Cigar: Villiger Cuellar Black Forest
Size: 6 x 54 Toro Gordo BP
Wrapper: Dominican Maduro
Binder: Dominican Republic
Filler: Dominican Republic
MSRP: $7.80 to $8.40 per cigar
Samples received from the manufacturer
One more from Villiger Cigars is up for review this week. An extension of the Cuellar Krēmē line of cigars, the Black Forest was given its namesake from an interesting stretch of land in Southern Germany. From the press release:
“The Black Forest name is due to a hundred mile stretch of large pine trees, which block the sunlight from reaching the forest ground. This combined with constant fog create an eerie ambiance, unnerving enough to have given birth to legends of werewolves, haunted monasteries, castles, and ancient Celtic cemeteries.”
I was more than happy to see if the cigar can live up to its namesake. I’m not expecting to find anything mystical or haunted but I bet I’ll find some strong Dominican tobacco to hit back at me. A big thank you to Villiger Cigars for the opportunity to give this one a try.
No constructions issues found on the cigar chosen for review (second out of three). The cold draw brought about a mix of wood and earth to the palette while the pre-light aromas complemented the cold draw with fresh leather and dried fruit. The light after a large V cut brought a balanced draw that leaned on the open side with starting notes of a mix of wood, leather, light traces of earth and spice overtones on the exhale. It’s one of the more complex starting cigars that I have smoked this year for sure. As for the strength, it starts at a strong medium-to-full bodied range. It does not however stay there; it does not take long for this cigar to moving well into the full bodied range, so those smokers who prefer lighter fare might prepare accordingly. It was 26 minutes into the smoking of the Black Forest where I found the first change on the palette. The spice noticed on the aftertaste eased up some while five minutes later, notes of dried fruit (something like a black cherry) began creeping into the profile mixture, albeit briefly. The last 15 minutes of the cigar was full bore full bodied with heavy notes of wood and earth. The final smoking time came in at 1:02 while smoking outside.
Minus a relight or two because of the blowing wind, no issues were encountered while reviewing this cigar. Like the second cigar that was reviewed, the first smoked without fail as well.
By-The-Numbers
Pre-light: 2/2
Construction: 2/2
Flavor: 4.5/5
Value: 1/1
Total: 9.5/10
To recap the Villiger Cuellar Black Forest:
- If you are looking for a strong, complex cigar then you should definitely check these out. So much going on with this that warrants some serious attention…
- …that is if you like full bodied cigars. When I came inside, my wife wanted to know what in the world I was smoking because it permeated everything around me. This is a strong one so again, those of you out there who prefer milder cigars should eat something first or avoid this altogether.
- Another under $10.00 per cigar. Absolutely.
- I need more of these for my humidor. Enough said.
Thank you once again to Villiger Cigars for the opportunity to review this cigar and thanks to all of you for reading. For those celebrating Thanksgiving next week, have a safe holiday. I look forward to the next time I can share my thoughts with you.
