and Nicaraguan fillers. I first bought 5 of these Torpedos about 3 months ago and just thought it was an okay smoke. But tonight a different G showed up. Could it be a little more age and maturity?
Construction/Appearance: Immpecible. Enough said! I also liked the box press. The color however looks a little off to me.
Lighting/Burn: Using my torch lighter I took my time to light this cigar. I took my first puff after about 45 seconds of using the torch. Throughout the entire cigar the burn remained perfect. In fact, this cigar produced the longest ash that I have to yet encounter. I had no initial plans to write a review of this cigar but I was so impressed with the burn and overall smoking experience that I felt I had to. Of course, the ash finally fell once I actually got up from my relaxed slumber in order to retrieve my camera. As for the smoke this cigar provided plenty of it. My cigar experience is greatly enhanced by the abundance of smoke.
Flavor: What a nice, pleasant flavor throughout the entire smoke. I made sure not to take more than one puff every 60 seconds so as not to heat up the cigar and build up nicotine. The very first puff upon lighting I was greated with a mild, delicious, nutty flavor and a touch of pepper in my throat. Not much pepper at all though. Midway through this delight I identified the sweet flavor as one of maple nut. I also felt the flavor was enhanced by my first ever bottle of Ron Anejo Anniverario rum. What a great combination. The cigar got only slight stronger in the end and the maple nut flavor changed somewhat for the better. My first taste of this cigar earlier this fall did not impress me. However, I had more of these smokes in my humidor from the sampler pack that I bought and I figured I would give it another try. By doing this I really learned to give each and every cigar another chance and review it again a few months later.
I recently received my box of Oliva Series V 6x56 Torpedos. Unless you live under a rock or reside in North Dakota, you probably know that this cigar received a 94 rating from CA magazine. Will the fact that this cigar rated so high influence my judgement? Most likely! So here goes!
Construction: What can I say? I loved the feel of this cigar. Very firm and well put together. The wrapper shows no flaws and feels oily and looks sheen. The color looks like a wonderful milk chocolate. These great cigars looked like box of nuclear warheads ready to go into battle.
I wonder how well they would go with Monica? Would she like the tapered head?
![[Image: IMG_2977.jpg]](http://i153.photobucket.com/albums/s206/mn654/IMG_2977.jpg)
![[Image: IMG_2976.jpg]](http://i153.photobucket.com/albums/s206/mn654/IMG_2976.jpg)
Lighting/Burn: This cigar took its time to light up. Again, I lit her slow without puffing in order to keep the ash from getting too hot. Throughout the entire smoke I never got the masses of smoke that I desired. The burn stayed consistant but I did have to relight the cigar upon the half way point. The draw on this cigar was very tough at first. I had to take more of the head off to ease the draw. But inexplicably, the draw got tough again. Hmmmmmmmmm!
Flavor: From the first puff I was treated to a mild, toasty almond flavor. I also sensed a slight woody undertone and what I think is a flavor of leather if my description is right from recalling other leathery smokes. The overall flavor was excellent throughout and slightly changed in strength until the half way point. Then the flavor became stronger bodied. I think partly due to the fact that I have to puff more often with the firm draw and to keep this cigar lit. Despite these issues, this cigar was an excellent smoke.
![[Image: IMG_2992.jpg]](http://i153.photobucket.com/albums/s206/mn654/IMG_2992.jpg)
Notice that I had to cut more from the cap to obtain a better draw:
![[Image: IMG_2993.jpg]](http://i153.photobucket.com/albums/s206/mn654/IMG_2993.jpg)
![[Image: IMG_2996.jpg]](http://i153.photobucket.com/albums/s206/mn654/IMG_2996.jpg)
In summary, both cigars have outstanding appearance and construction. I would have to say that the V looked better to me than the G.
In burn and draw the G definetly outshined the V. In taste I got similar-types yet different flavors from both. Green apples to red apples. I felt that the G gave me a little more zing and flair than the V. I truly enjoyed the G more than the V.
In all fairness to the V, I just received this box and only acclimated these cigars to my humidor for only a day. I believe that this had a lot to do with the draw, burn, and maybe even the taste. If I let these V torpedos sit for a while I am sure that they will mature and evolve as positively as the Oliva G has for me.
G gets 4.5 of 5 stars
* V gets 4 of 5 stars and I will give it an asterix as these need to sit for a while!
![[Image: ups_truck.jpg]](http://i.treehugger.com/files/th_images/ups_truck.jpg)