For over a decade, Oliva has been one of the leading brands in the world thanks to its masterful blends showcasing the complexity and strength of Nicaraguan tobacco. While Oliva has only been around since 1996, it is now considered a modern classic whose cigars are some of the best in the business. And its fame is largely due to the success of the Serie V line, which has become the definitive super-premium cigar for many connoisseurs and enthusiasts. The Serie V Melanio ups the ante with an Ecuadorian Sumatra wrapper and achieves true greatness, earning Oliva its first Cigar of the Year title in 2014.

Like so many famous brands, Oliva's story starts with a flight from Cuba following the Cuban Revolution. As in those stories, Gilberto Oliva Sr., the scion of a successful tobacco farming family, left Cuba in 1964 and started making cigars on foreign shores. But unlike most of the other blenders whose brands are now household names, Gilberto didn't immediately set up his own factory and achieve rapid success. Instead, he grew tobacco for other brands in Nicaragua and then worked for the Plasencia family after they both fled war-torn Nicaragua, as the manager of their new factory in Honduras. The Plasencia factory has produced cigars for some of the world's most famous brands, including 5 Vegas, Gurkha, Padilla, and Rocky Patel. After several years working with Nestor Plasencia, Gilberto partnered with his son Gilberto Jr. to create his own blend for Plasencia, the Gilberto Oliva. The success of this blend convinced the father-son team to take the leap and start their own factory.

For years, the elder and junior Gilbertos struggled to successfully launch the Oliva brand. They returned to Nicaragua and began to grow tobacco again, but their cigars struggled to compete against the giants of the industry. Unlike many smaller blenders, they survived the turbulence of the late 90s by relying on their own store of Nicaraguan tobaccos. As a result, they released spicy Nicaraguan puros out of necessity and in the process created the style that would make the brand famous. The new millennium brought a surge of interest in Nicaraguan tobaccos and the Oliva family found themselves perfectly positioned to take advantage of the new trend. This led to the creation of their signature line Serie V in 2006, which launched them to true cigar fame. They followed this success up with the release of their unusual Nub line in 2008, which won over new converts for the brand thanks to the unique short and stout shape designed to capture just the €š"best part" of the cigar smoking experience. To celebrate their success and honor Gilberto Senior's grandfather Melanio Oliva who started the family's tradition of growing cigars, Oliva released the Serie V Melanio in 2012.

The blend takes the same winning combination of super-aged Nicaraguan Ligero long-fillers from Condega and Esteli and flavorful Jalapa long-fillers, but substitutes an Ecuadorian Sumatra wrapper for the traditional Nicaraguan Habano wrapper. The result is a full-bodied cigar that combines the greatness of Oliva's Nicaraguan puros with the innovation of the dark, oily Sumatra wrapper. The Nicaraguan tobaccos provide plenty of strength and characteristic pepper and spice which is perfectly complimented by the creamy leather and coffee notes from the wrapper. It's a classic cigar that honors the family's long tradition of growing some of the best tobacco in the world and producing blends that have showed the world what makes Nicaraguan tobacco so special. Powerful, creamy-smooth, rich but spicy, this cigar has it all. If you've ever wondered why Oliva is such a popular brand, this cigar will tell you everything you need to know.