Oliva Serie 'O' Torpedo

As the second-largest grower of tobacco in Nicaragua, the Oliva family's generations of experience in the industry has served them well. They grow some of the finest crops in the world and are known for using the most skilled rollers and blenders in the country to create legendary cigars. The Oliva Serie "O" is their flagship premium blend. This Nicaraguan puro boasts a dark Habano-seed wrapper and offers a diverse range of robust flavors that are chewy and rich, but smooth from start to finish. Typical of their brand, the cigar looks and feels great. They use beautiful, oily wrappers and always fill each cigar with copious amounts of Nicaraguan tobacco. The result is a solid roll with no soft spots. Take a whiff of this stick before lighting; smelling of sweet cedar, it offers a wonderful preview of the smoke. The draw is tight, but an initial hint of spice smacks the palate and lingers pleasantly. The spice fades almost immediately, and the flavors mellow a lot before woody and earthy notes dominate. We're proud to offer you a smoke that made Cigar Aficionado's list of Top 50 Cigars and merited a '94' rating. In the magazine's words, "The cigar has gorgeous color and a lush wrapper. It draws well, showing cedar, toast, leather, and coffee notes. A complex and balanced full-bodied cigar." A cigar this good warrants a good bold cabernet sauvignon like Charles Krug Cabernet Sauvignon.

The Nicaraguan cigar industry originated when Cuban cigar makers escaped the revolution and re-established their livelihood in Nicaragua with Cuban-seed tobacco. Blessed with dark, rich soil, their new home was ideal for tobacco cultivation and Nicaragua quickly became known for cigars that rivaled Cuban quality. Unfortunately, revolution and war came to Nicaragua in the 1980s and devastated the industry, but it’s rebounded dramatically and is once again producing tobacco considered by many to be the finest in the world.

The Esteli Valley is in many ways the heart of Nicaraguan production and is known for its very powerful and spicy tobacco. The Jalapa Valley produces arguably the finest tobacco in the country: somewhat sweeter and less intense than Esteli, but extremely complex. The tobacco of the Condega Valley is often described as a blend of the other two regions.