For its 2024 Limited Edition, Oliva found a rather unusual but extremely talented partner. Piano virtuoso Paul Montag composed a music piece while enjoying the sensational Serie V Melanio Gran Toro. The remarkable one-take 45 minute record is now ready to guide every aficionado’s experience with this fantastic, exclusive cigar. It is aptly called: #dontsmokebutenjoy
Paul Montag is a French musician and one of the most esteemed piano virtuoso’s in the world. He also happens to be a cigar lover. Always in search of that uncharted territory in which creativity has no boundaries, Montag wanted to see, hear and feel where inspiration of the moment takes him at the piano while he lights up a truly unique cigar.
According to Oliva, on December 1st 2023, Montag sat down at his piano and lit up a Serie V Melanio Gran Toro. What followed was a 45 minute burst of creative mania – unique musical notes guided by exclusive taste notes of a long lasting, dazzling cigar. A duet that unites two incredible means to immerse oneself in the pleasures of sensory discovery and adventure.
The idea arose from a simple conversation between Montag and Fred Vandermarliere, CEO of VCF, the mother company of Oliva Cigar Company. Both men started talking about the introspective power of both classical music and cigars. “What if”, asked Montag out loud, “what if one day we finally managed to mix classical music, and more specifically the piano, with cigars and one of my favorite cigar brands, Oliva?”
Fred Vandermarliere took on the challenge: “I think it’s a marvelous idea, and what hit me the most was that Paul, in his own way, was looking for a way to achieve what we also try to with every hand-crafted Oliva cigar: a medium to a state of mind in which introspection and enjoyment come together and shape a very intense, pure experience.”
Montag says, “Music goes to the very depth of a person’s soul, and cigars enable us to achieve a sense of plenitude through a form of introspection. It’s a unique experience that all aficionados will now be able to enjoy. Hence the title, which also winks at Fred’s company slogan: don’t smoke, but enjoy.”
The partnership is linked to the launch of the Serie V Melanio Gran Toro Limited Edition 2024, was held at PCA this past weekend and will be showcased during Intertabac in September for the international market. Just like Paul Montag’s music, the Gran Toro is a remarkable cigar, a 5 1⁄2 x 60 version of the exact same Serie V Melanio wrapper, filler and binder that bring so many aficionados worldwide to enjoy and celebrate Oliva’s craftsmanship.
10,000 boxes of the Limited Edition 2024 will be distributed in the US Market, 5,000 for the international market. Aficionados will be able to scan a QR code to access Paul Montag’s album when they embark on their mixed music and cigar experience.
