I haven't seen a lot of reviews about these Oliva Master blend 3 cigars yet and I got my hands on a robusto, which sells for € 10.00 a stick here in The Netherlands, and as all tobacco products, it has a fixed price. I guess these cigars are made from a 2006 crop, as that year is printed on the band. The filler is a Nicaraguan ligero wrapped with a Nicaraguan broadleaf sun grown wrapper. I smoked some of the older Master blends in the past and back in 2007 I even reviewed the Oliva Master blend 1 torpedo.



The wrapper is dark and oily with just a few minor veins. I notice that the lasered logo, that was on the previous Master blends is missing on the Master Blend 3, the bands are the same though, just in a different color. The construction feels a bit soft, not soft spots but soft overall. The predraw is a bit on the loose side with a mind spicy tobacco flavor. The cigar has a full hay smell. The cigar is box pressed to the max, it's not round and not even square, this is the most rectangular cigar I have ever seen besides the La Flor Dominicana Factory press.



I taste a full flavored coffee with some earth flavors. The earth is stronger than the coffee and soon a dry wood flavor replaces the coffee. After an inch I also taste some pepper and far away on the background I even notice some chocolate.



The chocolate disappears quickly and the pepper becomes stronger with the earth flavor on the background with a little bit of wood. After two thirds the wood gets a bit stronger, the earth flavor gets milder and the pepper moves to the aftertaste. Soon after that the red pepper becomes stronger and dominant.



The smoke time of this 5x50 robusto is an hour and twenty minutes. I got a huge amount of thick white smoke. The draw and the burn are good and the light colored ash is compact and firm. This cigar is full flavored and medium to full bodied. It burns clean, I didn't get a flame when I tried to purge it.




Would I buy this cigar again? Yes, definitely.

Appearance: 8 / 10
Construction: 7 / 10
Draw: 7 / 10
Burn: 7 / 10
Smoke & ash: 9 / 10
Aroma first part: 8 / 10
Aroma second part: 8 / 10
Aroma third part: 8 / 10

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Peter Heinrich is a famous name in the German tobacco world and he owns three shops in Cologne including a La Casa Del Habano. This is his house blend shortfiller. This box arrived at my doorstep right before the last Amsterdam herf straight from Germany, pmwz wanted to bomb Adam at the herf and Adam didn't mind me trying one of these Spezial Sweet for review purposes.



The 6 x 28 cigar has an aroma of sweet liquorices and the wrapper is pretty ugly with lots of veins. The construction feels good and I have no complaints about the predraw.



The sweet liquorices taste that I smelled returns on my palate after lighting the cigar and I can also taste a hint of wood. My first thought was "this might make a nice pipe tobacco"



The flavors fade away a bit, the cigar becomes tasteless with the sweet liquorices as an aftertaste. Near the end the cigar gets a little harsh and burns on my tongue.



I get lots of smoke from this thin cigar and the draw is just fine. The smoke is dark gray at the beginning but turns white after a third. The ask looks a bit like sand, structure wise.



Would I buy this cigar again? No, but I wouldn't mind trying this tobacco in a pipe.

Appearance: 5 / 10
Construction: 7 / 10
Draw: 7 / 10
Burn: 7 / 10
Smoke & ash: 7 / 10
Aroma first part: 6 / 10
Aroma second part: 5 / 10
Aroma third part: 5 / 10

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When Rob from Taboo cigars released his first Limited Reserve I ordered the mega sampler and now, a couple of years later, I am finally in the process of smoking, tasting and reviewing this sampler. Today I chose to smoke the Taboo Limited Reserve Maduro Figurado, a cigar is looking very tempting to me due to the shape and color, so I guess it's time to release the cigar from the cellophane coat and smoke it.



The dark wrapper has some changing in color, the upper part of the cigar is darker than the lower part. I also see a lot of veins. The cigar has a nice shape though and it feels well constructed. The predraw is fine and tastes like raisin. This 6½ x 54 cigar has a strong barnyard aroma



I taste some chocolate and earth. The chocolate becomes a bit more powerful and after an inch and a half the earth disappears. I taste a sticky chocolate and a straw with hay mixture. The flavors gain some strength, and the chocolate in the aftertaste is quite strong now.



Halfway the chocolate strength decreases a bit and I just taste the straw and hay. The cigar makes my mouth feel dry. At ⅔ the chocolate returns full force, stronger than before and I like it.



I enjoyed this cigar for a little over 90 minutes. There was a lot of smoke and a good draw. The dark ash is firm and the burn is good. This cigar is full flavored and medium bodied.



Would I buy this cigar again? Maybe, I have to check the price of the stick first.

Appearance: 7 / 10
Construction: 7 / 10
Draw: 7 / 10
Burn: 7 / 10
Smoke & ash: 8 / 10
Aroma first part: 7 / 10
Aroma second part: 8 / 10
Aroma third part: 7 / 10

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This is another cigar from rising star A.J. Fernandez and all the tobaccos used for this cigar are Cuban-seed Nicaraguan grown and the only vitola available is a salomon in a stout, 7.1”x58 frame. They are available with a Habano, Maduro or Connecticut wrapper. This is a review of the Maduro.



The wrapper has a lot of spots, as if it just hit puberty and there are also a lot of veins on the leaf. The construction feels good and the cigar has a strong barnyard aroma that makes my nose itch when I smell it. The oily wrapper has a leathery feel to it. The predraw is fine and releases pepper on my palate.



I taste a sweet chocolate with a hint of ceder and soon the sweetness disappears and the flavors change from chocolate and cedar to hay and wood. I can also taste a citrus like acid flavor with a hint of pepper which slowly grows in strength. This all happens within the first inch of the cigar. The strength of the flavors are medium.



The citrus flavor is gone and everything is peppery hay. The structure of the flavors are sticky. The pepper is a mix of red and black peppers and burn on my tongue. Halfway the flavors fade away a bit and the pepper turns to black pepper only. The flavors keep fading away to the end.



The draw of this cigar is great and I get a lot of thick white smoke. The burn is straight as an arrow and the ash is almost white. I would rate this cigar as medium to full flavored and full bodied.



Would I buy this cigar again? No, I think I will stick with the Habano.

Appearance: 6 / 10
Construction: 7 / 10
Draw: 7 / 10
Burn: 8 / 10
Smoke & ash: 8 / 10
Aroma first part: 8 / 10
Aroma second part: 6 / 10
Aroma third part: 6 / 10

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After the success of the Tatuaje Frankenstein aka Tat Frank, Pete Johnson's tribute to a classic horror movie, Tatuaje Cigars decided to release 1300 boxes, each containing 13 cigars under the name Dracula a year later, again around halloween. These cigars are in high demand and hard to get but a friend send me one of these and a Tatuaje Boris, the other halloween release and later I was able to buy one of each too.



The Tat Drac is a 6¾ x 52 torpedo with only a small black & red band on the foot of the cigar. I notice that the band is upside down, which is a nice detail. This Nicaraguan puro has a tough Habano maduro wrapper. The construction feels good and that translates in a great predraw, which releases raisins and pepper. The cigar has hardly any aroma to it.



The first flavor I taste is a very pleasant coffee flavor, not as bold and strong as expected though. I notice that the smoke feels pretty cool in my mouth. Beneath the coffee there is a hint of chocolate and after half an inch I also taste some pepper. The coffee grows in strength and so does the background flavor which is chocolate. After an inch and a half the chocolate grows stronger. The feeling in my mouth is quite dry. The flavors are balanced, subtle and complex.



Halfway the coffee disappears and the chocolate becomes the main flavor with some wood on the background and I also taste some nuts. The nut flavor changes into toast real quickly. The last few puffs bring the nut flavor back though.



This Tatuaje releases a lot of thick white smoke and has a firm light colored ash. The draw is fine and so is the burn, although I had a minor burn issue because at a certain moment the wrapper tore a bit, but once I got passed that point of the cigar the burn corrected itself and was flawless again. This cigar is full flavored yet medium bodied, I expected a full bodied cigar due to the reputation that Tatuaje has, but it wasn't that powerful.



Would I buy this cigar again? I wish! This cigar totally lived up to the hype.

Appearance: 7 / 10
Construction: 7 / 10
Draw: 8 / 10
Burn: 7 / 10
Smoke & ash: 8 / 10
Aroma first part: 8 / 10
Aroma second part: 9 / 10
Aroma third part: 8 / 10

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