Oliva is
the best-selling premium cigar brand in Nicaragua, and to a large extent, the
growing recognition of that country as a great producer of excellent quality
tobacco is due to it.
Although
its great popularity in the US market does not reach three decades, the brand
has a long history dating back to 1886, when Melanio Oliva, its founder, grew
his first tobacco crop in Pinar del Río, Cuba in 1886.
From then
until the early 1960s, interrupted for a few years as a result of the island's
War of Independence, they grew tobacco in the Cuban fields. When the communist
regime of Fidel Castro came to power and began to exert pressure on private
producers, they decided to leave Cuba to seek land similar to Cubans in other
countries such as Honduras, Panama, Mexico and even the Philippines. Finally,
they settled in Nicaragua, where they found soils with the conditions that
would allow them to reproduce the distinctive Cuban taste to which they were
accustomed.
In 1995
they founded Oliva Cigar Co., and before opening their own plant, they made
cigars at Nestor Plasencia's factory in Nicaragua. Keeping intact their
traditional methods of curing, mixing and rolling, they managed to rebuild
their great prestige and became one of the largest Cuban seed tobacco growers
in Nicaragua, with huge farms located throughout the Nicaraguan territory.
During that
last decade of the 20th century, when many producers were expelled from the
market due to the reaction of the giants of the industry in the face of the
increase in demand, they managed to respond to the market thanks to the large
stock of tobacco they had produced and that were aging in its warehouses in
Nicaragua.
By 2005,
the Oliva Cigar Co., produced 6 million cigars a year and had become the second
largest tobacco producer in Nicaragua. In just four years they managed to
expand their operations so rapidly that by 2009 they were producing 13 million
cigars, which meant more than double their 2005 production. At that time, they
were using tobacco grown by themselves in more than four locations in that
Central American country.
Since then,
they have won countless awards from both the industry and consumers, and in
2014, Cigar Aficionado magazine awarded their Oliva Serie V Melanio Figurado
cigar the coveted “Cigar of the Year” from its prestigious annual rating.
In 2016,
Oliva was bought by J. Cortès Cigars NV, a Belgian company that specializes in
machine-made cigars. By that time, they were hand-making between 15 and 16
million cigars a year, with 95% of them sold to the US market. With this
purchase they acquired a wide variety of fine, premium, handcrafted cigars,
including Oliva Connecticut Reserve, creamy and smooth, with a smooth to medium
body; the medium bodied G and O Series and the V Series also known as Special
Light, best described for its unique combination of flavors is
"smooth". All available in our store in its various formats
Churchill, Robusto, Toro, Doble Toro and Torpedo.
A little
over two months ago, it was known that Oliva Cigar Co., acquired the legendary
Cuba Aliados, Puros Indios and Roly brands, owned by the Reyes family, who
since 1990 have helped put Honduras on the map of premium cigar producers. Three
brands that are very popular in the US market and have a large loyal following.