My Weekend Cigar: Oliva Cain Habano Robusto

By Gary Korb

As promised last week, I smoked one of the two Oliva Cain cigars over the weekend, in this case, the Robusto in the Habano wrapper. I smoked it in the Famous Smoke Shop Retail Store on Sunday with a cup of coffee, which made a nice mix. Before I lit up, John D., who happened to be sitting next to me said, "I hope you're smoking it on a full stomach," which I was, having just finished a pulled pork sandwich.

The Oliva Cain Habano Robusto weighs-in at 5" x 50, and has a 75%- 80% "straight ligero," triple-fermented, Nicaraguan filler blend wrapped in a flawless, dark Habano wrapper leaf. The pre-light flavor was very sweet. The cigar was well packed, too, showing virtually no soft spots. I also noticed that, at the foot, there was only one small section of very dark tobacco, which I'll touch upon later in this review.

Once lit, I was expecting a heavy wallop of smoke and pepper, but quite the contrary. The smoke was sweet, as in the pre-light, and when I touched my tongue to the head, the tobacco itself was sweet. Flavors of wood and a light nuttiness squeaked in, but for the most part, the smoke was exceptionally creamy and sweet.

The most impressive thing about this cigar was how incredibly smooth it was. I'd have to tip my hat to the triple fermentation on this, as there was no sign of bitterness, even down to the one-inch stub I left in the ashtray. Moreover, the burn was dead-on clean, exposing a pointy, perfectly centered cherry when ashed.

The cigar was consistent right through the second act; mainly woody and sweet, and a little nutty. I was also waiting for the headiness and that punch in the gut that's supposed to come with full-bodied cigars of this caliber, but it never came. (Maybe it was the sandwich?)

It wasn't until the third act that the cigar became noticeably stronger in flavor, yet the smoke remained so smooth it didn't seem to affect the overall character of the cigar. I was expecting a more "complex" cigar, but what the Oliva Cain Habano Robusto offered in terms of it's rich, woody, nutty and sweet flavors, that was fine by me. I'm wondering if the presence of only some dark ligero (noted above) is what made this particular sample a little less robust than advertised?

In any event, this sophomore effort by Sam Leccia hit on all cylinders for me, and I highly recommend the Oliva Cain Habano to both, experienced smokers who have a more developed palate, as well as those who are looking to move up to a super-smooth, full-bodied cigar.

My scores:
Appearance - 9
Construction - 9
Draw - 9
Burn - 9
Flavor - 9
Aroma - 9
Total Score: 9.0

How was your Oliva Cain Habano experience? Your comments are welcome.