Every month I pick one cigar from MDC’s current rotation and tell you - plainly - who should be stocking it, where it lands on a menu, and why it earned the spot this month over everything else on the floor.
No allocation promises. No price gimmicks. No affiliate links. Just the call I’d make if I were standing in front of your humidor.
Here’s May.
The Pick: Oliva Serie V Melanio Figurado (6½ × 52)
If April’s pick (My Father Le Bijou 1922) was about giving a hospitality menu a reliable upgrade cigar, May’s pick is about the other half of a working humidor - the box you can actually get every time you want it, that reads premium to a guest, and that doesn’t force you to have the “sorry, we’re out” conversation.
The Oliva Serie V Melanio Figurado is that cigar. It’s not allocated. It’s not seasonal. It’s not going to evaporate from your rep’s inventory because a Cigar Aficionado review spiked demand. It’s a 93+ rated Nicaraguan puro that’s been in reliable production since 2011, and it’s the single most dependable upgrade-tier SKU a wholesale cigar distributor can put on your shelf right now.
Wrapper: Ecuadorian Sumatra sun-grown Binder + Filler: All Nicaraguan, aged 4+ years Size in focus: Figurado - 6½ × 52, tapered head Ratings: 93 Cigar Aficionado (2012 Cigar of the Year - Serie V Melanio Figurado specifically). Held 91–93 on every re-review since. Retail range you should run: $14–$18 stick · $260–$310 box of 10
Why it’s May’s pick, specifically
Three reasons this cigar earns its slot right now:
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Supply stability heading into summer. The PCA trade show drops in July, and every year distributors lose 3–5 weeks of normal supply cadence while manufacturers pivot to trade-show production. Cigars that already have tight allocation get tighter. Cigars like the Serie V Melanio - core line, non-seasonal, steady production - stay stable. Planning your May/June/July rotation around dependable SKUs is what separates a real program from a wish list.
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The Figurado vitola reads “premium” at first glance. The tapered head + box-press gets noticed in a glass humidor from across the room. Guests ordering at upscale bars don’t know the ratings, don’t know the blend house - they’re scanning the visual signal. A well-proportioned figurado next to a Macanudo and a Romeo says “this retailer knows what they’re doing.” That’s free positioning, built into the cigar itself.
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The flavor curve fits summer. Ecuadorian Sumatra wrappers run medium-full with a cocoa-leather-cedar spine that pairs well with both bourbon (dominant summer spirit) and aged rum (dominant poolside spirit). Maduros dominate the fall/winter rotation; the Serie V Melanio’s Sumatra wrapper is what your hospitality floor wants from May through September.
Where it belongs
- Hotel cigar bars and resort lounges - reads premium, carries ratings, pairs across the summer spirit menu
- Upscale steakhouses with humidors - the $15 upgrade tier, next to Macanudo on the printed menu
- Casino high-limit rooms - Figurado vitola has the right visual weight behind glass
- Golf clubs with clubhouse cigar service - Ecuadorian Sumatra holds up in outdoor humidity better than darker maduros
- Cigar bars transitioning to summer menus - swap out some of the Connecticut lineup for this as the weather shifts
- Independent retail - easy repeat-customer blend; the ratings sell it to first-time buyers
Where it doesn’t
The Figurado is the flagship vitola but it’s not the cheapest in the Melanio line. If you’re opening a program on a conservative opening humidor budget, you can start with the Churchill (7 × 50, parejo) at the same price point with nearly identical flavor. Save the Figurado for when you’ve earned a guest base that notices the shape.
Also: don’t stock this one on ice-cold January nights. The Sumatra-wrapped medium-full profile is a shoulder-season and warm-weather cigar. In deep winter, pivot your upgrade-tier shelf to a maduro - the Padrón Natural or Liga Privada No. 9 both work.
The honest note on allocation
The Serie V Melanio Figurado isn’t allocated. You can actually get it. That’s the point.
Every month, retailers ask me about cigars that are - Liga Privada, Padrón Anniversary, rare limited releases. My honest answer: don’t build a program around cigars you can’t reliably source. Build the 30-SKU core rotation that actually moves through your floor every week, and treat allocation as a bonus when it shows up. A humidor stocked with the Serie V Melanio, Macanudo, Ashton, Rocky Patel, and a Padrón core line will outperform a humidor dependent on rare allocations 11 months out of 12.
The move for May
If you’re already an MDC account and the Serie V Melanio Figurado isn’t in your current rotation, call your rep and put it in. Summer menu season starts now.
If you’re not an MDC account yet - apply for an MDC account and we’ll look at your floor, your clientele, and what the right summer rotation looks like. The conversation starts with dependable SKUs, not fantasy allocation lists.
One cigar, one month, one pick.
- Peter
June’s pick drops on the first Tuesday of June. Past picks live on the blog.
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About the Author
Peter Roth
Peter Roth founded MDC Wholesale Cigars in 2012 after starting with a single cigar kiosk in a Denver mall. Over the following decade he built out a portfolio of cigar businesses spanning online retail, storefront retail, and a cigar bar & whiskey lounge - three of which were later acquired by a private equity group in a seven-figure transaction. MDC is where his focus sits today: supplying premium cigars and on-site consulting to casinos, luxury hotels, resorts, restaurants, golf clubs, and independent retailers nationwide - including The Four Seasons, The Broadmoor, and Caesars Entertainment.
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