Oliva Serie V Melanio Figurado Review

Yes — it's rated Full (4/5) on the strength scale. Physically, that means you'll feel a noticeable nicotine presence, especially in the final third, and you should smoke it after a substantial meal rather than on an empty stomach. The strength is delivered with restraint rather than brute force, but it's unmistakably a full-bodied Nicaraguan cigar.

The first third opens with espresso, toasted nuts, subtle earthiness, and white pepper on the retrohale, backed by dark cocoa and dried cherry from the cold draw. The second third deepens into bittersweet cocoa nibs, cured leather, mocha creaminess, black pepper, cinnamon, and dried fig or date. The final third delivers roasted coffee, dark earth, rich leather, and a lingering pepper finish as the sweetness recedes.

Expect roughly 90 minutes to two hours. The 6.5 x 52 Figurado vitola is a substantial smoke, and the tapered head encourages a slower, more deliberate draw than a straight-sided cigar of similar length. Rushing it will flatten the flavor progression and risk overheating the filler.

An aged Nicaraguan rum such as Flor de Caña 18-Year or Ron Centenario 30 is the natural match — the rum's caramel and dried fruit notes echo the cigar's cocoa and fig character. A peated Scotch like Ardbeg 10 or a high-rye bourbon like Booker's also works brilliantly, as the spirit complexity responds to the cigar's dark fruit and pepper notes. For wine, an Amarone della Valpolicella or Priorat Garnacha blend mirrors the deepest flavor registers without overpowering them.

Honestly, no. At Full strength and $20–$26 per cigar, it's a poor entry point — beginners are still calibrating their palate and their nicotine tolerance, and this cigar will overwhelm both. Start with something in the medium range and come back to the Melanio Figurado once you've developed the palate to appreciate what five-year-aged Jalapa and Estelí tobacco actually delivers.

This is a Prestige-tier cigar, so you'll find it at specialty tobacconists, premium cigar shops, and authorized online retailers that carry the Oliva portfolio. It's widely distributed enough that most serious cigar retailers stock it, but the Figurado vitola sometimes sells out faster than the other Melanio shapes — buy by the box if you find a good price.

Retail runs $20–$26 per cigar depending on the retailer and regional taxes. At that price it sits in the Prestige tier, but it consistently outperforms cigars costing significantly more — which is part of why it has such a devoted following among collectors.

It's already aged — the filler tobaccos carry a minimum of five years before rolling, plus additional post-roll aging before release — so it smokes beautifully right out of the box. That said, another two to five years in a well-maintained humidor will soften the pepper edge and deepen the dried fruit and cocoa notes. The Ecuadorian Sumatra wrapper ages gracefully, so long-term cellaring is a legitimate option if you have the patience.

It uses an Ecuadorian Sumatra wrapper in a Colorado Maduro shade — a deep reddish-brown leaf with a pronounced oily sheen. That wrapper contributes much of the cigar's immediate sweetness, the dried cherry note on the cold draw, and the silky texture of the smoke, integrating with the Nicaraguan core rather than sitting on top of it.

It's hand-rolled at Fábrica de Tabacos Oliva S.A. in Estelí, Nicaragua. The filler tobaccos come from the Jalapa and Estelí valleys, and the entire Melanio line — introduced in 2013 as a tribute to family patriarch Melanio Oliva — is produced at that same Nicaraguan factory.