PCA 2023: Oliva

For many years, covering Oliva at this trade show has been hit or miss in terms of new products. Some years, there’s a new line of cigars like Serie V Melanio. In other years, the newest item is a Nub lighter. This year, Oliva’s new product portfolio is neither the former nor the latter, but it’s certainly one that I won’t forget anytime soon. It appears to be a lot more luxurious.

As for the Oliva booth, not much has changed in the last few years. There are televisions on the four corners of the booth, which I think are new, but I can’t be sure. It’s a large, square space with products displayed around the edges, with all sorts of meeting spaces inside. Looking back at pictures from last year, it does seem like there may be more seating.

The Oliva booth is one of the busier ones of the trade show, and this year is starting off no different. Walking to the middle of the booth is tough, but fortunately, that’s not something I found myself doing. One interesting part for this year is that Oliva has a separate Cuba Aliados booth next door, one that has a completely different vibe from the eponymous Oliva booth.

Oliva Serie V Melanio Edición Año 2023

Also known as the Figuriño.

In 2021, Oliva announced a special humidor made by Elie Bleu that would contain 95 cigars, 21 of which were exclusive to the humidor. Those cigars were a special 5 1/2 x 52 double perfecto size of the Serie V Melanio blend known as the Figuriño. The only way to get the Figuriño was to purchase one of the 21 humidors, which were priced at $21,000 or €21,000.

Until now.

Now, Oliva is releasing nearly 150,000 Figuriños under the Oliva Serie V Melanio Edición Año 2023 name. This is the first time Oliva is selling a round Melanio to American consumers in a mainstream way.

• Wrapper: Ecuador (Sumatra)
• Binder: Nicaragua
• Filler: Nicaragua

• Oliva Serie V Melanio Edición Año 2023 (5 1/2 x 52) — $20 (Box of 10, $200)

Production: 14,500 Boxes of 10 Cigars (145,000 Total Cigars)

Release Date: September 2023

Oliva Serie V Roaring Twenties Super Limited Edition

I was surprised that this wasn’t being talked about more, but perhaps that’s just my limited sample size of conversations. This is a $300 cigar. Yes, $300. As far as I know, it’s the most expensive new cigar being introduced at PCA 2023.

It’s also a unique double perfecto size, though this time of the regular Serie V blend. The boxes are made by Daniel Marshall, half the cigars are covered in gold foil, but perhaps most importantly: Oliva is donating all of its profits to the company’s foundation, the Oliva Helping Hands Foundation, which helps provide schooling for children in Nicaragua. While I don’t like the concept of a $300 cigar, I cannot hate on a $300 cigar if the company making it is donating all of its profits. “All of the profits” is very different than “donating proceeds,” so major credit to Oliva for doing that.

• Wrapper: Ecuador (Sumatra)
• Binder: Nicaragua
• Filler: Nicaragua

• Oliva Serie V Roaring Twenties Super Limited Edition (6 x 60) — $300 (Box of 10, $3,000)

Production: 300 Boxes of 10 Cigars (3,000 Total Cigars)

Release Date: Late 2023

Oliva/Elie Bleu TABOLISA Humidor

Oliva and Elie Bleu, the French humidor maker, have teamed up for another release. This time, the humidor is designed to look like the company’s main factory, Tabacalera Oliva de Nicaragua S.A. (TABOLISA 1) in Estelí. It’s wild to think that the eponymous Oliva family would have green-lit anything close to this, but the Vandermarliere ownership is pushing to expand and celebrate the brand in all different ways simultaneously.

This humidor looks very much like the renovated TABOLISA factory. For those familiar with Elie Bleu, the exterior design is predictably excellent.

Each humidor will come with 123 cigars, though none are exclusive to the humidor:

• 41 Olia Serie V Torpedo
• 41 Oliva Serie V Maduro Double Robusto
• 41 Oliva Serie V Melanio Figurado

I was told that the official plan is to have these shipped this year, but I was also told that the prototype was just completed, which doesn’t give much confidence that the other humidors will be arriving this year. Pricing is also unknown, so Oliva’s sales team isn’t selling these yet.

This will actually be the first of three humidors in the series. The plan is to release a new design each year between 2023 and 2025.

MSRP: TBA

Production: 123 Humidors of 123 Cigars

Release Date: TBA

Cuba Aliados Booth

Bonus booth coverage!

There’s a separate booth for Cuba Aliados, a brand that is now owned by Oliva. There are no new Cuba Aliados cigars this year, but the company wanted to make sure Cuba Aliados wasn’t forgotten. There is a separate area with a cool-looking dominos table, checkered floor, and beer on tap.

The most notable thing going on in the small Cuba Aliados booth is the giving away of hats. My understanding is that you could get a hat for following the Cuba Aliados’ Instagram account.