Cigar Review By Jamie Stevens

• Strength: ●○○○○ Mild
• Wrapper: Connecticut
• Binder: Nicaraguan
• Filler: Dominican, Nicaraguan
• Origin: Honduras
• Jamie's Rating: 97
  
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#3 in Cigar Aficionado’s 2017 Top 25 Cigars

It’s a beautiful day in the countryside of southern Pennsylvania. I am currently at my family’s home, spending the day cooking out and playing games. It feels like a nice way to end the weekend. For this review, I am smoking the Oliva Serie V Belicoso. In 2017, this cigar ranked #3 in Cigar Aficionado’s renowned Top 25 Cigars of the Year list. The Oliva Cigar Company continues to put out top-ranking cigars, making it one of the most notable and popular companies in the industry. This cigar has an Ecuadorian Sun Grown wrapper, a Nicaraguan binder, and Jalapa Valley ligero fillers. At one point almost impossible to find, this cigar continues to grow in popularity. The band features the classic Oliva Serie V gold, brown, and red colors while showcasing the cigar’s stout stature.

Intense Earth Tones and Pepper

I am currently laying back in a lawn chair, trying to digest what felt like eating almost 10 deviled eggs. Don’t judge me; I enjoy food, especially the standard cookout fare at family get-togethers. The first half of my smoke brings out intense earth tones and pepper. It’s surprising that this “small” cigar can pack so much flavor. Towards the halfway mark, the flavors shift, bringing out leather and wood notes. The draw is perfect and has only required one touch-up so far due to user error. We just finished playing a game of Kube with the family, who all laughed at me for smoking a cigar at the same time. I would like to think they were jealous of how I could balance both, plus winning. By the end of the first half, the cigar transitions from medium to full-bodied and packs a punch.

Huge Contrast in Flavors

The second half of my smoke mellows out quite a bit. There is a huge contrast in flavors, with an introduction of vanilla and a bit of nuttiness mixed in with the leather and wood notes. I really enjoy this transition and how the cigar almost “calms down” before the end. This cigar packs a lot into the hour smoke time. You can almost always tell when there has been a lot of effort put into the construction. The high ranking is well deserved, and I can see why this cigar is loved so much. The Oliva brand has always been a favorite of mine, and this stick shines among their other cigars!

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About the cigar review writer Jamie Stevens

Jamie Stevens is a cigar enthusiast who has contributed both as an influencer and reviewer for close to ten years. She lives in historic York, Pennsylvania, where she works for her local government as a leader involved with the coalition on homelessness. When not working, she enjoys outdoor activities (hiking, kayaking, etc.) and spending time with her family. She appreciates all kinds of cigars, from mild-bodied all the way to stronger, full-bodied cigars. She enjoys both the higher-end sticks and the ones on the more affordable side. You can find her on Instagram and Facebook as Cigareyes717, where she has over 19,000 followers!

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