This little perfecto is the Oliva Serie G Special G maduro, sized at 3.75×48 and available with an African Cameroon or maduro wrapper. According to Oliva Cigars the binder and filler are Cuban-seed, Nicaraguan Habano…whatever that means. The wrapper was vein-free and dark, but somewhat devoid of that oily sheen. I just love the look of a well-done perfecto, yes my wife says they look a bit like Mr. Hankey, I just have to admire the craftsmanship behind such a cigar.
The head clipped cleanly revealing a pleasant draw, much better than I have come to expect from a perfecto pre-light. I was actually surprised enough that I took several pre-light pulls admiring the draw. The foot lit quickly and the first few puffs produced rich smoke with a slight cedar flavor. One side of the foot burned slightly faster than the other, requiring a touch-up just about the time the burn was reaching the “shoulder” of the foot. I hardly fault the cigar for this as I just picked this up today from the B&M where the humidity is kept quite a bit higher than I keep my own. The body started mild to medium with a fairly short finish.
The slight burn problems persisted through the first third, never requiring a re-light or heavy touch-up, just a little occasional attention. The cedar flavor continued through most of the cigar, coming and going at regular intervals, backed up by a constant rich tobacco taste. The ash was medium-gray and rather firm. Not that it is all that impressive for a cigar measuring only 3.75 inches, but the ash fell only once while smoking.
In the second third I began to taste hints of coffee, something I often find in good maduro-wrapped cigars. I usually pick up a darker, almost bitter coffee flavor but this was more of a sweetened coffee taste, very nicely mixed in with the cedar flavors. I made the last touch-up to the burn at the beginning of the second third and it remained even and consistent for the rest of the cigar.
The last third came pretty quickly given the small stature. By this time the body had built to a nice medium and the finish had gotten a bit longer. It burned about 40 minutes which is longer than I expected, but at only 48 ring gauge it needs to be smoked a bit slower to be enjoyed. I paid $2.40 for these, and see them available online in 48-count boxes for around $100.
Brian, I dont know how you feel about serie G in general, but I think they are fantastic smokes. I was excited to see this review as tomorrow (2-21-07) I may be headed to Uncle Mikey’s (mrbundles.com) to pull the trigger on a box of these. My dilemma, is of course, which size. I would like to get into the perfecto, either perfecto or the special g, but I just cant decide…… maybe someone will steer me one way or another before I go.
Jeremy, the was actually my first Serie G but it certainly won’t be my last. Great little smoke for just over half of an hour, if you’re looking for more I would go with the perfecto.
Nice review. I love this cigar – last smoked a robusto size and found this to be a wonderful 45-50 minute smoke. I just picked up a few churchill sizes and am anxious to light one up.
Great smoke for only a couple bucks!!!
Brian – I just picked up some of these the other week and I’m glad you guys did this review. Very surprised that it last as long as it did. Do you think that goes to how well the cigar is made? I guess my question is more does how the cigar is rolled have any impact on the burn rate of a cigar?
I think Jerry pointed out in a past review about the perfecto shape cigars not burning well straight. Do you find this problem as well?
Kirk, I definitely think that the quality of the roll has an impact on the burn rate, and consistency of a cigar.
I think perfectos are probably more susceptible to burn problems than other cigars, but it doesn’t stop me from buying them. 🙂
This sounds like a nice value cigar. Could it give the ever popular Sancho Panza Double Maduro a run for its money flavor and value wise?
Only smoked a few of these. My last one was so impressive that I purchased ten more today. What impressed me was the spiciness from the get go. The smallness of the package delied the complexity of the smoke.
This cigar is by far my favorite value cigar. It is very creamy and burns well. Occasionally I do have the wrapper come apart ever so slightly, nothing major.
Highly recommend as a value cigar.
Picked up a 5 pack of these little gems and they became an instant favorite. I had only one touch up just past the shoulder but all in all it held its ash great and the flavor was consistant with the Oliva Maduros. Just picked a box so, im sold.