Oliva Serie V No. 4 Review

The No. 4 is the slim one - a 5 by 43 corona that trims the Serie V blend down to its brightest, most wrapper-driven shape. The Ecuadorian Sun Grown Habano leaf looked lovely on mine, a fine reddish-brown with a soft sheen and barely a vein. A thin ring gauge means the wrapper makes up more of the smoke, so I expected its spice to lead. The cold draw was crisp, giving cedar and a peppery brightness rather than the thick cocoa of the fat sizes.

The slim format shows its hand at once. The wrapper's spice sits right at the front - a bright black-pepper and cedar note, sharper and more aromatic than the coffee-heavy openings of the wider Serie V sizes. Because the 43 ring puts more wrapper into every puff, the smoke reads lifted and lively, the dark chocolate a supporting note rather than the lead. There's real strength underneath, this is still the Serie V, but it arrives as brightness rather than weight. My burn was quick and precise, the thin corona lighting evenly.

The middle keeps that wrapper-forward character. Cedar and pepper stay up top, a touch of citrus peel brightening the spice, while the espresso and cocoa fill in quietly beneath. The corona burns a little warmer and faster than the gordos, so the flavours move along at a brisker clip - there's less of the slow, plush layering and more of a crisp, direct read of the blend's top notes. I found it the most aromatic of the Serie V sizes, the one where the wrapper really speaks. Ash was tidy, the draw crisp, the burn a clean line.

The last stretch concentrates the spice - pepper and cedar sharpen, the cocoa deepening just slightly, over a quick fifty minutes to the nub. My verdict: the No. 4 is the Serie V for a short window and a palate that likes the wrapper's brightness up front. The honest catch is that the slim ring runs warm and fast, so it wants an unhurried draw or it turns peppery, and it gives less of the cool, layered depth the big sizes are loved for. But as a bright, spicy, wrapper-led corona you can smoke in under an hour, it's a lovely change of pace.