Talanga, a windy, mountainous, region in the center of Honduras is the home of some unique and flavorful Connecticut shade tobacco. It is where Villiger Cigars turned to get the wrapper leaf for their Talanga cigar, that was introduced in 2012. Still a regular production line for the 125 year old company, the Villiger Talanga is a bold Connecticut shade cigar that boasts a multitude of filler and binder leaf from Nicaragua.
The blend starts with Estelí, Condega & Ometempe filler binded with Jalapa and wrapped with a Connecticut Shade grown in the Honduran Talanga Valley.
Manufactured at Plasencia Cigars S.A in Esteli, Nicaragua, the Villiger Talanga is available in five vitolas and packaged in boxes of 20.
- Corona – 5.5 x 44
- Robusto – 5 x 50
- Toro – 6 x 50
- Gordo – 6 x 60
- Churchill – 7 x 50
For this review I sampled the Villiger Talanga Robusto.
Cigar Review Notes
- Toothy, medium tan, wrapper
- Light veins
- Dark filler contrasts with the wrapper
- Tea and sweetness aroma off the foot
- Pepper on the cold draw
- Heavy shot of white pepper once fired up
- Pepper dissipated after half-inch
- Coffee enters
- Medium grey ash with a thick char line
- Full volume of smoke
- Cream joins the mix to smooth out the smoke
- Classic Connecticut bitterness picks up halfway
- Strength is certainly moving up – this is not a mild cigar!
- Bitter sweet cedar
- Spice adds to the profile with a sweet syrupy aroma to finish
- Finishes at medium strength
- Total smoking time was just over an hour
Overall the Villiger Talanga is an excellent morning smoke to enjoy with a rich cup of cappuccino to get the day going. The burn was fairly spot on and the flavor transitions awakens the morning palate. This is certainly not your average Connecticut.