2022 Cigar of the Year Countdown (Coop’s List): #23: Oliva Serie V 135th Anniversary Edición Limitada

“…it is one that has plenty of flavor nuances as the smoke is rolling around your tongue…a fun and enjoyable smoke.”

Wrapper: Ecuadorian Sun Grown
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan
Country of Origin: Nicaragua
Factory: TABOLISA
135th Anniversary Edición Limitada: 5 1/4 x 54
Price: $10.50

Sponsor: No
Samples Provided for Initial Review: No
Review: Oliva Serie V 135th Anniversary Edición Limitada (10/2/22)
Appearances on Countdown (By Year/Company): 4 (2011, 2012, 2014, 2022)

Coming in at #23 is the Oliva Serie V 135th Anniversary Edición Limitada. Oliva Cigar Company traces its heritage in the cigar industry back to 1886 when Melanio Oliva would cultivate his first tobacco crop. In 2021, Oliva Cigar commemorated the 135th anniversary of that milestone and released a special cigar from one of its most successful lines, the Oliva Serie V, to commemorate the event. The vitola for the 135th Anniversary would be a rare one – a cigar with a capped head, but a tapered footer. Since the 2021 release, Oliva has made the decision to bring back the Oliva Serie V 135th Anniversary on an ongoing limited production basis.

Blend-wise, the Oliva Serie V 135th Anniversary Edición Limitada features the same tobaccos as found in the rest of the Serie V line. This includes an Ecuadorian Sun Grown wrapper over all-Nicaraguan tobaccos. The figurado shape measures 5 1/4 x 54. Production is handled at Oliva’s TABOLISA factory in Estelí, Nicaragua.

The Oliva Serie V 135th Anniversary Edición Limitada delivered earth, cedar, cocoa, nut, pepper, and floral notes. The cigar delivers a nice amount of flavor nuances. This cigar has a little more in the way of boldness for a Serie V – coming in at medium to full for strength and body.

For Oliva, this is the fourth time it has landed on the Countdown. It’s also Oliva’s first appearance on the countdown in eight years. For those keeping score at home, the Oliva Serie V 135th Anniversary Edición Limitada brings the total number of cigars originating from Nicaragua on the Countdown to six. TABOLISA also is the first factory in 2022 to land multiple cigars on the Countdown.