Aaron Loomis

 John McTavish

Pre-light Experience

Aaron: The wrapper on the rectangle pressed Villiger 1888 Gran Reserva is medium brown with well pressed veins. The seams are smooth and the caps very well applied. There are two bands, with the primary being gold, red and black and denoting the company and line. The foot band is black and gold and denotes the sub-line. The aroma from the wrapper is a light mix of earth and cedar while the foot brings, stone fruit sweetness, cedar, carboard and mild spice. The pre-light draw is a very faint mix of cedar and earth along with a mild spiciness on my lips.
John: The Villiger 1888 Gran Reserva comes in cellophane, with a UPC sticker that includes cigar information and features an integrated tear space that stays intact when opened. The cigar has an artisanal complication of being box-pressed. It features a primary Villiger 1888 band and a foot band denoting Gran Reserva. I weighed the cigar at 16.8 grams, and measured the humidity at 60.2% using the CigarMedics HumidiMeter Pro. From the wrapper, I detected aromas of sweet, musty tobacco with some background wood. Out of the foot, I picked up medium-strength raisin and sweet tobacco, with faint wood in the background.

Villiger 1888 Gran Reserva

First Third

Aaron: The cigar begins with a mellow mix of earth, toasted cedar and some baking spice. At a half inch in, the earth increases its fullness. The retrohale is earth, toasted cedar and mild baking spice. At an inch and a quarter, a faint cocoa powder becomes present. At an inch and a half in, the earth really picks up. As the third comes to a close, the earth is ahead of the toasted cedar, with baking spice in the middle of the profile and faint cocoa powder in the background. The strength was right at medium.
John: The cigar opens with a blend of chocolate and a vegetal/clover-like note, followed by a wood and chocolate finish. A delayed wood note appears on the post draw. Through the retrohale, medium-strength earth settles in, accompanied by light-plus black pepper building on the finish. As the first third progresses, the earth intensifies to medium-full, eventually bleeding into the post draw. By the one-inch mark, earth dominates the post draw, with sweet tobacco acting as a secondary element.

Villiger 1888 Gran Reserva

Second Third

Aaron: As the second third begins, the baking spice transitions to black pepper. At a quarter inch in, the toasted cedar increases a bit. At three quarters of an inch in, the toast level increases a bit. At an inch in, the faint cocoa powder has departed. The retrohale is now earth and toasted cedar with some black pepper. At an inch and a quarter, the black pepper increases. As the third comes to a close, the earth is just ahead of the toasted cedar, with black pepper right behind it. The strength bumped up to slightly above medium.
John: The second third begins with wood and creamy earth, accented by baking spice, which carries through into the post draw. As it settles in, the earth retreats to a medium-minus level, allowing faint chocolate and sweet tobacco to return. Approaching the halfway mark, coffee emerges in the center of the retrohale and combines with loamy earth on the finish.

Villiger 1888 Gran Reserva

Final Third

Aaron: As the final third begins, the toasted cedar becomes even with the earth up front. At a half inch in, the black pepper is now right behind the earth and toasted cedar. The retrohale remains earth and toasted cedar with some black pepper. As the cigar wraps up, the earth and toasted cedar are even up front, with the black pepper right behind. The strength remains at slightly above medium.
John: The final third leads with creamy earth, transitioning into heavier, medium-strength earth that lingers into the post draw. By the halfway point of the final third, the profile becomes earth-dominant, maintaining a dry, grounded character with no significant complexity beyond that.

Villiger 1888 Gran Reserva

Burn

Aaron: The burn was a bit wavy at times, but never needed any attention. The ash held on in inch and a half increments.
John: The burn began razor straight, but spontaneously went out in both the second and last third, each requiring a re-light. These interruptions negatively impacted flavor development and consistency.

Villiger 1888 Gran Reserva

Draw

Aaron: The draw was perfect, with just the right amount of resistance that I prefer.
John: The draw measured at 65 inches of water using the CigarMedics Draw Machine. Subjectively, it was 2.5 to 3 notches toward the resistant spectrum, providing a resistant but still functional draw.

Overall

Aaron: The cigar began with a mellow mix of earth, toasted cedar and some baking spice. The earth increased fairly quickly and a light cocoa powder note joined in. The earth then really ramped up. The second third saw the baking spice transition to black pepper and the cedar increased a bit, later having the toast level increase. Later, the cocoa powder note departed and the pepper increased. The final third saw the toasted cedar become even with the earth and the pepper increased a bit more. The Villiger 1888 Gran Reserva had an average flavor profile throughout, driven by earth and toasted cedar with the baking spice and then black pepper trailing not far behind. This Mexican wrapped offering stuck with the trend of an earth forward offering that didn’t have supporting notes that could balance the profile. I don’t see myself returning to this one.
John: The Villiger 1888 Gran Reserva delivers a profile that leans heavily into earth, chocolate, wood and sweet tobacco, with flashes of coffee and baking spice in the middle third. The second third stands out for its more refined balance and nuanced notes. However, two spontaneous re-lights disrupted both the burn integrity and flavor delivery, dragging the overall experience down. While it has moments of interest, the construction flaws prevent it from reaching its full potential, resulting in an average overall rating. Total smoking time was 2 hours and 7 minutes.

Aaron Loomis

SCORE

5.65

Cost/Point

$3.89

Scoring System

John McTavish

SCORE

5.40

Cost/Point

$4.07

Scoring System

Team Cigar Review: Villiger 1888 Gran Reserva