Cigar review: After reading the best of Cigar Aficionado top 25 for the past year, I checked out the best deals for under $6 the magazine touted. Some of their choices I knew about, but there were several that were not familiar to me.
The Gilberto Oivia Reserva Blanc had an eye-popping 92 rating and with a bargain basement price tag of $5.75, MSRP. so it was time to buy some. Cigar Page had five packs available for $23.00 , knocking down the cost even further to $4.60 a stick.
It’s seems like a review was in order to check this cigar out. As always how and where I receive the cigar does not impact my subjective judgment. My suggestion is to smoke it yourself and make your own take.
Brand/Name of Cigar: Gilberto Olivia/ Reserva Blanc 5.75/43
Country of Origin: Nicaragua
Size: 5.75 x 43
Wrapper: Ecuador Connecticut
Binder: Ecuador
Filler: Nicaragua
Shape: Robusto
Price: Pack of 5 from Cigar Page, $23.00
Where and When Smoked; Los Angeles, Ca. 3/10/2018
Appearance/Construction: A light to medium brown wrapper with a somewhat tight feel. Slightly oily , rustic looking and the cap looked shoddy in its placement. The band was difficult to read as the font was tiny. Small veins were showing throughout.
Flavor/Taste and Aroma: First third: A grassy start with a light taste of mint and orange. Pleasant enough and mild. Not achieving any highs or lows at this point.
Second Third: Creamy and smooth but pretty light in the flavor department. Not much to report as the cigar smokes down.
Final Third: As the cigar hits the end of the road, an annoying taste of metallic/lead enters the picture. Fortunately this was short-lived as the previous combination of grass, mint and orange makes the finish more palatable.
Smoking Characteristics: Uneven burn throughout the cigar , stayed lit with a medium brown ash.
Conclusion/ Overall Impression: A ho-hum cigar with a mild profile. I am not sure what the team at C.A. tasted in this cigar because it did not reach any epic numbers with me.
Final Thoughts and the Numbers: I do have 4 more of this blend to try so let’s put them in the humidor for several months and sit. There was no wow factor or thoughts of this is a cigar to hand out to my friends.
Appearance/Construction: 3.2 out of 5
Flavor/Taste and Aroma: 3 out of 5
Smoking Characteristics: 3 out of 5
Conclusion/Overall Impression: 3.1 out of 5
Smokable but not a winner by any of my standards.
Keep smoking