Villiger 1888 San Andres

The trend really does seem to be moving towards extremely colorful cigar boxes. Even the reputable and tradition-rich importing house Villiger Cigars from the tranquil Black Forest is now giving its various cigar lines an extremely colorful makeover. Villiger’s “colorful” world began in 2017, when the Villiger 1888 from the Dominican Republic , originally introduced in 2008, was relaunched and switched from yellow-brown wood tones to a striking red. Then, in 2022, the blue Villiger 1888 from Nicaragua joined the lineup. And now we have the yellow one from Mexico. Shall we place bets that the next one will be a green cigar from Brazil?!

Villiger 1888 From Mexico: Blend and Origin

The yellow variant discussed here features a San Andres wrapper from Mexico. Underneath is a binder from Ecuador, while the filler blend is entirely Nicaraguan. They are produced at Villiger Cigars de Nicaragua in Estelí, the tabacalera located right next to the Joya de Nicaragua factory. I’m not entirely sure how that ties in with the bright yellow boxes. If I remember my geography lessons correctly, there isn’t any yellow whatsoever in the Mexican flag. But then again, I’m not the target audience. And there’s no arguing about taste. Ultimately, it’s the taste of the cigars that really matters!

Flavor and Aromas of the Villiger 1888 Mexico

For my review sample, I lit up a Toro. This may sound a little nitpicky, but unfortunately the upper Villiger band and the yellow “series band” underneath with the 1888 really don’t match at all in terms of color. Right, enough rambling – on to the aromas! Officially, the blend is said to be medium-bodied to full-bodied, with aromas of coffee, black pepper, and nuts. Yes, the blend is powerful, definitely. Its character is dark and intense. I felt that the cigar dried out my mouth a little. But perhaps I’m slightly biased here, as Mexican wrappers have never really appealed to me. The construction was flawless, the draw pleasantly firm, and overall there was also plenty of “harmony.” I couldn’t really detect any pepper, nor much in the way of nuts – but that was probably user error on my part anyway ... ;-)