The following is a guest blog by UPtown’s Joe Zike
Perhaps considered an untraditional blog, the purpose of this post is to help those less familiar with the Oliva Cigar Co. to become more acquainted with “Nicaragua’s second largest grower of Cuban-seed tobacco” (olivacigar.com).
The Oliva family’s relationship with tobacco began over 120 years ago in Pinar Del Rio, Cuba, and it has been the family’s determination to persevere in spite of circumstance which has allowed them to produce the fifth most requested cigar brand, Oliva Serie V, by customers of various retail shops throughout the nation (Cigar Insider; Vol 13, No. 13).
Forced to leave Cuba because of a tyrannous government, Gilberto Oliva Sr. worked in Nicaragua until, once again, he was forced to leave because of a country’s unstable political conditions. From there he went to Honduras and was growing and brokering tobacco. He would not make cigars until he moved to Panama in 1984. His stay in Panama was fairly short due to a storm that ruined his entire tobacco operation. He went to a few other countries before landing back in Honduras where he ran a factory for Nestor Plasencia. While this was happening, some of his children were in Miami trying to generate income by boxing, labeling, and, on consignment only, selling cigars. In 1994 the first cigar bearing the Oliva family name was produced. It was called Gilberto Oliva and consisted of Dominican and Honduran filler with an Ecuador/Connecticut wrapper. Within eight months the Oliva family had generated enough capital to open their own factory in Ocotal, Nicaragua, which was later moved to Esteli, where they have since produced cigars that have received accolades from nearly all of the major and minor critics and trendsetters in the industry. (abbreviated history based on Smoke Magazine’s 2005 summer issue).
For more information visit olivacigar.com where one can read descriptions of the cigars and various press releases, or stop in at UPtown’s on Saturday, August 1 and speak with Allan Buelvas, who has been their account executive since January and has been involved with cigars since the early 90’s.
