Pre-light Experience

Seth: The Villiger 1888 San Andrés Toro is pressed nicely and finished with a wrapper that has some small tooth and veins throughout the cigar. The coloring has a marbled effect, and it is between Natural and Maduro in coloring. It is slightly firm to touch, and it has aromas of warm spices, rich earth and tobacco.
John: The Villiger 1888 San Andrés Toro has a Colorado Maduro color wrapper, and it appears to be a box-pressed Corona Gorda. The cigar appears very well constructed, with a smooth wrapper and a very neatly applied cap. I weighed the cigar at 15.5 grams and measured the humidity at 63.2% with the HumidiMeter Pro. Aromas from the wrapper included rich tobacco, light earth and wood. From the foot, I was getting light wood and tobacco.
Jiunn: The Villiger 1888 San Andrés Toro has a close to Colorado maduro wrapper shade showing some nice traces of toothiness. Veins are well pressed, seams tight, bunch and roll even and the head is well wrapped and capped. Pre-light aromas give leather shoes and natural roasted nuttiness.

Villiger 1888 San Andrés Toro

First Third

Seth: The first third begins with warm spices that are quite lovely. Sweet pepper spices with some cinnamon and allspice. Rich earth notes are present with some coffee and tobacco. Medium to medium-full in strength and body.
John: The first third opens with creamy bread and tobacco coupled with spices, with a nutty earth combination making up the finish. After a few retrohales, the baking spices move up to medium-full strength quite quickly and linger on the palate between each puff. Some rich, creamy cocoa develops at the front of the retrohale as the first third settles in. A wonderful cinnamon and bread combination develops on the finish as the first third continues. As the cigar continues toward the halfway point, the retrohale shifts to become more wood forward, with the baking spices coming all the way down to light plus strength.
Jiunn: Cocoa is the leader of the flavors followed by minerals and baking spices. Retrohaling has a complex flavor bundle of dried red pepper spice, sweet cherries and barnyard. The finish is short with some lingering sharper cedar. Body is medium-full and strength is medium.

Villiger 1888 San Andrés Toro

Second Third

Seth: The second third continues to deliver those wonderful spice notes with coffee, leather and earth. Nice level of complexity with the little transitioning present. Medium-full to full in strength and body.
John: The second third gets things going with creamy wood and medium minus strength baking spices leading through the retrohale, while mildly dry wood makes up the post draw. As the second third settles in, tobacco sweetness takes the lead away from the wood. The profile remains pretty much consistent as it approaches the halfway point.
Jiunn: The same core flavor components are still there such that it’s still cocoa dominant followed by minerals and baking spices. The only notable difference is the cocoa now has a nice subtle creaminess to it. Strength and body is still medium-full and medium, respectively.

Villiger 1888 San Andrés Toro

Final Third

Seth: The final third delivers those spice notes with coffee, leather, earth and some mineral notes. Fairly similar to the second third. Medium-full to full in strength and body.
John: The last third gets going with creamy wood combining with earth and mild spices. As the last third settles in, earth is almost entirely defining the post draw. By the halfway point, the profile has become largely earth forward. Through the bottom half, baking spices move back up in strength to medium minus.
Jiunn: The final third goes a bit sideways. Minerals and baking spices now have a harsh bite to them, which majorly diminishes the cocoa notes. Strength and body finishes the same medium-full and medium, respectively.

Villiger 1888 San Andrés Toro

Burn

Seth: The burn is great from beginning to end.
John: As with every review, I lit the cigar with my Xikar Tactical single torch lighter. The burn was mildly uneven in the first third, going out after about an inch and requiring a re-light. The burn remained relatively straight into and through the second third. The burn remained relatively straight through the last third.
Jiunn: Burn performance was perfect, giving an even burn, tight ashes, cool burning temperatures and ample smoke production.

Villiger 1888 San Andrés Toro

Draw

Seth: The draw is fantastic from start to finish.
John: As with every review, I used my Colibri SV to make a V-cut. I measured the draw with the Cigar Medics draw machine at 70 inches of water. The draw started out at four to four and a half notches into the resistant spectrum, which would have been a Subpar rating. However, it opened up to two and a half to three notches resistant as the first third got going, bringing it into the Good range.
Jiunn: The draw was also perfect, giving the ideal air flow and resistance.

Overall

Seth: The Villiger 1888 San Andrés Toro smokes well from beginning to end. It has lovely spices throughout the blend and is paired with earth, tobacco and some coffee notes. It is a balanced blend. It is not showing a lot of transitioning, but it has a good profile that is consistent from beginning to end. Nice construction as well. This is a blend I would come back to in the future.
John: Blind Cigar #1614 presents itself very well before the cigar is lit, with a smooth Colorado Maduro wrapper, a neatly applied cap and an overall appearance that suggests careful construction. The pre-light aromas of rich tobacco, earth and wood also provide a reasonable preview of the profile that follows. Once lit, the cigar gets off to a particularly promising start with creamy bread, tobacco, spices and nutty earth establishing a fairly broad flavor foundation. The first third is clearly the strongest portion of the cigar. The baking spices quickly build to medium-full strength through the retrohale, while rich, creamy cocoa and a combination of cinnamon and bread add some welcome sweetness and complexity. There is a good deal happening here without the profile becoming chaotic. As the cigar approaches the halfway point, however, the baking spices retreat significantly and the retrohale becomes more wood forward, marking the beginning of a gradual shift away from the more balanced opening. The second third is considerably more restrained. Creamy wood and baking spices remain present, but tobacco sweetness takes the lead away from the wood as the cigar settles in. The profile is reasonably consistent through this section, although it doesn’t offer the same level of complexity that made the first third stand out. The final third continues the movement toward earth and wood. Creamy wood combines with earth and mild spices initially, but earth increasingly takes control of the post draw and eventually becomes the dominant component of the profile. Baking spices do return through the bottom half at medium minus strength, but they aren’t enough to completely restore the balance found earlier. Construction is somewhat mixed. The burn performs reasonably well overall despite going out early and requiring a re-light, remaining relatively straight for most of the remainder of the cigar. The draw is more problematic, beginning extremely tight at four to four and a half notches resistant before opening considerably as the first third progressed. While it never reaches an ideal level, the improvement is significant enough to bring it into the Good range. Ultimately, the Villiger 1888 San Andrés Toro has the ingredients for a more memorable experience, particularly in the first third where creamy bread, tobacco, cocoa, cinnamon and baking spices work together exceptionally well. Unfortunately, much of that complexity fades as the cigar progresses, leaving wood and earth increasingly in control of the profile. The excellent opening keeps the cigar from falling below Average, but the more restrained second third, earth-forward final third, and initially very tight draw limit the overall experience. The result is a cigar with a strong beginning that gradually loses some of its balance and definition as it moves toward the finish. Total smoking time was 2 hours and 31 minutes.
Jiunn: This Villiger 1888 San Andrés Toro was a good one to sit back with while enjoying some fall football (best time of the year). While the flavors weren’t all that complex, it sang beautifully and kept the engagement for the vast majority of the cigar. It’s also a nice bonus to have a heftier body, which enhances the flavors of the cigar. Looking forward to this reveal and finding some more. Guesses: The fuller body and cocoa/chocolate type flavors makes me think Connecticut Broadleaf. Multi region blend.

Seth Geise

SCORE

6.72

Cost/Point

$1.86

Scoring System

John McTavish

SCORE

5.60

Cost/Point

$2.23

Scoring System

Jiunn Liu

SCORE

6.82

Cost/Point

$1.83

Scoring System

Team Cigar Review: Villiger 1888 San Andrés Toro