Oliva Serie G Maduro Churchill

📌 Brand: Oliva
📌 Line: Serie G Maduro
📌 Size: Churchill (7" × 50)
📌 Weight: 13.3 g
📌 Age: 6 years
📌 Origin: Nicaragua

Tasting Notes

• Bitter Cocoa – Dry, sharp, never settles

• Black Pepper – Rough and persistent

• Charred Wood – Dominant after corrections

• Sour Earth – Appears as burn deteriorates

First Impressions

The Serie G Maduro Churchill presents a dark, rustic Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper with visible veins and uneven firmness along the length. Pre-light aroma gives cocoa and dry earth, but nothing inviting. Cold draw is uneven, hinting early at construction problems.

Smoking Experience

• First Third – Opens with pepper and bitter cocoa. Burn immediately goes uneven. First correction needed early.

• Second Third – Construction worsens. Smoke overheats, charred wood takes over, and the cigar requires multiple corrections plus the second relight.

• Final Third – Harsh, sour, and unpleasant. Flavor collapses completely. A third relight is needed just to keep it going. No recovery at all.

Pairings

• Alcohol – Calvados Dupont Fine - Crisp apple acidity and light oak help cleanse the palate between harsh puffs rather than trying to complement the cigar.

• Tea – Japanese Bancha Green Tea - Low tannin, grassy, and cleansing — chosen to neutralize bitterness and heat.

Music Pairing

“Wish” – Nine Inch Nails
Abrasive and raw — mirrors the cigar’s harsh combustion.

Final Thoughts

This Oliva Serie G Maduro Churchill was a structural failure. Three relights, constant corrections, and rising harshness destroyed any chance of balance or enjoyment. Whatever promise the blend might have in theory never showed up here.

Final Score: 2/10
Why not a 10?
Three relights, constant burn corrections, overheating smoke, and harsh, sour flavors from start to finish.

Only cigars that deliver flawless draw, balance, flavour evolution, construction and satisfaction get a 10.