Oliva Serie V Melanio Robusto

📌 Brand: Oliva
📌 Line: Serie V Melanio
📌 Size: Robusto (5" × 52)
📌 Weight: 14.1 g
📌 Age: 12 years
📌 Origin: Nicaragua

Tasting Notes

• Dark Chocolate – Bitter-sweet richness

• Espresso – Roasted depth

• Cedar – Woody backbone

• Black Pepper – Consistent but restrained spice

First Impressions

The Melanio Robusto shows off a dark, box-pressed wrapper with an oily sheen and clean lines. Pre-light aromas are cocoa, cedar, and roasted coffee. Cold draw is smooth with chocolate and spice.

Smoking Experience

• First Third – Espresso and cedar dominate with chocolate sweetness beneath. Burn is sharp and steady.

• Second Third – Pepper emerges on the retrohale, earthiness joins lightly, but profile stays very steady.

• Final Third – Chocolate fades, espresso and cedar remain, but the cigar feels one-dimensional. Relight needed once to finish.

Pairings

• Alcohol – Kavalan Solist Vinho Barrique , rich tropical fruit, oak, and spice to lift the cigar’s repetitive core.

• Tea – Golden Yunnan Black Tea (China), malty and smooth with hints of cocoa, enhancing the chocolate-espresso balance.

Music Pairing

“Give It Away” – Red Hot Chili Peppers

Driving rhythm that adds spark to the cigar’s steady flavor.

Final Thoughts

The Oliva Serie V Melanio Robusto is bold, smooth, and reliable with chocolate, espresso, and cedar leading throughout. A relight in the last third and a somewhat one-dimensional profile kept it from higher marks, but it remains a solid performer.

Final Score: 8/10
Why not a 10?
Relight in the final third and lack of flavor transitions made the experience less dynamic than expected.

Only cigars that deliver flawless draw, balance, flavour evolution, construction and satisfaction get a 10.