Cigar Review: Serie Exclusivo by Vivalo

• Vitola: Lonsdale
• 6” x 44 ring gauge 
• MSRP $7.95
• Provided by Vivalo Cigars

Background

I met Patrick Jameson in New Orleans during the 2015 IPCPR show. The owner of Burns, the previous owner of Burns, Wes Thornton from Crowned Heads (who once worked at Burns), and I had found a “designated smoking area” on the pool deck of one of the hotels and Patrick and his father joined us a little later. Patrick gave me a sample of the blend he had released and I planned to smoke it the next morning and visit him at his booth during the show. I enjoyed the cigar, although the band at the time looked a little too “early-Tatuaje” in its design. We elected not to bring it into the shop at that time, but wanted to keep an eye on it.

A couple months later Patrick was passing through Chattanooga and gave me a re-introduction to the brand, including the new branding and packaging. The cigar was now called “Serie Exclusivo” and had a much more distinctive look to it. The cigar is available in five vitolas, each of which Patrick worked to craft to be individual experiences, though sharing the same basic blend. The Lonsdale is considered the mildest of the five and they work their way up through Robusto, Belicoso, Gordo, and Robusto Grande.

In December Patrick made another visit to Burns and I’m really starting to believe he will be around as much as he initially said he would…hey, we’ve been told a lot of stories by a lot of brand owners and reps…I want to take everyone at their word, but doing so gets difficult after a while. His tenacity and his choice of broker in our area means we will most likely pick up Vivalo in 2016. For now, he gave me a couple other cigars and asked me to give him an honest assessment in review format.

For this review, I’m smoking the Lonsdale, which the company website describes as “Mild” in strength, with a “rich, elegant and well-balanced” flavor profile. The Serie Exclusivo is composed of 100% Nicaraguan tobaccos from Estelí and Jalapa. As noted before, I’ve had several from the series in a variety of sizes, and Vivalo Cigars provided this review sample.

Prelight

As noted earlier, the banding on the Serie Exclusivo is fairly distinctive. The Vivalo company has a nice (new?) logo that is showcased in the main band, a stylized “V” surrounded by tobacco leaves. A secondary band simply states “Serie Exclusivo” and both bands are rendered in a cream background with metallic gold border and lettering, as well as touches of black and white and embossing in strategic places. The overall look and feel of the paper stock used increases the high-end feel that the new banding gives to the cigar.

The wrapper leaf of the cigar itself was a shade of brown between milk and dark chocolate. I got a good amount of oils to the touch and the aroma from it was straight-up ripe barnyard earthiness. The foot had a touch of earth to it as well, but also a mix of cedar and coffee and natural tobacco. The prelight draw was earthy and leathery with a touch of sweetness and a bare hint of pepper.

Flavor

Lighting up the Vivalo Serie Exclusivo Lonsdale with a single-flame torch was a simple-enough matter. As soon as I got it completely fired, I got a big burst of licorice flavor that quickly subsided as notes of earth and cedar took a dominating position. There was a good amount of red pepper on the tongue and a quite strong pepper sear on the nose. The company’s website lists this vitola as “mild” but I would say “the mildest of the line” as it was anything but truly mild at the beginning. It was most definitely medium-plus in body right at the outset with a very full flavor.

As the second third got underway, I felt like the body had increased to medium-to-full, though the strength of the cigar was still under medium. Flavor-wise, I noted an increase in cedar, while the pepper mellowed a bit and the earthiness took a back seat. There were touches of cocoa powder and coffee in the mix, as well.

In the last third, I got an increase in black coffee notes and a sharp citrus flavor, while flavors of cedar and earth receded into the background.

Construction

I’ve seen nothing but excellent construction quality in all the Vivalo samples I’ve smoked…great draw, even burn line, solid ash.

Value

The price on these is smack in the middle of the sweet spot for today’s marketplace. Very good cigar at a very good price.

Conclusions

Overall, the Vivalo Serie Exclusivo was a very good smoke that isn’t quite as mild as the website indicates. It was medium-to-full in body and medium in strength with a nice amount of complexity that kept my interest up from beginning to end. I enjoyed this Lonsdale vitola, but as I recall, I liked the Robusto just about as much. This is a blend you’ll probably need to try in a few different sizes to find the one that’s just right for you.

By-The-Numbers

Prelight: 2/2
Construction: 2/2
Flavor: 4/5
Value: 1/1
Total: 9/10

Site sponsor, Stogies World Class Cigars has Vivalo Serie Exclusivo available for purchase.