Oliva Serie V Melanio to Debut at IPCPR 2012

Earlier today, the details of the Oliva Serie V Melanio were confirmed and released by David Savona. For many, even the name was a new concept, which is odd given Melanio Oliva is the patriarch of the family’s tobacco business, and perhaps more interestingly — the concept is hardly new.

At the 2010 IPCPR, Stogie Guys posted this brief bit of info:

Also rumored is that a limited but regular production cigar named “Melanio” (after Gilberto Oliva’s grandfather) is in the works with an estimated MSRP of $12-15 per cigar.

Throughout last year, Oliva continued working on the cigar, although all indications heading into 2012 were that the Oliva Master Blends 4 was taking priority.

Things changed this past weekend when Erik Calviño of Cigar Snob posted the following picture of the Serie V Melanio:

Word from Oliva at the time was that the cigar was planned for IPCPR with five sizes, although the sizes weren’t confirmed. That changed Tuesday when Savona posted the following details:

The final blend came from combining Ecuadoran Sumatra seed wrapper with a Nicaraguan blend that emphasized tobacco from the Jalapa region, the area of Nicaragua known for more nuanced leaf than Estelí and Condega. As with the original Serie V line, these are well-aged tobaccos. “The fillers that we use for [Serie V] are our most-aged fillers,” said Oliva. “This used a little more Jalapa. Jalapa adds flavor, but it doesn’t have a lot of body.”

The new cigar brand will come in five sizes: Robusto, Churchill, Torpedo, Petit Corona and Figurado, a smoke Oliva described as a “double-ended torpedo, straight in the center.”

The cigars will retail for $8 to $14 per cigar, making them the most expensive in the Oliva portfolio.

One interesting bit confirmed to halfwheel is that the cigar will be made at Tabacalera Oliva de Nicaragua S.A. (TABOLISA) in Estelí, Nicaragua. In December, Cigar Aficionado reported Oliva was moving production of Serie V to Miami — a move that still hasn’t happened and won’t happen in time for the scheduled September release.

Ian Hummel provided these pictures to halfwheel.

This is the second time Oliva has created a non-Master Blends line priced higher than Serie V. The first was Special S, which debuted shortly before Serie V and was cancelled after the more inexpensive line’s debut.

Serie V Melanio’s IPCPR debut means there will be no Master Blends IV in Orlando.

Charlie Minato

I am an editor and co-founder of halfwheel.com/Rueda Media, LLC. I previously co-founded and published TheCigarFeed, one of the two predecessors of halfwheel. I have written about the cigar industry for more than a decade, covering everything from product launches to regulation to M&A. In addition, I handle a lot of the behind-the-scenes stuff here at halfwheel. I enjoy playing tennis, watching boxing, falling asleep to the Le Mans 24, wearing sweatshirts year-round and eating gyros. echte liebe.