Oliva Cigars traces its origins to 1886 when Melanio Oliva began growing tobacco in the Vuelta Abajo region of Pinar del Rio, Cuba. The Oliva family continued in the tobacco business for generations, eventually relocating to Nicaragua after the Cuban Revolution. Gilberto Oliva Sr. re-established the family's tobacco operations in Nicaragua in the 1960s, and his sons Gilberto Jr. and Jose expanded from growing tobacco to producing finished cigars in the 1990s. The company is headquartered in Miami, Florida.
Oliva cigars are manufactured at the family's factory in Esteli, Nicaragua, and the company also owns over 4,000 acres of tobacco farmland in the Jalapa and Esteli valleys, making them one of the largest tobacco growers in Nicaragua. This vertical integration, from seed to cigar, gives Oliva significant control over quality and consistency. Their top-selling lines include the Oliva Serie V (introduced in 2006, featuring a Habano sun-grown wrapper), Oliva Serie G (with a Cameroon wrapper), and the Oliva Connecticut Reserve.
The Oliva Serie V Melanio, named after the family patriarch, is the brand's premium offering and has received multiple 95+ ratings from Cigar Aficionado, including the #1 Cigar of the Year in 2014 for the Serie V Melanio Figurado. The brand also produces the affordable Oliva Cain line and the Nub series, which are short, thick cigars designed to deliver the most flavorful part of the smoking experience.
In 2016, the Oliva family sold the company to J. Cortes, a Belgian cigar company, in a deal reportedly worth over $100 million. Despite the change in ownership, the Oliva family remains involved in operations, and production continues at the same Esteli factory. Oliva produces an estimated 20-25 million cigars annually and is distributed in over 100 countries.