Popular Post GVan Posted October 4, 2020 Popular Post Share Posted October 4, 2020 Living in Southeastern Florida, on the coast, can be a challenge to smoke cigars in the constant humidity of the summer. That's why there will always be some NC's in my collection. It can be very frustrating picking a good cuban and then watching it burn wonky and literally go out in the last half of the cigar from smoking it in the outside humidity. "Case in point" - as we say - last night after dinner I wanted a nice smoke. We have had over 10" of rain in the last three days - golf courses are closed and there is some flooding in the low lying areas. So, I picked an NC that I have yet to try which has been sitting in the humi at 64% RH for almost a year. My favorite NC (other than Padron 1926's) is the Oliva V Melania Robusto's which I have 44 (down from 80+) still aging away in the humi. Since I generally like Oliva's; I bought these Oliva Wrath Maduro's because I occasionally like a strong cigar, they were 20% off, I had a coupon burning a hole in my pocket and after those discounts - at $2.65 / stick they were worth a try. Being Maduro's, I put them away for a while to rest - Seemed like the perfect cigar for a rainy night. I went out last night to smoke in the rain and couldn't find a dry spot to sit anywhere - it was blowing and raining so hard, before I could light it, I was getting wet! I put it back in the humi and tried again in the morning siting out on the first floor porch and dock under the overhead cover once the morning rain had stopped. These have a beautiful Connecticut Maduro wrapper, are Nicaraguan filler with Mexican binder, have a firm feel, and the cigar smells like earth and cinnamon. I used my large punch and didn't really get much of any taste off of the cold draw yet it had just the right amount of resistance. Amazingly given its > 80% humidity, lighting the cigar was easy, slightly torch the end, blow on it a few times. lightly torch again and it is producing large quantities of pure white smoke. Not a lot of flavor at first - mostly oak and very light black pepper but really smooth. I'd call this mild which is surprising from such a dark Maduro wrapper. I was hoping to get some of that cinnamon and some sweetness off the Maduro wrapper but, it tastes more like light ginger. As expected, not a very complex smoke but then again, it's not a cuban! The first half was very nice and given the harsh outside conditions I'm pleasantly surprised. Neither the cigar or the excess humidity is causing any bitterness to emerge. Very nice construction halfway through. I have to break off the ash and it offers some resistance - probably could have let this ash go a little longer. Still getting oak, very light black pepper and that slight ginger aftertaste. Didn't really expect much evolution and it's staying true to what a NC should be - good construction, a reasonable smoke and even in very high humidity - no touch-ups or relights. The Oliva Wrath Maduro stays mild to medium body throughout the smoke. I smoked this down to just above the band in the above picture. I would have gone further as I was enjoying the cigar but, as you can see from the below picture, the sky's opened up and it began to pour so hard both I and the cigar were getting wet! I was stuck on the dock for 10 more minutes after the cigar went out. Can this compete with a good cuban - NO - even a Parti-short or SCdlH Principe brings more evolution and flavors to your tastebuds. But on days like these I would feel terrible wrecking a Monte 2 or Dip 2 and the damn rain would not have let me finish one of those cigars anyway. Given that, it's a perfect cigar for an imperfect day! Smoking time was ~ 1 hour and I'd give it 85 points and am thankful that it provided some enjoyment for less than $3! 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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