Oliva Master Blends #3

Well, although I don't expect my absence from the blog to have been noted, it's been a busy several months since my last review. Lots of wedding prep. I've still been smoking (even joined the The Kansas City Cigar Aficionado Club last month) but been too busy to write and post pix.

I picked this up in a trade or a gimme with my bro in July 2009. It had been aging in his humidor awhile before that. I paired it with a cup of KC Roasterie coffee, City of Fountains blend, with a splash of French Vanilla creamer.

This cigar had an intriguing appearance. Its rounded box press, with wide flat sides on the top and bottom, reminded me of a stubby tongue depressor. The band was intricate with lush green tropical imagery I took to be Central American tobacco plains, a gold leaf pattern on burnt brown and red, the Master Blend script logo, as well as a portrait belonging to (I believe) Fernando Oliva.

In addition to a strong start, it picked up steam and had a powerful, tasty finish.

The stats:

• Appearance - 9 \ Very cool label and the form factor grew on me.


• Burn - 10 \ Fantastic


• Draw - 7 \ Fine.


• Plumage - 8 \ Thick and satisfying with a creamy aroma.


• Flavor - 9 \ I found this to be medium-heavy flavor, with a few moments pepper surprise.


• Overall - 9 \ This was really a smooth and classy treat on all levels.


• RT Scale (1-4) - 3 \ A really great smoke I'd enjoy picking up again somewhere along the way.

In personal news, I'm including a few random shots from our visit to St. Louis last weekend, where we visited the City Museum. It's really interactive and difficult to describe -- great for adults and especially kids. Imagine if someone had grown up loving jungle gyms and Goonies or Indiana Jones, was really artsy, and decided to make an interactive amusement park of mazes and stuff to climb through.