Oliva Master Blend III

The Master Blends III is Oliva's top of the line cigar. This is the third Master blends edition (obviously by the name you knew that) and is a limited series. These have a very elaborate band that makes you think you are in for a treat when you see it in your humidor. Sometimes when i see an elaborate band like this, i think that a company is trying to hard to get your attention with flashy packaging, but that is not the case with this cigar. This cigar is composed of a Nicaraguan Ligero filler, Nicaraguan Habano Binder, and a Broadleaf Sun Grown wrapper. The wrapper on this is very nice and oily, with plenty of tooth that i usually see on a sungrown wrapper. This is a flat boxpressed cigar, meaning that it has a rectangular like shape to it instead of being round. The one im smoking is the Double Robusto size, 5 inches by 54 ring gauge.

The draw is fantastic, with just the right amount of resistance. Oliva is one company i seldom find a plugged cigar with. Flavorwise, this is definitely lighter than the Oliva V, one of the staples in my humidor. It is however a little more complex and less in your face than the V, which is a nice change of pace. This has loads of great toasted tobacco flavor with a light dusting of cinnamon and brown sugar. Its creamy and soft, but bold at the same time. There is also a light cedar flavor i am picking up at the halfway point on this cigar, as well as some nice leathery notes. The ash on this cigar is firm and very white, which looks fantastic next to the dark wrapper. This cigar reminds me of the smell of a cigar shop, cedar from the humidors and that rich aroma in the air from the customers who are smoking. This cigar goes for around $10, and is worth the price of admission. This is a medium bodied, full flavored complex cigar that will not dissappoint. You can tell that great care went into the blend and production of this cigar. I dont know many cigar smokers that wouldnt enjoy this line. The Oliva V is still my favorite of all the Oliva cigars, but this one is not to be overlooked. This is not an everday cigar, mostly because of the price point, but i will definitely reach for this when looking for a premium Nicaraguan cigar, that is if i can find them in a shop. These are a limited production cigar so they arent as easy to find as some of the other Oliva lines.


The last time i had this cigar, i was sitting down with David Wagner, the executive sales manager for Oliva Cigars for an iterview to become a sales rep for Oliva. At the time i enjoyed the cigar, but wasnt really focusing on it as i had other things on my mind! It was a very great experience to smoke with some of the people behind this cigar, and even though i did not get hired for the position, i continue to support and promote Oliva Cigars because i really love their products. I love having a memory behind a particular cigar, and sitting in that huge leather chair with the guys from Oliva while smoking it is definitely the one that will always come to mind whenever i light up this cigar.