I have to admit, I’m not that familiar with many of the Villiger cigar lines. It’s not that I’ve been avoiding them, but most of my shops I frequent just don’t carry their cigars. That’s why I was happy went I got a box in the mail with a sampler of their new Cuellar Black Forest cigars. This cigar is a line extension of their Cuellar Connecticut Kreme series, and a maduro wrapped cigar is a natural next step. I knew the owner, Henrick Villiger, grew up in Germany so I figured this cigar was made to honor him and where he grew up. Sure enough, as I check the press release for the cigar, that’s exactly what they intended.

“Villiger Chairman of the Board Mr. Heinrich Villiger grew up close to the Black Forest, which is the birthplace of many legends, fairytales, and haunted happenings, that most are very familiar with today. 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. German based authors, the Brothers Grimm based many of their dark fables on the Black Forest. The packaging of the Villiger Cuellar Black Forest visually communicates the aura of the Black Forest. It is carried out through the dark, and rich maduro wrapper of this cigar, manufactured by Master Blender Jochy Blanco at Tabacalera La Palma in the Dominican Republic.”

Villiger doesn’t give us a lot of information on the blend of the cigar, but this is what we have for it:

• Wrapper: Mexican maduro
• Binder: Dominican
• Filler: Dominican
• MSRP: $8.40 sold in 20 count boxes
• Vitola: Toro Gordo
• Cigar provided by Villiger Cigars

Pre-Light

The cigar has a dark brown, oily wrapper, with a sharp box-press and a nice smooth wrapper.  The draw is really nice with just the right amount of resistance. I get notes of mesquite wood, pepper, leather and earth on the cold draw.

First Half

The Villiger Cuellar Black Forest Toro Gordo is starting off very nicely. It has a fantastic flavor profile of mesquite wood, pepper, black cherry, and dark chocolate. Because it’s a box pressed cigar, you get that wavy burn line that basically unavoidable. The cigar is putting off a nice amount of smoke and is full bodied and full flavor. The Black Forest is off to a nice start.

Last Half

The Villiger Cuellar Black Forest Toro Gordo is still smoking very well. In the last half, I get more leather, a subdued pepper, nutty, some cocoa and slight caramel note. It’s almost dessert-like at this point. Is it my subconscious picking out these notes because it’s thinking of a black forest chocolate cake because of the name and looks of the cigar? I doubt it because I’m very much not a fan of that cake. I know, crazy admission from a fat man. None the less, I’m really enjoying this cigar. It’s still full-bodied with full flavor and a long finish.

Conclusion

I really enjoyed smoking the Villiger Cuellas Black Forest Toro Gordo. I love a nice box-pressed cigar as well and this one has a ton of nice flavors. Again, I really enjoy a cigar that can successfully meld savory notes with sweet notes and this cigar does that well. With the leather, woody, cocoa, cherry and spice notes with the nice caramel note in the last half, it was a delicious journey for my palate. I’m curious to try the robusto size as well, as I will definitely be buying a box of these in either robusto or toro gordo. Count on it.

Final Score: 91