When Oliva introduced the Cain line in 2009, the idea was to build a cigar around a tobacco leaf that most blenders used sparingly. Ligero, harvested from the upper portion of the tobacco plant, is thicker, slower-burning, and considerably stronger than the leaves growing beneath it. Ordinarily, a blender might add a little Ligero to give a cigar some muscle. Cain took the opposite approach, making Ligero the foundation of the entire blend. Developed under Oliva's experimental Studio Tobac division, the project was initially associated with cigar maker Sam Leccia, who had already helped introduce the unconventional Nub cigar. Cain was a different sort of experiment, one concerned less with shape than with how much strength a cigar could carry without losing its balance. 

The Cain Maduro was among the original releases, alongside the Habano, and was built around a substantial proportion of triple-fermented Ligero from Nicaragua's three principal tobacco-growing regions: Estelí, Condega, and Jalapa. Each region contributes something different. Estelí is associated with heavier, more powerful tobacco, while Jalapa generally produces sweeter, more aromatic leaves. Condega occupies something of a middle ground. By combining all three, Oliva attempted to make a cigar with considerable strength but enough variety in the tobacco to keep it interesting. The Maduro wrapper adds another dimension, introducing the darker, sweeter character associated with the leaf. Cain was never intended to be particularly subtle, but the amount of work that went into balancing its unusually Ligero-heavy blend suggests that strength alone was never quite the point.