Tag Archives: Villiger

July 12, 2026 · 9:52 am

New England Cigar Militia 250 Years of Independence, Villiger 1888 and Room 101 Cigars

You know how sometimes I smoke with a theme in mind, and sometimes it just works out that way? This time it was cigars with numbers in the name I guess. Totally unintentional. I’m starting out with a cigar from the New England Cigar Militia, which is a facebook group founded by Kevin Parow. This cigars is the New England Cigar Militia 250 Years of Independence. There isn’t a lot of information about this cigar out there, and I was rather hoping to have more info before I wrote this. I suppose I’ll be updating a few things later. This is a perfecto, or salomon cigar, it’s 6″ x 54 by my measuring and, best I can tell, it’s made at American Caribbean Cigars S.A. in Esteli. This is the factory that makes Rock-A-Feller Cigars. I really should have smoked one of these last weekend, given the overall theme of the cigar. I think it’s probably good all year, right? Even with the nipple at the foot, it had a great draw. I got some sweet, nuttiness over the course of the smoke. The wrapper wasn’t the prettiest, and I suspect it was a Habano of some sort. I probably am safe saying this is a limited edition cigar, and, once again pending an update, I don’t know where one would purchase these cigars. This part of the article is pending updates.

Next up was the Villiger 1888 San Andrés toro. People seem to dump on Villiger as a brand, and I’ve never been able to figure out why. A lot of cigars aren’t widely available, and a lot of brands are on the market for years and don’t get a lot of traction. In the probably 15 years I’ve been smoking Villiger cigars, and I mean the premium ones, I haven’t had a bad one, and there’s quite a few I’ve really enjoyed a lot. Sure, they screwed up many years ago when they eliminated their sales staff, really screwed up (leaving people stranded away from home isn’t right). Since then Renè Castañeda has been leading the brand in the U.S. and making some excellent cigars. This 1888 San Andrés is one of the better ones. I smoked the 6″ x 50 toro, which is box pressed. I see they make a Churchill, I really want to get my hands on some of those! I like a traditional Churchill, even though this one is 7″ x 50, I’m willing to give it a shot. Anyway, this has a San Andrés wrapper, Ecuador Habano binder and Nicaraguan fillers, and it’s made at Villiger de Nicaragua, which is a factory within the Joya de Nicaragua factory. The wrapper is beautiful, dark with some oils showing. I get some dark chocolate and espresso, without the earthiness that one sometimes get with Mexican tobacco. I’ve been a fan of the Mexican leaf since I started smoking Te-Amos back in the 90s, and this one is far more refined.

I came across a Room 101 Doomsayer toro in the humidor and realized I’d never smoked one, so I lit one up last night. This line has been around for a few years, if comes in two styles, the Passive and the Aggressive. I smoked the Passive, which has a Ecuador Habano wrapper, Indonesian binder and fillers from Honduras, Nicaragua and Pennsylvania. It’s a 6″ x 55 toro. This line came out before Scandinavian Tobacco Group acquired Room 101. It’s made in the Dominican Republic at Tabacalera William Ventura. I think these came in a box of 55 for some reason, and they appear to be still available here and there. This cigar smoked very well for me, burn and draw were perfect. There was a nice spiced bread sort of flavor that was intriguing. the number 55 must have some significance, the ring gauge and box count both being 55, but I sure don’t get it! It was a good cigar, seems to be a value price, and I would recommend it.

Tonight we are attending a Diner en Blob, which is based on the Diner en Blanc, which is a pop-up white party we have attended in years past. This is in conjunction with Blobfest, which is held every year in nearby Phoenixville, PA. The 1958 classic “The Blob” was filmed at locations around our area. This dinner is being held at a secret location, we dress in red, bring our own food, and we’ll see how it goes. I have a selection of Red cigars picked out for the evening, if the opportunity present itself to smoke. Bariay 1492 Red, West Tampa Red, Macanudo Inspirado Red, Red Meat Lovers and Hoyo de Monterrey Rojo cigars will be in my pocket. We anticipate a good time. That’s all for today, until the next time,

CigarCraig

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Tagged as 1888, 250 Years of Independence, cigar, cigars, Doomsayer, New England Cigar Militia, Passive, Room 101, San Andrés, Villiger

June 14, 2026 · 10:29 am

Villiger Year of the Horse, HVC and Oscar Valladares Cigars

When I was at the Smoke-Onos a couple weeks back I saw my old friend René Castańeda and he gave me a Villiger Year of the Horse that’s only available in the Asian market. The Year of the Horse is a 6″ x 52 torpedo with an Ecuadorian Habano oscuro wrapper, a Mexican San Andrés binder and fillers from Nicaragua. It is made at the Villiger de Nicaragua factory, which is owned by Villiger but run by Joya de Nicaragua. I’m partial to just about anything out of the JdN factory. Like I said, this will be a pretty worthless “review”, since the cigar is only available overseas, or if you happen to be in good with René! What sucks is I really enjoyed this cigar! It was rich and delicious and burned perfectly, with dark chocolate and dried fruit flavors. The packaging looks incredible, red lacquered box, (there are pictures on Halfwheel, take a look there) but the bands are a little plain, I guess they are beautiful in their simplicity. I’m sure there’s something similar in the readily available Villiger line up, I guess I need to search it out.

I smoked a couple cigars that came in one of Smoke Inn’s crazy deals a few weeks ago, there was a sampler that had a bunch of “new to me” cigars, first up is the HVC Vieja Cosecha No. 2. It seems like this came out in 2015 or 16, so I’m quite behind. This is a 6½” x 56 Perfecto. The barcode label says “doble Figurado”, which in my mind is incorrect, it’s a figurado, a perfecto, but it isn’t doble anything! It’s a perfecto, and the draw was perfect on this one. It has a sweet bready start, with some spice that built up, which I expect from this brand. I’ve been a fan of HVC, a lot of their cigars are very much to my liking. This one was very enjoyable. On a side note, HVC needs to get a website put together, they’ve been around over ten years, it’s about time.

I’ve found that I’ve been smoking a lot of great cigars recently, I haven’t had a dud in a while! Another cigar that was in the same sampler as the HVC was the Oscar Valladares 2012 Sumatra Sixty. This is a 6″ x 60 box press, with an Ecuador Sumatra wrapper, Honduran binder and Honduran and Nicaraguan fillers, made in Honduras. I find myself liking Sumatra cigars more and more lately. There’s a sour/sweet candy flavor I like, it’s almost a desert cigar, which is good because the majority of the cigars I smoke are after a meal. This was super good, and a good value at around $11. This brand came out in 2012 when we were all worried about the Mayan calendars prediction that the world would end. Spoiler: it didn’t.

I’ve been having some website issues and am working with my host to geet them straightened out. This shouldn’t pose any danger to the reader, but it’s aggravating the hell out of me. That’s all for today, until the next time,

CigarCraig

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Tagged as 2012, cigar, cigars, HVC, Oscar Valladares, Sumatra, Vieja Cosecha No. 2, Villiger, Year of the Horse

July 6, 2025 · 10:24 am

Tatuaje, Villiger and Cavalier Geneve Cigars

We’re coming off a holiday weekend that’s had beautiful weather. I spent my weekend running around doing estate stuff, but I did manage to get a few good cigars in. Friday was my wedding anniversary (38), so I had a traditional Padron 1964 Exclusivo Natural from a box that the Padrons gifted me in 2014. I published my first magazine article in Prime Living Magazine (which is, sadly, no more) and featured the Padron 1964 Exclusivo, back when they were really expensive at $12. People say that Padrons don’t age well, I beg to differ, this one was just fine. I also had a Trinidad Vigia that was given to me several years ago, and I’ve been a little concerned about it. The guy that gave it to me didn’t really know me, he was running a shop a few towns over that we more of a shipping operation of cigars to China. There was something weird about the operation, and, to be honest, I don’t think the cigars I bought out of their large walk in humidor were ever charged to my card. I haven’t stopped back, they keep strange hours. The Trinidad was real, had a floral profile that while good, wasn’t really my preference. I capped the day off with a Micallef Firecracker, which was too strong for me for late in the evening! Good stuff, I hope everyone got through the holiday intact.

One of the cigars that my son got me for Father’s Day was a Tatuaje Pork Tenderloin. This is a 5 1/8″ x 52 Robusto Extra that’s made in the My Father Factory in Esteli. It has a Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper over Nicaraguan binders and fillers. This is a new cigar this year, at least this version is. I don’t think I’ve smoked any of the Pork Tenderloins before, they’ve always been hard to get. I should get more of these, because they are really good. It captivated me from the first light, with some spice, espresso and sweet earth. There was a cinnamon stretch midway through. I finished it in time for a friend to reach out to me saying he was in the ER, and asking if I could sit with his dogs for a bit. We took care of his dogs and I picked him up at the ER and all was well.

Yesterday I was running around taking are of business, and when I got done I lit up a La Capitana toro from Villiger. This is a reimagining of a La Capitana that was around back in 2013, which was a Nicaraguan puro made in the DR, and a pretty good smoke if I recall. This one has an Ecuador Connecticut wrapper, Nicaraguan binder and Nicaraguan and Dominican fillers. This one was an old school 6″ x 50 Toro. It’s made at the Villiger de Nicaragua (Joya) factory. This was a nice, nutty, medium bodied Connecticut cigar. It was smooth, burned well, although a bit fast, and was a pretty darned good smoke. Villiger is a brand that seems to go unappreciated. The have a lot of good premium cigars. Don’t dismiss their TAA cigars, which are usually very interesting.

I wrapped up the day yesterday with a Cavalier Geneve BII-Viso Jalapa Robusto Gordo. I believe Brian Motola either gave this to me, or it was included in the Cigar Circus swag from my visit to Clearwater back in the beginning of March. This beauty has the gold leaf diamond on the wrapper, with a very thin band, a really nice presentation. This started out spicy, but settled into the expresso thing I like pretty quick. I really enjoyed this cigar, it was super good! The burn and draw were perfect, it was just a really, really good smoke. I’m going to shop for some ore of these at some point. I remember meeting Sebastian at the IPCPR show maybe in 2016? He’s a very cool dude, Brian’s pretty cool as well.

That’s all for today, until the next time,

CigarCraig

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Tagged as Cavalier, cigar, cigars, Geneve, La Capitana, padron, Pork Tenderloin, tatuaje, trinidad, Villiger

May 18, 2025 · 8:49 am

Villiger and Mil Dias Cigars and the Smoke-Onos Event

Yesterday I attended the Smoke-Onos event at Best Cigar Prices in Drums, PA, but more on that later. First I want to talk about a couple cigars I smoked this week. First up was the Villiger 1888 Gran Reserva. This is a 6″ x 54 with a San Andrés wrapper, Ecuador Habano binder and Nicaraguan fillers. These are made at the Villiger de Nicaragua factory in Esteli (Until I’m told otherwise, I believe this is a sub-factory within Joya de Nicaragua). I was disappointed that René Castañeda wasn’t at the event yesterday! This cigar is $22, is limited to 1000 ten count boxes, and uses tobaccos aged at least two years with a year of post-roll aging. Of course, the size of the cigar is right, I really liked this cigar. It started with some cocoa and spices which kept going all the way through. This was a really enjoyable smoke, if they were half the price I’d be all over them!

To those who don’t know, Smoke-Onos is a portmanteau of Smoke and Poconos. To those who don’t know what a portmanteau is, go ahead and look it up! The Poconos is a sub-range of the Appalachian mountains located in the north-east part of Pennsylvania. It has nothing to do with Yoko Ono. Best Cigar Prices has their operation, with includes the Best Cigar Pub, in Drums, PA, which is kinda between Wilkes-Barre and Hazleton. Despite being in a relatively remote area, it’s a very popular cigar destination. The Smoke-Onos event covers several days, with events Thursday and Friday evenings, and a large multivendor event Saturday, an afterparty, then something on Sunday. I attended the Saturday event on a press pass, which got me in the door. If you are anywhere near this area, go to this event.

Many of the major players were there, the swag looked very impressive, with a duffle/backpack full of swag and cigars. There was a band that was loud (I was impressed when I heard them playing Hocus Pocus by Focus), the Drew Estate booth, which was smack dab in the middle of the event, was loud, and the crowd was large. I bet there were a couple thousand people there. I’ve been to these sorts of events, and for only the second year, this was up there with the best. I saw a great many friends there, both attendees , other media outlets and exhibitors. Many thanks to BCP for including me!

After getting home, I settled into my usual spot on my porch with a Crowned Heads Mil Dias Maduro Edmundo to watch this week’s episode of Curse of Oak Island. After 15 years they still haven’t found any treasure. The Maduro is a completely different blend than the Habano, with a Broadleaf wrapper, Habano binder and Nicaraguan fillers. This is apparently made in the factory formerly known as Tabacalera Pichardo, TacaNicsa. I really like the Mil Dias Habano, and I was hoping to like this more. It’s a tasty cigar, starts peppery, and the pepper continues throughout. I think I expected more sweetness, and there was some espresso, but no sugar. This might be one of the rare cases where I prefer the Habano over the Maduro, usually Maduro is my jam. Anyway, it was good, the 5 3/8″ x 52 size fit the time I needed it to fill, and I was not unhappy.

That’s all for today. There was another cigar I smoked this week, but I didn’t care for it, so I’ll leave it for another time when I can smoke one again and form a better opinion! Until the next time,

CigarCraig

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Tagged as 1888, Best Cigar Prices, Best Cigar Pub, cigar, cigars, Crowned Heads, Mil Dias, Smoke-onos, smokeonos, Villiger

February 16, 2025 · 8:33 am

Villiger, Blackbird and Platinum Nova Cigars

I remember smoking the Villiger Cuellar line back in 2014. I did an interview at the Rocky Mountain Cigar Festival that year with Shawna Williams and Fabian Barrantes which, inexplicably, is the most viewed video on my YouTube channel. I started that day with the Cuellar Kreme, and have smoked many of them since, then the Cuellar Black Forest, with the San Andrés wrapper which is in my wheelhouse. This year they released the Cuellar Caribe, with an Ecuador Habano wrapper. These have all been made at Tabacalera Palma in the DR. The Caribe is reportedly a spin on the TAA 2021 blend, although I didn’t find much similarity. The binder and fillers are Dominican on this 6″ x 54 toro. I recall the TAA 2021 wasn’t my favorite of the TAA cigars, it was decent, but woody. This one had a strong citrus tang throughout, which I rather enjoyed. the burn and draw were perfect. This was a very enjoyable cigar.

I had been hearing about a Blackbird Cigars Crow in a box pressed toro format and was intrigued. This may or may not be exclusive to SmokingPipes.com, which is the ecommerce arm of Low Country Pipe and Cigar in South Carolina. Perhaps Tyler there will weigh

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in on whether this is an exclusive or not. I knew they had them, and wanted some more of their definitely exclusive Flamingo Lanceros (I smoked one of those tasty buggers this week too), so I ordered them. The Crow is my favorite cigar in the Blackbird line up. It has a San Andrés wrapper, Habano binder and Nicaraguan, Pennsylvanian, Corojo, and Criollo 98 fillers. This box pressed toro is the same size as the Gran Toro, but feels smaller somehow. It was a really great cigar, I should have gotten more! It’s dark, rich with some earthy espresso notes. It’s everything I like in a cigar in the evening. I am generally a fan of the Blackbird cigars, but the Crow is my favorite by far.

Yesterday afternoon after running some errands, and watching it snow, I picked out a Churchill to sit on the porch and watch a movie. I selected the Platinum Nova Cigars 5 Boroughs, a 7″ x 50 cigar that came back with me from the TPE show. This cigar was new to me, but it’s apparently been out for a couple years. It’s another San Andres wrapper, with Corojo and Cubita double binder and Nicaraguan fillers. The double binder is something new to Nova cigars, as is the band, which is different from the rest of the Nova line which uses the same band with secondary bands. The wrapper is not pretty, it’s mottled, and they are usually the tastiest! This had some interesting flavors, some earth and coffee again, a hint of spice, nothing that I don’t like. I only saw one other review for this and the reviewer hated it, and he’s wrong, it’s a good cigar. I’m not sure it’s $18 good (to me, I’m a cheap SOB), but it was objectively a good cigar, and I enjoyed it. Burn and draw

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were right, it was the right length for a movie, and I was happy.

I’m working on another cigar adventure in a few weeks, hopefully the logistics work out. It’ll be a quick in and out again. I will travel light, but I always want to take cigars, and I have to pick the right travel humidor. As much as I like this one, it’s not TSA friendly! I may just take a ziplock or use the Captain America-ador as my carry on! That’s all for today, until the next time,

CigarCraig