halfwheel

Review: Oliva Serie V Maduro Diadema

Today’s review is the last in our event-only Oliva sampler series, the Oliva Serie V Maduro Diadema. Last July we announced the sampler that would be offered at some of the upcoming Oliva events. It featured five new cigars – four new sizes for existing lines and one test blend. These samplers have become staples [...]

Review: Oliva Concept Blend OC-001

Concepts, test blends, white labels, pre-production samples – call them what you will, they are often those cigars that smokers hope to get their hands on because they carry an aura of mystery, of something that’s a work in progress. Or in some cases, it shouldn’t even exist – in the days of vinyl records, DJs would [...]

Review: Oliva Serie V NUb 460

Five new Olivas are starting to appear around the country at special events, including the Oliva Serie V NUb 460. It, along with four other cigars, are part of Oliva’s new Special Event Sampler, a collection—as the name implies—that is only available at special events. I broke the news last summer on the release: Oliva [...]

Review: Oliva Serie G Maduro Belicoso Round

In July 2012, we broke news of a new event-only sampler that would be coming from Oliva that would feature five never before released cigars, four of which come from existing lines and one of which would be a concept blend. The event-only sampler has become a staple in Oliva’s marketing plans, primarily in their STUDIO [...]

Review: Oliva Master Blends 3 Corona Gorda

In 2003, Oliva released the first in the Master Blends line, followed by the Master Blends 2 in 2005 and the Master Blends 3 in 2006. Intended to be the flagship line of the brand, the length of updates since the introduction of Master Blends 3 has meant it has fallen slightly out of notoriety [...]

Review: STUDIO TOBAC Cain Special Release

During the 2012 STUDIO TOBAC Tour, attendees who purchased a box of cigars received a STUDIO TOBAC Limited Edition Sampler 2012, along with a chance to win a box of one of two event only releases: the Cain Special Release or the Cain NUb Daytona 460. Says STUDIO TOBAC Brand Ambassador Bryan Scholle: The Ligero used in this [...]

Redux: Oliva Serie V Culebra

Back in the first week of halfwheel’s existence in January of 2012, I reviewed one of the rarest Oliva cigars made, the Oliva V Culebra. Only 200 were officially produced over a span of about five years, and odds are, 99% of the cigar smoking public didn’t even know they existed prior to the review. [...]

Review: Oliva Serie V Maduro Especial 2012

The 2012 release of the Oliva Serie V Maduro Especial is the fifth release of a cigar that has become a must-purchase for many cigar smokers. An annual chance to take the very popular Serie V for a bit of a different spin, the cigar has gone through a fair amount of changes in its brief history. The [...]

Review: Cain Daytona NUb 460

Today we’re taking a look at the Cain Daytona NUb which was only available in raffles at STUDIO TOBAC events. The NUb size was first introduced back in 2008 and slowly started being introduced as available sizes in the Cain line. First, the Cain Habano and Maduro blends were released in NUb form and the [...]

Review: Padilla Premier Cru Torpedo

Back in May of 2012, Ernesto Padilla decided to, for lack of a better term, “blow up” his entire cigar portfolio and begin again. Gone were such staples as 1932, Artemis, Dominus and Miami, replaced with two new blends out of Miami, Invictus and a Maduro line. Immediately after that, it was announced that Oliva Cigar Company [...]