Oliva Cigar Co.

The Oliva family traces its tobacco work to Melanio Oliva, who grew leaf in Cuba from 1886. Gilberto Oliva Sr. spent years as a leaf broker across Central America before launching a cigar brand under his own name in 1995; it was shortened to Oliva the following year. The company grew from a small Esteli operation into one of Nicaragua's larger manufacturers, opening a sixty-thousand-square-foot factory in Esteli in July 2003.

The range is anchored by the Serie V, launched in 2006, and its Melanio extension, with Serie O, Serie G, Connecticut Reserve and the value-priced Flor de Oliva filling out the line. The company also owns the Nub and Cain brands, which introduced short, wide formats and high-ligero blends respectively. Much of the filler comes from Oliva-controlled land in Esteli, Condega and Jalapa.

J. Cortes Cigars, a Belgian family company, acquired Oliva in the summer of 2016. Several members of the Oliva family stayed on in production and blending roles after the sale. Gilberto Oliva Sr. died in December 2017 at the age of 86. Under J. Cortes the brand has kept its existing lines and Esteli production rather than being merged into the parent's European portfolio, and Oliva remains one of the larger Nicaraguan manufacturers by volume.