Just two weeks ago I wrote about the upper end of the Oliva line of cigars.  Today, let’s talk about the other end.  The Flor de Oliva is regarded by many as the best value on the market.  A whole lotta smoke for not a lotta coin.

Flor de Oliva are priced between $2.00 and $2.50 per stick.  Pretty righteous, but how do they smoke?

I picked up a couple of these last week when I came across them in the cigar store bargain bin.  So normally $2.40 per cigar, I purchased them at 40% off (around $1.50 each!).  The cigars that wind up in the bin are generally discontinued, poor sellers – or in this instance – damaged.

The cigars had been mushed a little.  No biggie.  In no way was the damage any more than cosmetic. Read the rest of this entry »

My very first encounter with Oliva cigars came via the bargain bin several years back.  At my friendly neighborhood cigar store, the management maintains a box of discounted cigars in one of their walk-in humidors.  It has been my experience that some really wonderful smokes make it into the sale bin.  One day, I picked up a short little number that changed my life.

It was shorter than my preferred robusto, but still had a nice, thick ring gauge all the same.   This shorty wore a charming red cloth band identifying itself as an Oliva O.  Upon smoking this discounted devil, I realized I was enjoying one of the finest smokes I’d ever had.  It had admirable staying power despite it’s length and produced thick clouds of blue smoke.  And the taste?  It was out of this world!  Read the rest of this entry »

Everybody needs an every-day-cigar.  Each cigar enthusiast ought to have a meat and potatoes stogie in the humidor.  Something tried.  Something true.  A quality smoke that is affordable.  For me, that cigar is Quorum.

It’s the cigar I throw into my huntbag when my brother and I head out to shoot.  I take it with me to sidewalk sales.  On occasion, I even enjoy ‘em out by the pool.

The Quorum cigar is a handmade beauty comprised of Nicaraguan fillers and binder.  It is a savory, medium bodied stick with a bit of nut in the mix.

It burns even, and has a firm ash with good hang time.  The one I enjoyed the other day was an 80-minute affair.

Great stuff.

Here’s the best part: Purchased individually, these little wonders will cost you between $1.25 to $1.65 each.  Bought in bundles, I’ve found them online for around $20 for 20.  This is the kind of cigar with which you can fill  your  humidor and have no concern when your buddies show up looking to get their smoke on.

In these strained economic times, it’s even more important now to have a quality, affordable mainstay like Quorum.  Highly, highly recommended.

The blogger enjoys a Quorum robusto while listening to a little Ben Fold's "Effington."