Oliva Serie V 135th Aniversario Staff Review
Oliva remains one of the fastest-growing cigar brands of the past two decades, and Serie V is the blend that spearheaded the company’s popularity when it debuted in 2007. The critics at Cigar Aficionado fell in love with the spicy, heavy flavor of Oliva Serie V cigars, and cigar lovers followed suit. Today, I’m smoking a special version of this iconic blend, Oliva Serie V 135th Aniversario, named to commemorate the company’s 135-year heritage in the tobacco world.
Initially released in 2021 as a limited edition of just 15,000 cigars, Oliva now produces the 135th Aniversario twice annually, once in the spring, in time for Father’s Day, and again in November, before the holidays. What distinguishes the 135th Aniversario from a traditional Oliva Serie V is its size: a 5.5-by-54 Perfecto that tapers at the foot rather than the head.
When you open a fresh box of Oliva 135th Aniversario, a single row of 12 cigars fans out in a subtle crescent, accentuating the shape of the vitola. A classic Serie V cigar band adorns the top of the cigar, and a secondary gold band rests over the foot. After selecting a cigar, an enticing aroma of leather, wood, and spice emanates from the wrapper leaf, while a gentle pinch test reveals perfect structure from head to foot.
The 135th Aniversario is drafted from the same recipe of premium tobaccos reserved for Oliva Serie V cigars. An oily, reddish-brown Ecuador Habano wrapper leaf surrounds a potent core of Ligero tobaccos harvested on Oliva estates in Nicaragua. The most skilled torcedors (rollers) at the factory meticulously handcraft Figurados, such as the 135th Aniversario, because bunching the binder and filler tobaccos and applying the wrapper requires advanced training. Let’s fire up this unusual and intriguing smoke to find out how it tastes and performs.
My first impressions include classic Oliva notes of cayenne, mesquite, leather, and wood in the cold draw, after I clip the cap and pull air through this visually appealing Figurado. The cigar opens with a sharp and tangy profile while I toast the foot with my ST Dupont Maxi Jet Torch. Oliva Serie V cigars have always been bold and spicy, and the 135th starts strong, delivering robust notes of black and red pepper. A formidable foundation of cedar, leather, and hickory emerges through a surprisingly seamless draw, despite the cigar’s tapered foot.
Smoked nuts, red pepper, and barbecue smoke layer my palate with hints of baking spices as the Serie V 135th Aniversario develops. This is definitely an after-dinner cigar. Hints of cocoa and mesquite meld perfectly with the cigar’s peppery backbone as the strength grows. Over the first thirty minutes, noticeable transitions in flavor and strength occur, leaving a firm, white ash with perfect structure, in a dense, slow-burning profile.
If you’re wondering how cigar size matters, when it comes to intensity and taste, we recommend smoking a vertical tasting, where you smoke one of every cigar size in a given blend. The 135th Aniversario offers an excellent opportunity to experience Serie V in a highly nuanced size that transitions from a thinner ring gauge before swelling to its thickest point at the end. The draw grows loose as you smoke this size.
Oliva Serie V 135th Anniversary lasts over an hour. Savory notes of cayenne, mesquite, and black pepper close out the final minutes of the nub before a long crescendo of coffee bean and spice resonates. Order this exquisite smoke for your humidor when it’s in stock. If you enjoy Serie V, or powerful Nicaraguan cigars in general, the 135th Aniversario is a lock.
