Cigar Review: Oliva Melanio Figurado
Now available at Emerson’s Cigars, the Oliva Series V Melanio .
The Oliva Series V Melanio is a line extension to the Oliva Series V. The Melanio is dedicated to Melanio Oliva, the first Oliva to grow tobacco in Cuba. That being said, the Oliva Melanio sets out to capture the essence of his growing efforts in Cuba back in the 19th century. While being a part of the V series, the Melanio is wrapped in an Ecuadorian Sumatra wrapper, as oppose to the V’s signature Habano Sun Grown wrapper, and has an additional amount of Jalapa Valley ligero for an added boost in flavor. With that said, I anticipate that the Melanio will have all of the fantastic qualities of the traditional V blend with twist from the different wrapper and extra ligero.
Construction: The perfectly box pressed Melanio is draped in an Ecuadorian Sumatra wrapper, which has a wonderful uniform milk chocolate tone. The darker shade double band provides a fantastic contrast to the lighter wrapper.
Prelight Notes: The cold draw is effortless and is highlighted by subtle woody and earthy notes. The cold draw notes from the Melanio are very similar to the traditional Series V blend.
1/3: Right away, strong pepper notes from the Jalapa Valley Ligero come through on the first puff, the pepper is layered with hints of coffee and cedar, which can be attributed to the wonderful Ecuadorian Sumatra wrapper. Well into the first third, notes of coca and faint nuttiness with a sweet toasted finish come through. While the traditional V blend retains a fair amount of pepper in the first third, the Melanio starts with a more medium bodied smoothness. The ash of is solid with a nice white tone.
2/3: Notes of pepper begin to return by the time I roll into the second third. Nutty notes also become more pronounced and create a nice harmony with the amped up pepper notes. The notes of coca that were present in the first third have disappeared completely. The retohale reveals delicious cedar and coca notes. Mid-way through the second third, the cigar jumps to a definite full bodied cigar. The burn of the cigar also remaines even.
Last Third and Parting Thoughts: The final third is marked by the return of strong coca notes with the addition of woody cedar as well. The pepper notes that dominated the second third have fallen into the background and are present in the retrohale. The strength of the cigar remains very full, but never overpowering. The Oliva Series V Melanio is similar, yet different from the traditional V blend on many levels. While the Melanio retains the same deceptive strength of the traditional V, the additional ligero and Sumatra wrapper add an additional layer to this great blend.
The Oliva Melanio is avalaible in 5 sizes in 10 count boxes at our five Hampton Roads locations, as well as emersonscigars.com.
