The theme at the 2024 Premium Cigar Association (PCA) Trade Show for Oliva was collaborations with the Serie V/Serie V Melanio lines. The big story was a collaboration between Oliva and French pianist Paul Montag for the Oliva Serie V Melanio Edición Año 2024, which essentially pairs cigars and classical music. The concept for the Edición Año 2024 came from a conversation between Paul Montag and Oliva owner Fred Vandermarliere and is based on a musical composition composed by Montag. Montag composed this piece on December 1, 2023, while enjoying the Serie V Melanio Grand Toro.
The Oliva Serie V Melanio Edición Año 2024’s blend is consistent with the rest of the line. It features an Ecuadorian Sumatra wrapper over a Nicaraguan binder and Nicaraguan fillers. With a total production of 10,000 boxes, the Edición Año 2024 features a 5 1/2 x 60 Gran Toro. The U.S. market will release 5,000 of those boxes, with each cigar priced at $20.00. The packaging will also feature a QR code allowing access to Montag’s composition for this project.
At PCA 2023, Oliva showcased the Oliva Serie V Melanio Roaring Twenties, a 6 x 60 perfecto initially being done with Daniel Marshall. The Roaring Twenties featured a smokeable gold covering on the lower half of the cigar and was priced at $300.00. The cigar didn’t make it to market.
We saw the Roaring Twenties back at PCA 2024 this year, but there were some changes. The gold covering was no longer on the cigar, and the collaboration changed to one with Les Fines Lames. Les Fines Lames is a French accessories company. The company’s signature product is the Le Petit cigar cutter. The Roaring Twenties project now includes a gold Le Fines Lames Le Petit cutter with each box. It wasn’t 100% clear to us what led to the change in the project’s direction. Regarding pricing, we did not get final confirmation of whether anything is changing from last year.
The Oliva Tabolisa 1 humidor done in conjunction with Elie Bleu was also back. Just before the 2023 PCA Trade Show, Oliva announced a humidor trilogy collection that was being done in collaboration with Elie Bleu—the first installment rendering of Oliva’s Tabolisa 1 factory. Inside the humidor will be a set of 123 Oliva cigars: 41 Serie V Melanio Figurado, 41 Serie V Torpedo, and 41 Serie V Maduro Double Robusto.
Finally, for the second year in a row, Cuba Aliados was in a separate booth next to the main Oliva booth. Cuba Aliados was one of three Honduran brands from the Reyes family in 2021. Last year, Oliva relaunched its expression of Cuba Aliados, contracting with Ernesto Perez-Carrillo and Julio R. Eiroa to produce the brands. At the 2022 edition of the PCA Trade Show, Cuba Aliados was on display at the Oliva booth. Last year, Oliva split Cuba Aliados into its own adjacent booth.
There were no new projects with Cuba Aliados this year. Both the Perez-Carrillo and Eiroa cigars remain in production.
Product Reports
Photo Credits: Cigar Coop
