Wrapper: Nicaraguan Habano Sun Grown
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan
Size: 5 x 54 “Belicoso”
Body: Medium/Full
Price: $5.00

*This is a re-start of a review I began to write a few days ago and then stopped due to disappointment in the cigar. I had smoked one, for the first time, a few days before the review and loved it. Then when I began the review, the cigar (from the same batch and box) was a completely different and blah cigar. So I’ve waited a few days and will give this a try once more. If I don’t like it, that’s how it will stand. Hopefully, I will like this cigar.

Here is a cigar whose little brother you’ve probably all smoked. The cigar band is cloaked to look like a Padron thereby giving it a leg up in the PR machine. Which is the Oliva Family. The original Nica Libre was blended by the AJ Fernandez. The Potencia, by the Olivas. The original was a medium bodied cigar. This puppy is stronger.

There is very little research material on the web on this cigar…which surprises me greatly. It appears that none of the A List reviewers bothered with this cigar.

Now, I smoked one several days ago and I loved it. Mind you, it had 18 months of humidor time on it so it had some distinct advantages over what most of us can muster in will and discipline. And yes, this was a gift.

The cigar is as hard as rock. But a little give here and there. Lots of veins but seams are tight. The color is very dark with a reddish hue. Just short of looking like a maduro. It is extremely oily and if the damn sun comes out, I should get some nice photos.

I clip the cap and search for aromas…

This cigar has mellowed quite a bit and so has the aromas. There are small amounts of cocoa, spice, cinnamon, beef bouillon, and sweetness.
Time to light up…

The draw is good. Maybe a bit tight. The first puffs taste of cocoa and wood. The char line becomes wavy almost instantaneously.

And then some four star spiciness appears. Potent spice for the Potencia. The char line requires a touch up before it goes nuts on me.
Some sweetness shows itself. And then other flavors fall into line. This is the cigar I smoked the first time. This is the cigar with the wonderful flavor. The second cigar I had used for the review was a boondoggle. A fluke of the universe. And had no right to be here. I cast out its demons and pray to the Cosmic Muffin for it never to return.

So here, I have a good cigar with a bunch of negative prose written about it that I must delete. I don’t have another of these in this size and with this aging on it, so I will never know if, in fact, it was a fluke…or if this cigar is inconsistent. I would prefer to think of it as just a rotten apple.
The flavors exuding from the cigar are cocoa, coffee, creaminess, spice, cinnamon, sweetness, and earthiness. Everything you should expect from a Nicaraguan puro. The char line begins to correct itself.

I believe the reason you don’t see many, or any, reviews of this cigar is….I have no idea. Reviewers review inexpensive cigars all the time. And with the aging on it, I am smoking an $8-$9 cigar.

This cigar came out of the chute being a flavor bomb. Just like my first one. There is a sweetness that seems to be derived from some fruit. Can’t put my finger on it yet. But I will.

The first third ends with a nice flourish and the second begins with a really well balanced cigar with a might long finish. The creaminess is just slathered all over my palate. I bet that 2-3 months of humi time will get the same results as my 18 month version. Like all Oliva blends, they need some serious humidor time before they are ready to present what the blender intended.

In order to save some dough, Oliva has decided to use the normal sized band and accompanying secondary band on this small cigar. Which means as I enter the second third, the bands begin to be stripped from the cigar.

The red pepper is very strong as I reach for another Kleenex to calm my running nose. The fruit is dried apple. Nice.

The second third has muted what was at first, an explosion of flavor. Half an inch in, the flavors become a package deal. And that’s OK with me. I like cigars that surprise me a little. A cigar that produces the same profile throughout the cigar bores me. It’s what you can expect to find in house cigars and those $2.50 specials; for the most part.

The flavors remind me of a fine piece of European chocolate. It has real layers. And the flavors resolve themselves by being complex and nuanced. When I lived in England, for a few years, I was in heaven because of the chocolate; and so cheap. It was difficult keeping trim and beautiful for the adoring crowds. LOL. But our drummer; each and every time, when presented a choice, grabbed an American Snickers bar. The whole world of fine chocolate was splayed out for his amusement and he wanted a Snickers.

I am closing in on the halfway point. And I am trying to think of another anecdote story, about my rock n roll adventures as a young man. There were plenty, but my old brain is beginning to lose some of its finely tuned memory.

The cigar is delicious. Way over the top now. The cigar has gone from muted, once more, to explosive. Every flavor ratchets up, including the spice which now has my eyes watering.

The body has remained in the medium/full range since the beginning of the second third. Yet, no nicotine blast has shown itself.
I wish I could mentally transport the flavors to your brain. They are so phenomenal that they deserve more than my words.

The last third begins with a cornucopia of flavor. No flavors have been added or taken away. They are so definitive and bold. And extremely smooth.

I slide the main band off with ease as this is a belicoso with a tapered cap. Band intact.

From here on, this is a smooth ride of flavors that I know will finish out the cigar.

The last couple of inches see the cigar’s strength make a giant leap towards full bodied and the nicotine spins begin. I must slow down or risk dancing with the devil.

The strength of the cigar begins to usurp some of the flavor profile. The cigar is kicking my ass. And it is difficult realizing those flavors while my head is spinning like Linda Blair.

I begin to get used to the nicotine attack and focus on the remaining bit of cigar. The flavors are intoxicating. I hesitantly recommend this cigar due only to the fact that out of three cigars, one was a clunker. And I have no idea of the consistency of this stick. But picking up a 5 pack at this price is a no brainer.

And now for something completely different:
The Hal Blaine Chronicles…continued..

Hal was part of the infamous L.A. Wrecking Crew. The most elite group of session musicians around. I idolized them as I read the liner notes on the albums they played on during the 1960’s and 70’s. Hal literally played with everyone and had dozens and dozens of number #1 hits. And boy, did he know how to tell a story. He was the Uncle Remus of the music world. He couldn’t talk about his life without dropping 10 famous names in a single paragraph.

And he loved that I found him fascinating and would tell me stories for hours on his yacht in Marina Del Rey, Ca. He was going through his umpteenth divorce and relegated to his boat to live on; while the wife took the mansion in Bel Air.

I was invited to lunch on his boat in which a few of his friends would be there, as well. He didn’t bother to tell me who. So I drove there in my 1981 Datsun station wagon. And parking it far away from the Bentleys and Ferraris as possible.
I was nervous on my drive from Long Beach to Marina Del Rey. My history with Hal was a broad stroke of meeting some of the most famous people in the music business.

Who would I meet that day?

I got there a little before 1:30. Two guests had already arrived. I was thrilled to see my old bass teacher, Carol Kaye. This was the most famous female bassist in the world and part of the L.A. Wrecking Crew. The other guest was a stranger.

I started to introduce myself to Carol, thinking she wouldn’t remember me, and before I could finish, she gave me a big bear hug. I was Fred Selden’s cousin. Fred is one of the most successful session reed players in L.A. He was a savant and doing sessions at age 13. He, too, played with everyone and besides doing sessions, also composes music for the movies.

I was introduced to Larry Knechtel…the third player in the Wrecking Crew. He was a keys player and was also a member of the charting rock group, “Bread.” I hated that group. Stupid music.

A few minutes later, the last two guests arrive. They were Neil Diamond and Phil Spector. Hal had recorded dozens of songs under the production tutelage of Spector. But Spector was known to be a hermit and an odd ball. How Hal got him to remove himself from his Beverly Hills mansion was never explained. And for the most part of the luncheon, he said nary a word.

I had met Diamond once before while visiting Hal. Diamond was a very down to earth fella. And now we had a gaggle of Jews: Hal, Neil, Spector, and me. So it didn’t surprise me when the catering truck rolled up from Canter’s deli in West L.A. The very famous deli that went back decades and owned by the famous comedian, Eddie Canter.

A huge spread of deli was laid before us. It was Jew heaven.

I did little talking. Although, The Police were very big at that time and I had played in a band with the drummer back in England. So they all found some of my road stories interesting. But that was all I had to offer. Besides, I was more content to listen to these icons discuss their stories.
We sat there until dusk, drinking and eating til we all had to unbutton our jeans. Except for Carol. She wore a dress.

Hal told us how he was in Frank Sinatra’s house when Nancy Sinatra and Tommy Sands first met and locked eyeballs. He saw them fall in love with each other right there in front of him.

Neil told a story about him and Elvis. How Elvis had visited Neil’s home and they stayed up all night singing.
Spector continued to seem distant and uninterested.

And on and on it went. I was writing a column for an underground newspaper (Uncle Jam) and while I couldn’t take notes, on my return home, I wrote down as much as I could remember. And then turned it into a story for the paper.

Except for Hal, I never saw those people again. I was about to begin my Eddie Munster project and my duties at my recording studio had me working 15 hour days, or longer. Although, I did manage to get Hal to do several sessions for me. I paid him a paltry $200 in cash each time. What a mensch.

My biggest regret is that I never took photos of the incredible people I met through Hal. There is a rule in show biz. That if you act like a fan, you will be treated as such. If you act like a peer, you are treated normally. And the latter is what I chose. Pulling out a camera would have doomed me. And embarrassed Hal. He was my hero.

Categories: CIGAR REVIEWS