Every well stocked humidor contains a few surprises – cigars bought on a whim, just waiting to be tried out.  Sometimes you discover something great.  More often you’ll find something that’s OK, but not as good as your favorites.

An Oliveros XL For Men corona had been sitting in my humidor long enough, so I poured a fresh cup of coffee, grabbed a magazine, and fired it up.  The flavor was not “nutty” or “spicy” or “leathery.”  It was . . .”skanky.”

Most cigar smokers have made the mistake of relighting a cigar that went out a few hours ago.  No matter how good the cigar was, relighting results in a foul, nasty flavor that resembles chewing on newspaper ashes.  That’s roughly the flavor of the Oliveros XL.

After the first inch or so it mellowed slightly, becoming slightly less skanky.  Just slightly.  I gave up on it a little less than half way through.

Given the choice between the Oliveros XL and a cheap White Owl, I’d have a piece of gum instead.