Wrapper: Ecuadorian Habano

Binder: Nicaraguan

Filler: Nicaraguan

Size: 6.75 x 48 Diadema

Body: Medium

Price: $8.50 (Single)  $7.60 (Box of 10)

So far, I’ve reviewed three of the four 15^th Anniversary cigars from Atlantic Cigar (http://www.atlanticcigar.com/?aff=5172)

Each one different, each one a marvelous cigar. I now will review the Oliva Atlantic 15^th Aniversario. The last cigar to be produced for the series. Only 400 boxes of 10 each were produced and they are in stock. Now this slim jim is going to be a bitch to photograph. It is long and thin and getting a good shot of the band is near impossible until the end when I do my money shot.

The Ecuadorian wrapper is an attractive reddish hue. The shape is the elusive diadema. It looks like an anaconda that just swallowed a baby pig. I can’t tell if the cap is a double or triple. It is very well made. The wrapper has a nice oily sheen with some toothiness.

I sniff around and detect strong coffee, spice, cocoa, and cinnamon. Nice. With the foot being only 3/8” diameter, getting a good strong aroma from it is impossible.

Unfortunately, I only have one and have not had a chance to smoke one prior to this so this is basically a blind taste test. It got a little beaten up in my humidor. It makes me nuts when I rotate my cigars and a fingernail gets a hold of the wrapper of one of my sticks and I think that is what has happened here. But I have El Ligador cigar glue and we are good to go.

Construction is good except where this putz ripped the wrapper a bit. Seams are tight. Veins are minimal. And fortunately, the rips are near the foot and will disappear shortly. The stick is very firm in the hand.

So I clip the little cap and light up.

The draw is good. The top half of the cigar is very firm and I am concerned it might affect the draw, but so far, so good.

I get a blast of pepper. Five seconds later, I get bombarded with cocoa and espresso. There is an interesting woodiness to it which I will probably identify later in the cigar.

And wow! Right away, the stick gets very creamy. All this happens in the first quarter inch. LOL!

I can’t imagine what the rest of the cigar holds for me with the flavor profile this broad at the beginning.

The burn line is almost dead nuts. The draw improves and the tightness of the tobacco seems to have zero impact.

Hot damn! This cigar is a surprising hit! This reminds me a bit of the Master Blends III. But better. The MBIII doesn’t get down and dirty this quickly. This is a new age Oliva. Oliva is an old school manufacturer. Very good cigars, but they don’t have the pizazz that the Young Turks are bringing to the table. This could have easily been made by any of those young men…and clearly Atlantic is hip to the trend and made sure that there Anniversary cigar is just as good as those young upstarts. LOL.

I’m an inch in and getting cocoa, creaminess, black pepper, cinnamon, espresso, a deep rich earthiness and pecan and oak wood. Now I want more of these. Fortunately, there are plenty available at the moment but that could change at any time. And at this price point of $77 for 10, it is very affordable.

The strength is a solid medium making it go down easy first thing in the morning. I would also smoke this right after dinner because of the sweetness of the wood.

The first third is out of this world. Flavor explosions. And the wrapper that I tore is disassembling but is also burning away.

Yes. I grabbed for a Diet Coke long ago. Nothing like a Nic cocoa flavor and cola for that chocolate soda experience.

The second third sees the pepper wane a bit. And the creaminess and cocoa and pecan excel. The huge does of creaminess makes this a dream of a cigar. Really. I had expectations prior to smoking this stick and they have all been demolished. Not that I expected a bad cigar, but I read some other reviews and they were luke warm. Crazy fools! Clearly, they smoked this cigar the same day they got them. I waited 2 weeks and that’s all this stick needs.

The flavor of cinnamon and baking spices push their way forward to the front of the line. The sweetness is hitting on all fronts. This is ridiculous. Haha. Atlantic has a special on their 4 pack of their 15^th Anniversary cigars. http://www.atlanticcigar.com/Assorted-Samplers/Atlantic-Cigar-Atlantic-Cigar-15th-Anniversary-Collection-2-FER.asp?aff=5172

. One pack cost $35. Great deal. But now they are offering two 4 packs for $57. That’s a savings of $22.00. And they are running low and when they are gone, they are gone…so I bought the deal because I want those cigars and it’s a very cost effective way to get a taste of all four x 2 Anniversary cigars.

At the halfway point, the strength moves up to the high side of medium.

The last third begins and the flavors become more complex. No new flavors emerge but the panoply of flavors that exist are intermingling nicely without one over powering the other. The only thing that really changes is that the cigar finds a deep earthy richness.

This is a great cigar. Using the diadema shape was smart. The small ring gauge allows for a maximum amount of flavor impact.

What can I say, this ain’t your daddy’s Oliva and you should buy this stick if for no other reason to see what happens when a big cigar company collides with a big cigar store.

Good on ya’, Atlantic Cigar.

Categories: CIGAR REVIEWS