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@D._Generate
Oliva is one of the non-Cuban marcas that make very good cigars. They're not one that I go for often as they are generally milder than I prefer, but they are consistently well made. I'm a bit surprised you had trouble getting it to light because of their reputation for quality construction but that might have been a humidity issue. Of course, there are variations in any hand-made product.
Box-pressed cigars are no different than their round versions, it's just a matter of preference. There are very few true box-pressed Cubans but they are common in non-Cuban cigars. Just depends on whether you want a square smoke or something round in your mouth. Fnar, fnar.
Dark maduro wrappers give the impression of strength, but as you found, that's not always true. Many very mild cigars use maduro wrappers and, in my experience, it is more common to find maduro varieties to actually be milder. Although they do generally give a slightly different flavour that can be quite nice if that's what you're looking for. A great cigar to compare the two wrappers with is the Padron 1964 Anniversaries.
Glad you enjoyed the Oliva. I'm going to the States to see my family over Christmas and am going to be picking up some non-Cubans as they're much cheaper there. I have Padron Anniversaries, Tatuajes and Camachos on my list at the moment.
If anyone is seriously interested in good non-Cubans, I can look into picking some extras up. If you have specifics, I can look at prices and let you know. The local shop in Reno is Fumare, run by a great guy who is the guy behind the Tatuaje line.