Olivia 'Serie V' Ligero Especial Torpedo. 6x56. Medium brown wrap. Excellent construction with straight lines and smoothed veins. Medium draw pre-light. Slightly harder draw post-light during the first third, a medium draw from there. Cut well. Lighting took a few minutes of roasting. First half taste is roasty herbal leaf, earthy spice, leather. Second half is hard wood, ground coffee notes, earthy herbal in the exhale, background spice. Burn was uneven during the first third, but was easily corrected. Ash was clean, light gray with mild marbling. Ash held over two inches with ease. Medium-full body. Aroma was mild tobacco with faint cocoa powder.

This is an excellent cigar. The tobacco blend offers a small variety of tastes, including mild and medium leaf, coffee, herbal, and hints of spice. The build quality is superb and the execution was excellent, save for the brief uneven burn.

I've long been a fan of the entirety of Oliva's lineup, starting long ago with their value line Flor de Oliva, and though my palate has grown over the past 20 years I still consider Oliva smokes a treat. Their 'Serie V' cigars are considered among their top shelf offerings, and it's clear as to why. Most of you cigar aficionados have surely had this classic stick, but I still urge you to go out and enjoy one nonetheless. Highly recommended.

From the company:

"Serie V is a complex blend of Nicaraguan long filler tobaccos. Blended with specially fermented Jalapa Valley ligero, and finished with a high priming Habano Sun Grown Wrapper. This cigar is blended to deliver full body taste while maintaining an unparalleled smoothness. This flavorful blend exhibits complex tobacco with rich coffee and dark chocolate tones."

[source: olivascigar.com]

The burn was slightly uneven in the first third but was easily corrected.

Over two inches of ash clung easily as I approached the band.

Saint Luis Rey Reserva Especial Rothchilde Maduro. 5x50. Dark dry wrap with pronounced veins and uneven surface. Cut was terrible, requiring several passes to get clean across. Draw was poor pre-light, but much better down the stick. Burn was poor, with the filler burning far faster than the binder or wrap. I had to relight the wrap to get it back on track. Aromas of hard wood, walnut, rich leaf. Ash clung a good two inches before the fall, dark gray at first, becoming cleaner mid-way. Taste of sweated tobacco in the first third. More rich, creamy tastes moving the second. Some pepper notes toward the band. By the final third, it was finally a proper, enjoyable smoke.

Normally, I'd blame all these shortcomings on improper storage. However, looking at the cut crown at the start, it's clear that the cigar was packed unevenly, resulting in the poor cut, inconsistent draw, and abysmal first-third burn. As the ash reached its first inch, empty pockets appeared, further revealing its poor construction. The ingredients are clearly here, just not the build. Because I've had good smokes from SLR before, my bet is that this was constructed by a rookie at the plantation.

Technically, a Rothchild(e) cigar is 4.5x48. This cigar is actually a Toro, even after factoring in the crown and foot, so even that was not correct. Some apprentice messed this up this otherwise fine cigar. They need to shadow their masters a little longer.

From the company:

"Looking for a great cigar? Look no further than the Saint Luis Rey Maduro. Expertly crafted in Honduras, these exquisite cigars are beautifully packaged in lovely semi-boite nature boxes. Saint Luis Rey cigars achieve their exceptional full flavor and enticing aroma through a unique blend of Honduran, Nicaraguan, and Peruvian long filler tobaccos, a Nicaraguan binder and a San Andrés Morrón wrapper. It is a bold, full-bodied smoke with rich tastes of coffee and tobacco that will please the experienced cigar smoker."

This cigar was problematic from the start, but got better mid-way.

Pockets in the ash from the poor build. I'll have to revisit this one.

Modelo Especial. 4.5% abv. 18 IBU. Copper color. A finger of white bubbly head disappears incredibly fast. Low-no retention. Very little lace. Nose of grain, cooked corn, but only during the brief head. Otherwise there is virtually no aroma. Flavors of corn, boiled greens. Slightly sweet malt in the back. Thin body. Mouthfeel is watery, a little sticky on the tongue. Aftertaste is boiled veggies with ever faint hops in the thin carb.

This beer is a far cry from its cousin, the enjoyable Negra Modelo. Modelo Especial earns a deserved place alongside the Bud Lights and Silver Bullets of the beer world.

From the brewery:

"Modelo Especial is a pilsner-style lager whose original recipe was first brewed in Mexico in 1925, under the vision to create a ‘model’ beer. Since its introduction to the U.S. in the 1990s, Modelo Especial has grown organically from the ground up, gaining its status from below via bodegas, convenience stores, and word-of-mouth. Modelo Especial is the #2 imported beer in the total U.S., selling more than 50 million cases annually. For over twenty years Modelo Especial has achieved double-digit volume growth as Hispanic and General Market consumers continue to discover the beer. Modelo Especial is an authentic, straight-up good beer that prides itself on its quality and ability to stay true to itself, despite its status as the #2 imported beer. For Hispanic and General Market consumers who rely on the choices they make to express themselves, Modelo Especial is a high quality beer that makes a statement of substance over style because of its distinctive look, authenticity, and well-balanced flavor. Modelo Especial is made with filtered water, malted barley, hops, corn and yeast. Modelo Especial is a rich, full-flavored pilsner beer brewed with premium two-row barley malt that gives it a slightly sweet, well-balanced taste with a light hops character and crisp finish."

The head drops to this thin ring in less that a minute. A minute later, all traces of head are gone.