Wrapper: Ecuadorian Sumatra
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan
Size: 6 x 54 Toro (Box Pressed)
Strength: Medium
Price: $10.00

Today we take a look at the Oliva Atlantic Cigar 20th Aniversario Toro.
Only 5000 cigars produced and still available a year later….Uh oh. This is not a good sign. And I only found a couple of reviews.

BACKGROUND:
500 Boxes of 10 Cigars
Released: March, 2017

From Halfwheel.com:
“Since November of last year (2016), Atlantic Cigar Co. has been celebrating its 20th anniversary with the staggered release of four commemorative cigars; first there was the Viaje Atlantic 20th Anniversary WLP 20th Limited Edition Toro, then in December came the New World Atlantic Cigar 20th Aniversario from A.J. Fernandez. After two months off, the store released its third anniversary cigar, the Oliva Atlantic Cigar 20th Aniversario Toro.”

From Atlantic Cigar:
“The 3rd release of 4 following Viaje (Fall) and AJ Fernandez (Winter) as part of the Atlantic Cigar 20th Anniversary Collection, the Oliva Atlantic Cigar 20th Aniversario Limited Edition Toro is our Spring release.

“The blend delivers solid notes of pepper, cocoa, with a nice earthiness and just the right amount of spice. The cigars are extremely well constructed, perfectly boxed pressed that delivers a razor burn and loads of smoke. Only 500 10-count boxes were produced, so don’t delay and grab your box before these are gone for good!”

DESCRIPTION:
This is a very funky, skanky looking stick. It aspires to be rustic in appearance. I have 3 sticks. All of them look the same…sloppy wrappers with exposed seams, lots of wayward veins…with an almost Frankenstein’s monster slapped together look. The wrapper is smooth and the color of hickory and toffee.

AROMAS AND COLD DRAW POINTS:
From the shaft, I can smell dark chocolate, summer fruit, black cherries, malt, cream, cedar, red pepper, caramel, and earth, wind, and leather.

From the clipped cap and the foot, I can smell chocolate nougat, malt, cedar, cream, caramel, fresh fruit, espresso, nutmeg, red pepper, and a slight touch of cinnamon.

The cold draw presents flavors of a Three Musketeers Bar, heavy malts, cream, red pepper, cedar, graham cracker, caramel, nutmeg, and cinnamon.

FIRST THIRD:
Takes a bit to toast the foot but once it is lit, the draw is spot on. No need to use my PerfecDraw cigar poker.

I’m using my Centerfire Cigar Rest for the first time during a review. I love how sturdy this baby is. And most importantly, it allows me to stand my cigar vertically allowing for a much cleaner burn. BTW- I am merely recommending this purchase. I’m not a shill in your typical terms. I’m not being paid. I got one unit free. And I was so thrilled with it I decided to twist Scott Pagenkopf’s arm to pass on a discount of 20% to my readers (Promo code: katman). Now in the last 10 years, I’ve helped countless cigar accessory gizmos get a chance to break because I was desperate for acceptance. Not so much anymore. I carefully pick and vet any accessory I give my approval of.

I have no idea if the cigar rest will be around two years from now. Most accessories bite the dust by then. But this is a deal and I’ll tell you why. Scott owns a big manufacturing plant in the Midwest and is able to get deals on material and labor to produce this item. He may stick with it. The market may take off on it. Or it may just disappear over time for any number of reasons. From reliable sources, I’ve priced this bullet out and for any company to copy it, they would have to sell it at $70; not $30 as Scott does. So how cool would it be to have one or two of these in a few years? It’s a gamble of course. Will the Centerfire still be around…or not? I hope it will.

Back to the Oliva Atlantic Cigar 20th Aniversario Toro.

Flavors start out without any charge of electricity. I get some creaminess, a touch of black pepper, malt, cedar, cinnamon, and some cocoa. Strength is a slow medium.
A lush vanilla bean element pops up pulling together some of the creamier flavors.

Strength is a limp medium. I expected a punchier beginning. As it stands, with the cigar being on the market for a year, one should expect some nice box aging. Right now, the Oliva Atlantic Cigar 20th Aniversario Toro needs some zippity doo dah.

And with those words, the flavor profile takes flight. A big grouping of complimentary tastes punch in: chocolate nougat, cinnamon, black pepper, creaminess, malts galore, very creamy, nutmeg, cinnamon bark, cedar, espresso, and a nice woody smokiness.

All of the above flavors fill out the playbook of a mostly Nicaraguan blend. No surprises. The Sumatran wrapper gives the cigar some nice touches of sweetness.

I read in one review how the writer described a similarity between the Oliva Atlantic Cigar 20th Aniversario Toro and the Oliva Serie V and Serie V Melanio. I’m not sure if the blend is going that direction but it’s early.

SECOND THIRD:
Smoke time is 35 minutes.

The stick is a one man three alarm fire with smoke pouring from it like a house afire.
Strength is still an anemic medium.
Typically, Oliva is Old School in terms of humidor aging required after you receive your sticks. Rarely do they reflect the blender’s intent in just 3-4 weeks.

Still, these cigars have been sitting in Atlantic’s warehouse for a year. Only 5000 made and they are still loitering. Word of mouth can be a savior or the death knell. I’m beginning to understand why the Oliva is still on the market.

It misses the extra points in this pinball game. I taste potential but I don’t anticipate greatness. If given plenty of time, they would still be sold out by now. Maybe the cigar needs 6 months. But I doubt it. If this becomes a killer blend down the road, then why don’t they fly off the shelves?

I reviewed the A.J. Fernandez Atlantic Cigar 20th Aniversario last year and it received a 93. I reviewed the Viaje White Label Project Atlantic Cigar 20th Anniversary Limited Edition Toro in 2016 and it received a 90 but had serious construction issues.

The Oliva Atlantic Cigar 20th Aniversario Toro is just not a self-starter.

The halfway point is upon me at 50 minutes.
Because of the comparison to the Oliva V series cigar blends, I really expected a power house cigar. This is weak.

It’s tasty but certainly not in a big way. Simple, in the background, list of Nicaraguan elements.
My Centerfire Cigar Rest is doing a spectacular job at keeping the burn line on track and allowing the ash to grow to enormous lengths….without having to lie on your back to smoke the cigar.

The Oliva Atlantic Cigar 20th Aniversario Toro is an easy going non-descript cigar blend. I suspect that a few more months might make the difference but the lack of sales for such a limited release force me to deal with the reality that it’s just not a stellar blend. I don’t get it. Atlantic works with Oliva to produce something special and…they have developed some fine 20th anniversary blends in the past…but dropped the ball with this blend.

I mean it’s OK. But it’s $10! Come on now darlin’….show some spunk in the last half.

The Centerfire bullet may just have solved my curse of not getting a box pressed stick to burn properly. Not a single touch up required.

There is no complexity. Transitions are merely ghosts in the machine. And the finish is exceedingly short.
This is a bummer. I figured this would be a rave review based on Atlantic’s earlier releases under the same banner.

Deep Purple is playing now. Curved Air spent 90% of their touring time as headliners. But now and again, we’d hook up as the supporting act for huge British acts like Jethro Tull, Deep Purple, etc.
On the second night playing with DP, we went back to our hotel and partied til the wee hours. They had a swimming pool. We all took a schvitz. Steam was pouring from the surface of the water. We spent an hour screwing around in the pool when cops showed up. Apparently, some resident of the hotel called them and reported a gaggle of topless women were swimming in the pool. What?
Except for Sonja, it was just us guys. But we had long hair. And the dumb fuck thought we were chicks. The cops got their autographs and were on their way.

The Oliva Atlantic Cigar 20th Aniversario Toro is one long one trick pony. Absolutely no transitions. Zero complexity. Man, I tried one during the magical second day of receipt and I really liked the blend. Usually, that will tell me what is in store.
Maybe I’m smoking the stick too soon. But I doubt it.

This cigar was a gift and now I feel terrible. I will let the other stick rest and come back to it in another month or two to report if it changes with more humi aging.
But I cannot recommend this cigar based on my experience.

LAST THIRD:
Smoke time is one hour 15 minutes.

Finally. Flavors in a quantum leap make a run for the border. Complexity shows up. Transitions begin. The finish improves. All things that should have begun long before this.
Strength hits medium/full. I got my pizzazz now.
This is what the blender had in mind. I checked a couple reviews and they claimed the same thing. A bland cigar til the last third. A pattern emerges.

Well-rounded, balanced, full of subtlety, nuanced elements that defy description. This must be the fatal flaw; inconsistency, that has kept 5000 cigars on the market a year after their release.

I take back what I said. The only review of this cigar I could find was from Halfwheel.com. Got an 85. No reviews is not a good sign. Everyone is afraid of Oliva or Atlantic. What other explanation could there be?

Know what’s missing? Spiciness. It went the entire first two thirds with barely any influence. Now the black pepper is swinging for the fences. Too little, too late…as the extreme spiciness is deleting the other subtle flavors.

To be honest, I’m surprised that Atlantic hasn’t cut the price on the Oliva Atlantic Cigar 20th Aniversario Toro…reduce the cost and get rid of them. And move on.

It is absurd to compare this blend to the Series V blends.
The cigar begins to see some harshness felt at the back of the throat.

The glimpse I got of a variety of flavors at the beginning of the first third are gone now.
I’m being generous with my rating. I would never spend $10 on this cigar. It was a total waste of time. I knew my streak of reviewing some great cigars had to come to an end.
Thanks to the reader that sent me these cigars. I will mow your lawn for a year as penance.
Final smoke time is one hour 35 minutes.

RATING: 80

Categories: CIGAR REVIEWS

Tags: cigar review, cigar reviews by the katman, cigars, Oliva Atlantic Cigar 20th Aniversario Toro | Cigar Reviews by the Katman