PROLOGUE
My mouf hurts a lot less. I still can't stop grinding my teeth. Thanks for asking, gentlepersons.
THE CIGAR
Oliva Cigar Co.
Flor de Oliva
6 1/2 x 44 Lonsdale
w. Sumatra
b. Nicaraguan
f. Nicaraguan & Dominican
Love the format, first. Secondly, there's a good dose of janky here, gentlepersons. Seams are unevenly hewn, Lumpings come up to the top-leaf. Lots of veins (although not a foreseen burn impediment amongst them). Cap is affixed a tick side-a-ways. Foot tobacco is a mousy brown with brunette low-lights and packed to a medium+ density. Betwixt cap and foot is a rich chocolate complected shaft with nice bot o' tooth and thick sheen over-top it. Under-tone is a goldenrod-esque.
Hand-feel is tooth and readily transferable sheen. Heft is a tick on the lighter side. Balance a bit off, pulling toward the foot. Charmin squeeze testing results in soft+ pack density findings, and unevenly so. Funny how the foot looks so fully-packed. Schnozing the shaft, I get sweet and creamy peppered tobacco. At the foot, a woody note is added, and a zetz more black pepper.
I nibble off the cap, for that is how I stogie, gentlepersons. The Flor de Oliva gives me a bit of a spongy draw, notes thereof: very sweet almost sweetened tobacco with a pepper forefront. Behind is a wood note. Tension is smooth medium+ at first, then the draw stiffens on pulling. Spongy. Let's see how some heat treats it --
LIGHT
Toasting the foot lets loose an aroma of seasoned wood and creamy leather. That's the first hot pull, as well -- with a sprinkling of black pepper. The draw is a spongy medium tension, but satiating. Second hottie is retro-haled to a black pepper lead, then dropping to a woodsy, earthy palate. Creamy bits are nice and stay attached to the leather notes, but stretch out, too. Third hot tug is a settling of sorts. Very tobacco primary alongside a earthen note. High middling is a narrow bit of black pepper and seasoned wood seeming to wannabe cedar. Under-belly is quite high and overt and is creamy leather. Very sweet profile, verily.
Speaking to profile, thus far I'd say it's a -medium. Strength ain't there as of yet. Burn is an even 'nuff ribbon, it's line a -medium thick. Ash is a dull grey and forming narrow but loose ladder-rungs. Packing, which was already soft, softens more against burn. Spongy. Spongy draw, as well -- but satiating the old smoke-hole as noted before. Every time peppers come up, so does sweetness and cream. They're building thick already on the mouth-feel. Room-note is a sweet ceegar.
ACT I
Lips and cheeks are sweet cream build-up. Newer sweet cream notes are getting a tad of a toasting and tick of bracing from the now seasoned cedar. Still, primarily an earthy go here with simple sweet and peppery additions; all highlighting a tobacco core. That core... I'm not sure yet as to how grand that core be... there's a nigh artificial sweetness therein, or mayhaps just non-descript. The cedar has brief flirtations where it seems to want to return to its generic wood past. A retro-hale is nice now and again and often clears the sweet cream. Or at least attempts to do so.
A fairly warm clump of ash dumps on my keyboard at around 3/4". How do I not have a schmatta in my pocket? Hold on and time out and brb. Got it, much better. My guess is a schmatta with which to whisk away dumpings is a thing which shall be needed here again with this Flor de Oliva offering.
Very soft packing. Spongy pull becomes less satiating off the same resistance. Burn-line is still a mainly even ribbon nigh waver. Smoke out-put off the foot has slowed. Very mellow offering. Creamy and mellow. Sweet creamy and mellow with a slight black pepper attachment. Wood and leather under-things. We're looking at a simple forefront/background here gentlepersons. A completely valid look at the world through this affordable MSRP. The sweetness which spins off the tobacco keeps striking me as artificial. There's a chocolate note coming on quite strong there. Hershey's. Dies quickly.
ACT II
Pepper muscles up here, but too threatens a bit of bite. Sweet cream is the other influence of tobacco core. Wood has dialed far back and earth has stepped up, but too seems to be marring into the core more and more. Mouth is a sharpness trying to bore through cream. Profile is medium, strength is low. Coffee bean is in and out alongside the pepper. At the close of the act, tobacco core deepens and strengthens whilst losing some artificial sweet vibes. Mouth-feel dries a tick and a half.
Ash dumps at shy an inch, same cosmetically speaking. Packing has ceased its softening and maybe re-firms a half-tick. profile and strength hold steady. Combustion is good. Room-not matures and gets a bit headier, but of the same aroma. Draw becomes more satiating. Definitely a sweet-spot here -- with less sweetness. Char-line thickens to a medium+ and a seam loosens just a hair. Shaft gets oiled further and those oils are leathery on the draw and even out the mouth-feel.
ACT III
Pepper, let's call it black, continues to drive some but in a muted way. A dark bread note fills up the tobacco core and bulges there, toasting. No other diff to really report. Construction/combustion are fine 'nuff. A real doable offering at a friendly cost, this Flor de Oliva.
Profile and strength are locked in. I've been fighting the temptation to tinker stogie-style with my roses and my '56 Schwinn. I think I'll yield to said temptations and be on my way. A nice way to start a busy day. Extremely soft nub offers a great chew with kind smoke which stays cool. Kinda floral at the toothpicking.
SMOKE TIME
75mins
NOTES
Simple. Good, all told.
PAIRINGS
I'd go a tick stronger than stick and grab a bottle of Manischewitz blackberry. Black coffee. Go quirky crazy with a hot cocoa or chocolate milk. Chocolate milk sounds good? U-bet.
Construction L
Combustion W
Flavors/Body O
Strength P
K A P L O W I T Z SCALE
K being the least, Z the greatest
Appearance OConstruction L
Combustion W
Flavors/Body O
Strength P
FINAL GRADE
****B-****
EPILOGUE
The roses look great. I still can't get air into the Schwinn's tires. Thought I could -- couldn't.
EDITOR'S NOTE
Seems I need a $1 adapter for my pump. Or a better pump.