Oliva Serie V Melanio Lancero

While visiting the Oliva Cigar Co. booth at the 2022 PCA Convention & Trade Show, I asked Ian Hummel, the company’s key account manager, what was inside the company’s upcoming Advent Calendar, and specifically, what the special cigars in the sampler will be. As it turns out, there will be a trio:

• Oliva Serie V Melanio Diadema (6 3/4 x 48)
• Oliva Serie V Melanio Lancero (7 x 38)
• Oliva Serie V Melanio Toro Round (6 x 54)

While I don’t think any of them are new, they are not cigars that you can regularly purchase from Oliva. That led me to realize that halfwheel was likely going to end up purchasing five of these samplers so that we could review them, or at least the Melanio Lancero, a cigar that I imagine each member of halfwheel is probably interested in smoking.

I was then told that there was a Melanio Sampler that contained not only the Melanio Lancero but also the Melanio Maduro Lancero. So instead, we purchased five of those. It should be noted that the Melanio Lancero is not a new release, even though it only recently arrived on shelves across the country. Last August, the same cigar was released in 10-count boxes as part of Cigar.com’s loyalty program.

The Serie V Melanio sampler is a regular production item with an MSRP of $66. Inside there are six cigars.

• Oliva Serie V Melanio Lancero (7 x 38)
• Oliva Serie V Melanio Churchill (7 x 50)
• Oliva Serie V Melanio Figurado (6 1/2 x 52)
• Oliva Serie V Melanio Maduro Figurado (6 1/2 x 52)
• Oliva Serie V Melanio Maduro Churchill (7 x 50)
• Oliva Serie V Melanio Maduro Lancero (7 x 38)

There are at least 20 different Serie V Melanio releases that I am aware of, though it’s not going to surprise me to learn that there are more:

• Oliva Serie V Melanio Petit Corona (4 1/2 x 46) — August 2012 — Regular Production
• Oliva Serie V Melanio Robusto (5 x 52) — August 2012 — Regular Production
• Oliva Serie V Melanio Torpedo (6 1/2 x 52) — August 2012 — Regular Production
• Oliva Serie V Melanio Figurado (6 x 52) — August 2012 — Regular Production
• Oliva Serie V Melanio Churchill (7 x 50) — August 2012 — Regular Production
• Oliva Serie V Melanio Robusto Extra (5 1/2 x 50) — January 2013 — 200 Cigars (Nicaraguan Cigar Festival 2013)
• Oliva Serie V Melanio Double Toro (6 x 60) — November 2013 — 500 Boxes of 10 + Regular Production
• Oliva Serie V Melanio DeSocio Toro Extra (6 1/2 x 54) — December 2013 — 15,000 Total Cigars
• Oliva Serie V Melanio Robusto Extra (5 1/2 x 50) — January 2014 — 200 Cigars (Nicaraguan Cigar Festival 2014)
• Oliva Serie V Melanio Edición Limitada 2017 (6 x 60) — 2017 — 1,500 Boxes of 10 Cigars (15,000 Total Cigars)
• Oliva Serie V Melanio Edición Limitada 2018 (5 x 50) — 2018 — 1,000 Boxes of 10 Cigars (10,000 Total Cigars)
• Oliva Serie V Melanio Edición Limitada 2019 (6 3/4 x 48) — 2019 — 2,500 Boxes of 10 Cigars (25,000 Total Cigars)
• Oliva Serie V Melanio Edición Limitada 2020 (6 x 54) — 2020 — 3,000 Boxes of 10 Cigars (30,000 Total Cigars)
• Oliva Serie V Melanio Lancero (7 x 38) — August 2021 — Regular Production
• Oliva Serie V Melanio JR 50th Anniversary (6 x 50) — September 2021 — Undisclosed
• Oliva Serie V Melanio CRA Freedom Sampler Fall 2021/Edición Limitada 2021 (4 x 60)— November 2021 — 3,000 Boxes of 10 Cigars (30,000 Total Cigars)
• Oliva Serie V Melanio 4×60 (4 x 60) — November 2021 — 8,000 Boxes of 10 Cigars (80,000 Total Cigars)
• Oliva Serie V Melanio 6 x 64 — November 2021 — 10,000 Total Cigars
• Oliva Serie V Melanio Toro Round (6 x 54) — To Be Released — Undisclosed
• Oliva Serie V Melanio Figuriño (5 1/2 x 52) — To Be Released — 441 Total Cigars

One other note, like the Melanio Lancero, a number of these cigars have been released multiple different times but as part of different special releases. For example, the box-pressed 6 1/4 x 54 was originally released in 2017 as an exclusive to Alliance Cigar Co., but returned last year as part of the 2021 Advent Calendar release.

• Cigar Reviewed: Oliva Serie V Melanio Lancero
• Country of Origin: Nicaragua
• Factory: Tabacalera Oliva de Nicaragua S.A.
• Wrapper: Ecuador (Sumatra)
• Binder: Nicaragua
• Filler: Nicaragua
• Length: 7 Inches
• Ring Gauge: 38
• Vitola: Lancero
• MSRP: $11 (Sampler of 6, $66)
• Release Date: August 2021
• Number of Cigars Released: Regular Production
• Number of Cigars Smoked For Review: 3

The Oliva Serie V Melanio Lancero is one of the rare lanceros that is box-pressed and it’s not a subtle box-press. I’ve smoked a lot of Melanios over the years and feel that I’m pretty familiar with the line, so I’d say this wrapper isn’t as red as I remember, but it’s pretty close to the shade of brown I’d pick out as the Melanio wrapper. There aren’t that many veins, but a few of them on each cigar are very noticeable. The wrapper has one of the more unique combinations of aromas I’ve smelled in a while: leather, saltwater, earthiness and something that reminds me of the flesh of squash. The foot has a much more familiar aroma: sweet cocoa over some cedar. That’s more or less what I get from the cold draw; there’s milk chocolate over some red pepper, cedar and some citrus that reminds me of pink lemonade. The draw’s resistance is certainly open for the vitola, something that isn’t surprising given the box press.

The first puff is very aggressive to the point where it comes off harsh. There’s not an isolated harshness but rather a sharp mixture led by cedar over some red pepper, earthiness and milk chocolate. While the first puff seems like an aggressive Melanio, the flavor progresses in a manner that gets further away from what I’d expect from a Melanio, offering a sharp mixture of earthiness, cedar, creaminess and cinnamon. There’s very little in the way of sweetness to balance this out and even the creaminess is quite aggressive. The finish is softer with nuttiness and bread leading lemon and some mild creaminess. That said, there’s a residual harshness that is lingering in my mouth. Retrohales have red pepper, red apple, earthiness, white pepper, creaminess and some fragrant peanut shell flavors. It’s certainly not mild, but it’s more enjoyable than the main flavor. The finish has cinnamon, leather, bread, lemon on the side of the tongue, and black pepper in my throat. Flavor is full, body is full and strength is medium-plus. Construction is an issue on all three cigars, namely, the burn. Two cigars need touch-ups while one cigar just randomly goes out in the first third. This happens without warning and with pretty good smoke production on each cigar.

I generally find the Oliva Serie V Melanio Lancero to be less aggressive in the second third. That’s not to say that the harshness is gone, as it’s not; nor is it to say that the cigar is any milder in intensity; it’s not either. Rather, the flavors don’t seem to be as sharp as before. A mixture of cedar and black pepper are generally the strongest flavors, though sometimes a damp earthiness can overwhelm those two flavors. There’s also creaminess, some mushroom flavors and an isolated harshness. The finish is the first time when I feel like the creaminess is really counteracting the harshness. It combines with some peanuts to create a peanut butter sensation, though there’s also a familiar damp earthiness, black pepper, creaminess, leather and some tartness. Once again, retrohales provide my favorite part of the profile. This time it tastes like unripe strawberries over some cedar and black pepper, though the latter two are overwhelmed by the tart fruitiness. The finish adds some honey-like sweetness and mineral flavors to the mixture. Flavor remains full, body is medium-full and strength is medium-plus. Touch-ups continue to be needed and each cigar fails to make it to the halfway point without randomly going out.

Unfortunately, keeping the cigars lit turns into a real problem in the second half of the cigar. Each cigar I smoke goes completely out at least once more. Given that the touch-ups and full relights become much more frequent, my impressions of the flavor profile are substantially colored by the theory that if the cigar had not gone out, it probably wouldn’t taste like this. That said, I’m not tasked with hypothesizing what the cigar would taste like. What it does taste like is a softer profile, one that shows signs of the relights. Creaminess, burnt bread, cedar, black pepper and white pepper create a profile that is much more harmonious but also less distinct. It also tastes like a cigar that had to be relit. There are some signs that it’s still a unique profile, as the finish has creaminess, white bread and some lemon, but the lack of pepper suggests to me that this isn’t what I should be tasting. Unfortunately, the retrohales are a shell of themselves; there’s toastiness, cedar, black pepper and some of the citrus, but they lack the vibrance of the previous two thirds. Flavor finishes full, body is medium-full and strength is medium-full.

Final Notes

• The first two cigars I smoked had their caps unravel immediately after cutting. I’m not really sure why that didn’t happen on the third cigar because I didn’t adjust anything and had resigned myself to it happening again. That first cigar also came really undone after the relights started.
• I generally refrain from talking about balance these days because I’m not sure whether that’s an aspirational quality and also where the reference point is. Sometimes, cigar companies are making cigars that aren’t designed to be balanced. Other times, it’s unclear what X is supposed to be balancing with Y or Z or a combination of Y and Z? Regardless, the three cigars I smoked would not be considered balanced.
• While the flavor profile was not my favorite, I didn’t find it all that off-putting. I certainly don’t think it tasted like a Melanio, but it was sensible.
• I am not an expert on how to make a cigar, but given the weight, draw and burn issues, I cannot help but think that these cigars were underfilled. All of the classic signs are there. If nothing else, I’d try to make these cigars with a bit more tobacco inside to see if it improves the experience.
• Brooks recently reviewed the Melanio Maduro Lancero and didn’t have any of these issues. I’m curious to smoke that cigar.
• If you are ever unsure about whether you smoking a Melanio or Melanio Maduro, it’s pretty easy. The secondary band on the Maduro says “Maduro.” There’s also a slightly different color scheme, but it’s easier just to remember the other part.
• If you happen to have the Oliva Serie V Melanio Robusto Extra or the Edición Limitada 2020 and would be willing to part with it, please contact us. Those are the only two of the released Melanios that I know about that we do not have.
• Oliva advertises on halfwheel.
• Cigars for this review were purchased by halfwheel.
• Final smoking time was a pretty quick one hour and 30 minutes.
• If you would like to purchase any of the Oliva Serie V Melanio Lanceros, site sponsors Famous Smoke Shop and Gotham Cigars have the samplers for sale on their sites.