Oliva Serie V Special V Figurado Review

The Special V Figurado is the most unusual shape in the line - a fat 6 by 60 figurado that tapers at the head, marrying gordo volume to a figure's point. It's the kind of size a collector notices, because pressing a 60-ring figure well is not easy. Mine came from Esteli with the Serie V's Ecuadorian Sun Grown Habano wrapper, dark and oily, the taper rolling smoothly into a rounded point. The cold draw was cool and generous, cocoa and cedar, and I was curious how the odd geometry would smoke.

The tapered head opens the smoke focused, then the fat body behind it fills in fast. So the start is a two-part thing: a pointed hit of coffee, dark chocolate and pepper through the taper, broadening within a few draws into the plush, cool volume the 60 ring gives. It's a genuinely interesting geometry - you get the figurado's aimed intensity and the gordo's mouth-filling smoke in the same cigar. Oliva's Jalapa ligero brings the full strength, spread cool by the girth. My burn opened even across the taper, no small feat on a pressed figure.

Through the middle the fat body dominates and the smoke turns plush - espresso and cocoa thick and central, leather and a dried-fruit sweetness filling in, the pepper a low warmth. But the early focus lingers, so even at full 60-ring volume the flavours stay a touch more defined than in the straight Double Toro. That combination - cool, plush, yet defined - is the Special V's whole reason to exist. With ninety minutes to run it develops patiently. The ash stacked firm and pale, the burn stayed true across the wide body, and the draw was generous throughout.

Late on the espresso darkens and a rich creaminess settles over the cedar and leather as the oils accumulate, the pepper firming gently toward the nub. My verdict: the Special V Figurado is a connoisseur's curiosity that actually delivers - the plush volume of a gordo with a little of a figurado's focus, over a long ninety minutes. The honest catch is that it's a big, long, full smoke that wants a settled evening, and the pressed figure is rare enough that it's not always easy to find. But as the most distinctive shape in the Serie V line, it's a genuinely rewarding one.