Blackberry Smoke Cocktail and Oliva Serie V Double Robusto

Blackberry smoke cocktail and Oliva Serie V pairing.

Oliva is a cigar brand with a rich history that started out in Cuba.

Todays cigar is going to be the Oliva Serie V Double Robusto, this cigar comes in at:

Length: 5”
Ring Gauge: 54
Wrapper: Ecuador
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan
Strength: Medium - Full

This Cigar won "Cigar Aficionado" Best Cigar of the Year in 2008.

The Cocktail for tonight's pairing was created by myself the working title for this
cocktail is called the “Blackberry smoke” however the name has not been set in
stone yet.

Below is the ingredients and method if you wish to make this cocktail yourself
which I highly recommend you do.

Ingredients (for 1 cocktail):
• 50 ml Jack Daniel's Tennessee Whiskey Blackberry
• 15 ml Drambuie (adds honey and herb complexity)
• 10 ml Fresh lemon juice
• 10 ml Sugar syrup (1:1)
• 2 dashes Angostura bitters
• Garnish: Lemon twist and a fresh blackberry (optional)
• Glass: Old Fashioned / Rocks glass
• Ice: Large cube or sphere

Method

1. Add all ingredients to a mixing glass with ice.
2. Stir gently for 20-30 seconds until well chilled and slightly diluted.
3. Strain over ice in a rocks glass.
4. Express the lemon twist over the drink and drop it in.
5. Optionally, skewer a blackberry as garnish.

History

Melanio Oliva cultivated his first tobacco crop in Cuba in 1886, however he had to temporarily suspend his journey while he fought in the Cuban War of
Independence which took place over a 3 year battle from 1895 to 1898. After he
returned from the war he continued his operations until the early 1920s where his
son Facundo took over. Over the next serval decades the Oliva family continued
to grow and cultivate tobacco until the early 60s when Facundo son Gilberto was
dealing with overwhelming pressure of the Cuban communism so he decided to
travel from country to country trying to find the right conditions to recreate the
distinctive cuban taste.

His travels took him from Honduras, Panama, Mexico, Philippines until he finally
found what he was looking for in Nicaragua. The Oliva family are now the second
largest grower of Cuban-seed tobacco in Nicaragua, using the same tried and true methods of curing, blending and rolling that built an empire.

Oliva have won multiple awards over the years for their tobacco and cigars with
Cigar Aficionado, along with constantly being within the top 10 of their yearly cigar release figures.

My Review

I want to start by saying that I have had this cigar many times and enjoy it every
time however if you do want to try this cocktail with a cigar then I recommend
picking up the Oliva Series V Melanio instead even though I find the flavour profile similar in each cigar, I find that the Melanio offers more complexity and richness overall which better pairs with the sweetness of the cocktail.

The First Third:

At first light this cigar offers a blast of cedar, leather, coffee and a slight spice
which is not overpower but lets you know its there. As mentioned above I have had this cigar quite a few times and I am always impressed with how strong these flavours are upfront without being a flavoured cigar per say.

Now I know what to expect from this cigar so unlike what I usually do when I
review cigars for the first time I decided to pair my cocktail straight away as this
cocktail was for me the main focus point of this review.

The Blackberry smoke (Working Name) has a lovely sweetness with a honey
complexity that pairs perfectly with the earthy, leathery and chocolatey notes of
the smoke, with every sip and puff of smoke the flavours just dance on the palate
like the first dance of a beautiful married couple on that special day.

Second Third:

The second third of this paring was a continuation of harmony with the sweetness of the cocktail and the leathery, earthy and coffee notes came together to perfectly balance on the palate. This cocktail offers a slight smoky note which when it blends with the chocolate and dark berry sweetness of the cigar offers an experience like no other.

Final Third:

The final third of this pairing was a bittersweet experience as the cocktail was
coming to an end, and the cigar was getting close to being finished the final
flavours of sweet, smoky leather and chocolate complexity lingered on the palate
until the very end of the smoke which offered the final notes of toasted nuts to
complete this wonderful pairing.

As always with Oliva cigars the draw, burn and construction just like the flavours
have been perfect never have an issues with them.

I hope you give this cocktail and cigar pairing a try I personally as mentioned about would pair this with the Melanio instead however this pairing is still a solid choice.

Other than that I hope you enjoyed this one.

I am gong to give this pairing of the Blackberry Smoke and Oliva Serie V a 9 out of 10 I highly recommend trying this one, or even better trying this with both the Serie V and Serie V Melanio.