The Particulars

The Review

This review for the Oliva Serie V Melanio Edicion Año 2023 - Perfecto (5.5 x 54) is based on the journal entry dated 2026-08-05

Appearance & Construction (0-3):  Average (2)

Take the Melanio, but roll it as a variant of a Perfecto, and taa-daaaa…. Yeah, it’s exactly as underwhelming as it sounds because it’s precisely what you expect, but it’s still nice. It has that same soft, warm, and rich brown Sumatra wrapper as the rest of them. It’s well-rolled, firm, and has nice tight seams. The Figuriño shape does make it feel a little smaller and sleeker than the dimensions would indicate, so it’s a small-ish cigar. But for fuck’s sake with all the bands! It has the same dual bands as the regular Melanio, but with a third one in a bold red to indicate it’s the 2023 special edition, and it actually sits firmly under the primary Melanio band. The cigar just isn’t long enough to have this much paper glued around it. Almost every inch that isn’t the tapered head or foot is completely surrounded by a band.

Draw (0-3) & Burn (0-4):  Good (3) / Average (2)

Oh, you bastard tapered foot. The draw is perfect, but the burn starts unevenly. I find these tapered ends tend to be more effective at igniting the sides of the wrapper than actually torching the minuscule section of foot they leave you with. While I usually enjoy using my wide flat-flame, I definitely should have busted out the tapered double-jet so the burn area would be smaller, because it absolutely scorched the wrapper. This might be a single-jet-or-bust situation, and I never feel like I get the cherry as hot as I need it to be, so your mileage may vary. The burn line does thankfully clean up and even out by the time the cigar gets past the tapered foot.

The ash is a light-medium gray, but it feathers slightly with this vitola. It’s not dropping any flakes, so I’m not too worried about it creating a mess. What’s nice is that the ash held on strong until about the halfway point. I was quite excited to get a great shot of it, but right as I was opening my camera app, I decided it was time to safely roll it off into the ashtray before it collapsed right into my lap. 😅🤦🏼‍♂️

Flavor Profile (0-5):  Excellent (5)

Much like the standard Melanio, the first puffs are malty and woody, bringing in some baking spice that’s quickly followed by pepper. It’s still super creamy on the finish with a molasses-like sweetness and just enough spice to make things highly interesting. At the end of the first inch, toasty bread notes appear and the pepper really starts to ramp up. The biggest change here is that it’s extra malty and woody on the first puffs and has a little extra saltiness as we’re sitting in the narrowest part of the burn. If you’re like me, the cinnamon-forward spice profile paired with that malt and molasses breadiness is exactly what makes the Serie V Melanio such an enjoyable cigar.

Into the second third, the pepper is full-on and making my mouth tingle. It’s still very molasses-bread heavy, carrying those toasty notes and woodiness. Earthiness creeps in, giving it a nice, dark, and savory flavor. Espresso flavors have been teasing since early on, but they’re fairly mild. The complexity and that creamy finish are the absolute stars of the show here. Not much really changes heading into the final third, and it finishes strong.

Overall Experience (0-5):  Great (4)

While the Figuriño is an interesting variation on the perfecto, it’s incredibly hard to say it justifies the premium upcharge for these Edición Años as they’re the exact same blend as your standard Melanio. If you do really want the special edition but are not in a rush, it seems there’s usually enough inventory left over to last until the next release, which is exactly when they get discounted far more aggressively. It’s a much easier pill to swallow at $9–10 per stick versus $18–20. This cycle happens year after year.

It should go without saying that this is still a fantastic blend, but for me, I’ll strictly stick to the regular production vitolas in the future where I get way more bang for my buck. And why? Because I was basically able to effectively copy and paste good portions of a review I did of the regular Melanio Robusto for the flavors portion of this one. 😅 So why pay a huge premium for a limited-edition roll that doesn’t offer a tangible improvement over the regular line? If you want a deep dive into the Melanio blend, my 2020 Gran Toro review is better because it gave me more time with it.

Adding insult to injury if you happen to pay full price, you have Cigar Page regularly blowing out deals on standard production Melanios, which makes those vitolas an easy and reliable sub-$10 option—sometimes closer to $5! IMO, there is just no reason to buy the Edición Año unless it offers something truly special in terms of vitola when you can get the exact same blend and a nearly identical experience for far less.

Overall Score and Individual Journal Entries

While the review is based off one instance of journaling this cigar; there’s a number of reasons you can have different experiences smoking the same cigar multiple times. A blend can evolve with age (for better or worse), palates evolves, preferences change, and sometimes you just get a bad example!  This section captures the ratings from each journal entry and the related journal photo.  Below you’ll find an aggregate score based on every time the cigar has been journaled. Unless it was a gift or on-off smoke, this section will be updated every time I journal this cigar!

The Flavor Wheel

With every cigar I journal, I capture simple ratings of the basic flavor categories that I experience.  These are more generalized than what you would see in a review, but a distinct profile can still be built out.  When multiple instances of the same cigar have been journaled, the scores are averaged out in an attempt to build a reliable flavor profile based on my palate.

The values entered for the strength of each flavor range from 0 to 3.

• 0:   No flavor detected
• 1:   Mild flavor
• 2:   Medium flavor
• 3:   Strong flavor

Note: desktop / large screens will see a flavor wheel while mobile / small screens will see a bar chart.

With every cigar I journal, I capture simple ratings of the basic flavor categories that I experience.  These are more generalized than what you would see in a review, but a distinct profile can still be built out.  When multiple instances of the same cigar have been journaled, the scores are averaged out in an attempt to build a reliable flavor profile based on my palate.

The values entered for the strength of each flavor range from 0 to 3.

• 0:   No flavor detected
• 1:   Mild flavor
• 2:   Medium flavor
• 3:   Strong flavor

Note: desktop / large screens will see a flavor wheel while mobile / small screens will see a bar chart.