You may have heard about the recent ribbon cutting of the new Villiger Cigar factory in Esteli, Nicaragaua that happened during this years Puro Sabor cigar festival. It was a big thing, it is the latest premium ciagr factory for the 135 year old cigar company. What you may not have known is that the factory has been operational for over a year before the ribbon cutting. The first to come out of the factory was the company’s revamped Libertad but the big news is the newest Villiger de Nicaragua Edición Limitada 2022, a cigar that Villiger had planned for release last year but had to wait to get them boxed and shipped. It is carries the namesake of the factory itself Villiger de Nicaragua,
Well here we are in 2023 now, and 10,000 of these beauties are arriving on retailer shelves as I type this. I got my hands on a few and am pleased to offer my take on this long awaited Villiger cigar.
The Villiger de Nicaragua Edición Limitada 2022 is expressed in a single (6 x 52) box pressed torpedo and comes packaged in 20-count boxes. The company has set an MSRP of $15.00/cigar.
The rich and bold blend is described as:
- Wrapper – Ecuadoran
- Binder – Mexican
- Filler – Nicaraguan and Pennsylvanian
For this review I sampled, three of the Villiger de Nicaragua Edición Limitada 2022’s, which I received from the company for the purpose of reviewing on Stogie Press.
Pre-Light Examination
Before I get too deep into this review, lets just say, I absolutely love the look of this cigar. The silky smooth, dark chocolate wrapper is attractive by itself but then add in a slight reddish tinge, a fine oily sheen, and minimal veins and well folks – you have a cigar that just draws you in to admire its look. Now do a soft box pressing on the torpedo format and finish it with an expertly applied torpedo cap and you have a cigar that any enthusiast would want to grab and try.
Let’s talk about the adornments now. The cigar is branded with two cigar rings that are as equally attractive as the cigar itself. The company’s choice to use a black, blue, and gold motif just shines on top of the dark wrapper. Careful examination of the rings tell a story. There is a blue silhouette of a volcano, which Nicaragua is famous for in Ometepe. Below that is a blue and black scene of a palm trees, clouds, and city scene. The primary band displays the the Villiger logo logo in the center along with “De Nicaragua” while the secondary band states “EDICION LIMITADA 2022”. A lot of thought nd deign went into the these rings.
Of course, looks are one thing, but do we judge the book by its cover? Let’s get down to the rest of the review. Being so intrigued by the looks, I moved to the next step of giving the Villiger de Nicaragua Edición Limitada 2022 the ole’ sniff test. I ran the barrel under my nose and rotated it gently as Iet the aromas of mild baking spice fill my nostrils. Not bad, now onto the foot. A gentle squeeze and a few sniffs an I am greeted with notes of cocoa and raisin – enticing indeed!
Almost done with the pre-light. Next step was to open the pointed torpedo cap. Now there are many ways to do this. Some just slice straight across shoulder, while others slice it at a 45 degree angle, and lately I have seen enthusiasts use their V-cutter to slice across the point. As for me, I always did the 45 degree angle cut, but since I got my CiagrMedics Baller cutter, I have really enjoyed the perfect opening it does on a torpedo tip. All it takes is 2 snips and you have a perfect concave cut, so that is what I went with.
Once opened, I gave the cigar some cold draw puffs that had a perfect restriction and continued the early sensory pleasure this gem of a cigar has been offering. Notes of milk chocolate and raisin, that reminded me of chocolate covered raisins (Raisinets), graced the palate. Man, those are my go-to snack when I am watching a movie in a theater. I cold puffed this a bit more just to enjoy the pre-light flavors.
Alrighty then, let’s get to lighting this up. I used my single flame torch to warm the foot gently to an even orange glow and drew in a full volume, introductory puff, of raisin and spice smoke to get the journey started. Like always, follow along ad I burn this one to ash.
Cigar Review Notes
- First puffs offers pleasant raisin and spice notes
- Full volume of thick chewy smoke
- A growing earth notes fills in the profile
- Light grey ash forms on top of a thick wavy char line
- Cafe Mocha notes complete the early profile
- Enticing sweet and spicy aroma wafts off the foot
- Ash is hanging on strong
- Citrus notes develop in the second third
- Aroma begins to shift to sweet woody note
- Long Ash finally fell revealing a fat but centered burn cone
- Continued cocoa notes and natural tobacco sweetness
- Spice notes deep in second third
- Earth notes with growing spice and citrus down to final
- Medium in Strength
- Total Smoking Time was 1 hour and 30 minutes
Final Analysis
The Villiger de Nicaragua Edición Limitada 2022 was an amazing offering from Villiger Cigars from the presentation, pre-light and through the journey. The early Raisin and Spice graced the palate and fired the taste buds for what was to come. The Cafe Mocha was an added bonus to the profile early in the burn and the natural sweetness soothed the blend throughout the journey. The shifting aromas from sweet and spicy to woody added an extra dimension. It did have a rather continued jagged burn but the ash carried for a long time before falling and really only fell twice through the experience. This is certainly box worthy and one any enthusiast would enjoy. I rate this a solid 95.
Point Deductions: (-1) Wavy Jagged Burn; (-1) Flat Burn but centered burn cone
Bonus Points: (+1) Box Worthy; (+1) Extreme Ash; (+1) Pleasing and Consistent Across Multiple Samples
