Pre-light Experience

Aaron: The wrapper on the Maya Selva VZ Danlí Robusto is light brown with hints of green and there are some prominently raised veins. The seams are smooth and the caps well applied. There are two bands, both in a Hunter Green and gold-ish olive color. The primary carries the traditional design for the brand while the foot band denotes the company. The aroma from the wrapper is a mix of cedar and earth, while the foot brings cedar, bread and stewed fruit. The pre-light draw is a floral cedar note.
Seth: The Maya Selva VZ Danlí Robusto is decent in appearance. The wrapper has a very faded Natural coloring, and it has that stained antique brown color. There are small veins present throughout, and the cigar is silky in texture. It is firm in hand with soft aromas on the wrapper of wood, earth and tobacco, while the foot is giving off creamier and raisin like aromas.
John: The Maya Selva VZ Danlí Robusto came in cellophane and had a UPC sticker with the cigar information which tears as it opened. There is a primary band along with a “Maya Selva Cigars Since 1995” foot band. I weighed the cigar at 12.6 grams. For aromas from the wrapper, I picked out bread, wood and background hay. From the foot, I could detect aged tobacco, bread, wood, hay and faint raisin.
Jiunn: The Maya Selva VZ Danlí Robusto has a straight down the middle Colorado wrapper shade. The natural brown is even colored, veins are well pressed, seams tight, bunch and roll even and the head is well wrapped and capped. Pre-light aromas consist of great barnyard funk and trailing cedar.

Maya Selva VZ Danlí Robusto

First Third

Aaron: The cigar begins with toasted cedar, earth and light amounts of black pepper and mustiness. At a quarter inch in, a light pastry like breadiness joins in. The retrohale is toasted cedar and earth with mild black pepper. At an inch in, the black pepper increases a bit and the pastry note has departed. As the third comes to a close, the toasted cedar is just ahead of the earth, with black pepper just behind the middle of the profile. The strength was right at medium.
Seth: The first third delivers a flavor profile of cedar, hay and soft tobacco. There are some faint cream notes along with pepper and burnt paper. Medium in strength and body with a long finish.
John: The initial flavor impressions are creamy tobacco, nutmeg and mild earth with earth and wood combining with a delayed faint coffee on the finish. As the first third settles in, a vegetal note has moved into the center of the profile. A mild tannic note joins the wood through the finish as it continues. By the halfway point, sweet earth and wood is driving the profile as earth and a mildly tannic wood finishes. Through the bottom half, mild chocolate breaks into the middle of the retrohale. A vegetal note joins the end of the draw some time later.
Jiunn: The first third has an easy going and thinner flavor profile. There’s minerals, cedar, mixed nuts and creamy bread. Retrohaling introduces spice in the form of a sharper cedar and cherry cordials. The finish is short with just a peek of cedar. Strength and body is medium.

Maya Selva VZ Danlí Robusto

Second Third

Aaron: As the second third begins, the black pepper becomes a bit dull, but maintains its spot in the profile. At a quarter inch in, some cardboard joins the profile. The retrohale is now toasted cedar, cardboard and earth with mild black pepper. As the third comes to a close, the toasted cedar is just ahead of the earth, with dull black pepper in the middle of the profile and some carboard right behind the pepper. The strength remained at medium.
Seth: The second third delivers a very similar profile. Cedar, hay and soft tobacco. Some earth notes are present as well with those cream, pepper and burnt paper notes. Like before, medium in strength and body.
John: Creamy wood and mild earth start the second third. A mild, dry tannic wood is finishing out of the gate. As the cigar settles in here, a mild chocolate center develops through the retrohale. Moving to the halfway mark, the mild earth has moved up to medium strength on the finish, bringing some mossy notes through the post draw.
Jiunn: The second third is very similar to the first third. The profile is still easy going with the same set of flavors. But the flavors are no longer thin. Instead, there’s an incohesive aspect such that the flavors don’t meld very well together. There’s also now a general overcast of staleness in wood. Strength and body remain medium.

Maya Selva VZ Danlí Robusto

Final Third

Aaron: As the final third begins, the earth mellows a bit, letting the toasted cedar shine a bit more. At a quarter inch in, the black pepper mellows a bit. The retrohale is now toasted cedar and earth with a bit of cardboard. As the cigar wraps up, the toasted cedar is up front with the earth a bit behind, and the black pepper is just behind the middle of the profile with carboard in the background. The strength remained at medium.
Seth: The final third is identical to the second. Burnt paper notes on the end.
John: The last third kicks off with creamy, medium strength earth that carries into the finish to linger between each puff. That earth recedes quickly to light-plus strength as the final third settles in. Mildly tannic wood returns in the last third on the finish as it continues. A marzipan note is present in the center of the profile, but is being lost in the earth note.
Jiunn: The final third’s level of staleness in wood and incohesiveness becomes more evident. The contrasting flavors of the softer notes mixed with the earthiness in minerals and staleness is a bit off putting. Strength and body finish the same medium.

Maya Selva VZ Danlí Robusto

Burn

Aaron: The burn was straight throughout, and the ash held on through each third.
Seth: The burn was great from beginning to end.
John: The burn had a wavy start. It straightened out in the second third and continued straight through the last third.
Jiunn: Flawless burn providing tight ashes, even burn and cool burning temperatures.

Maya Selva VZ Danlí Robusto

Draw

Aaron: The draw was slightly tighter than I prefer, but didn’t cause any issues with the smoking experience.
Seth: The draw was great throughout.
John: The draw was a minor amount into the resistant spectrum, roughly 1-1/2 to 2 notches.
Jiunn: Flawless burn providing tight ashes, even burn and cool burning temperatures.

Overall

Aaron: The cigar began with toasted cedar, earth and light amounts of black pepper and mustiness. Some pastry like breadiness joined in pretty quickly. The pastry note then departed a bit later. The second third saw the black pepper become a bit dull and some cardboard joined the profile. The final third saw the earth and pepper mellow a bit. The Maya Selva VZ Danlí Robusto had a nice start, with a good combination of flavors. It dropped a level in the second third as the pepper became dull and maintained that level the rest of the way. Not a bad offering for the line, but even with the attractive price point, it’s not exciting enough to make me really want to come back to it with any frequency.
Seth: There’s not much to say on the Maya Selva VZ Danlí Robusto. It’s an affordable Honduran puro. Nothing special about the cigar. Average from beginning to end. Not a pretty cigar either, but it has a nice burn and draw throughout. The burnt paper and pepper notes on the finish were not to my liking, I don’t know many who would go for that, but it was never offensive. I’m not sure on the purpose of this cigar. I don’t see it really speaking to the American or European market, and I don’t think budget focused cigar smokers would gravitate towards this cigar.
John: The Maya Selva VZ Danlí Robusto had an interesting and engaging start with the flavor delivery in the first third. I found the remainder of the cigar pleasant, and reasonably balanced, but not as complex as the start. The burn was perfect and the draw was a minor amount towards the resistant spectrum. I think the flavor here was above average, and is unlikely something I would return to. However, the price point is roughly half the current market price which makes it something I might try in another size to see how it performs. Total smoking time was 1 hour and 39 minutes.
Jiunn: There are a handful of things in the cigar industry that intrigues me. One of them is value priced cigars and hoping they are good. So a $7.50 cigar with a strong brand from Maya Selva definitely builds excitement. After smoking the Maya Selva VZ Danlí Robusto, I no longer have the intrigue. The overall flavor profile was thin and incohesive from first light to last draw. The Illusione Maduro Rothchild still runs away with the crown (well, when Aganorsa was good).

Aaron Loomis

SCORE

5.95

Cost/Point

$1.26

Scoring System

Seth Geise

SCORE

5.65

Cost/Point

$1.33

Scoring System

John McTavish

SCORE

5.95

Cost/Point

$1.26

Scoring System

Jiunn Liu

SCORE

5.75

Cost/Point

$1.30

Scoring System

Team Cigar Review: Maya Selva VZ Danlí Robusto