Villiger La Flor de Ynclan Staff Review
If you’re a fan of Holt’s, you know all about Villiger. We have quickly become your first stop when searching for the best prices on all things Villiger. Back in 2017, Villiger launched a fantastic blend, La Flor de Ynclan, which cracked the top 10 in Cigar Aficionado’s ‘Top 25 Cigars of the Year.’ Villiger La Flor de Ynclan is available in a handful of traditional sizes, but my personal favorite is the 5 x 50 Robusto.
Villiger Cigars have been around since the late 1800s. The brand is based in Europe and is best-known for producing small-format machine-made cigars. Villiger has been a large player in the European small-cigar industry for many years. In 2008, Villiger broke into the premium handmade cigar sector in the U.S. Over the last ten years, the brand has placed an immense focus on its presence on store shelves in the U.S. The effort has begun to pay off in recent years.
Villiger La Flor de Ynclan is the first premium Villiger I have smoked that caused me to sit back and think, “wow, is this really a Villiger?” La Flor de Ynclan is handmade at the ABAM Cigars factory in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. The four-country blend consists of aged Dominican and Nicaraguan long-filler tobaccos bound together with an Indonesian binder under a golden-brown Ecuador Connecticut Shade wrapper.
The pre-light aroma is interesting. I pick up notes of hay, light pepper, and corn flakes. The cold draw is very floral with a hints of dried fruit, sweet spices, and graham cracker.
Once lit, La Flor de Ynclan offers up a strong woody profile with a dusty character. Through the retrohale, faint notes of black pepper mingle with a banana-chip-like sweetness. As the tobaccos warm up the profile becomes a bit sour, but thankfully it fades quickly. By halfway, the cigar is nicely balanced with floral notes and flavors of moss and oak.
The second half of La Flor de Ynclan continues with a very interesting flavor: spent grain. It reminds of the grain that is leftover after making beer – grain that has been bleached of its sugar content. This flavor lingers quite a while with notes of pepper, banana chips, wood, and earth blending in and out. The profile of La Flor de Ynclan remains consistent and balanced throughout the finish.
I only have one negative thing to say about La Flor de Ynclan, the band was applied with entirely too much glue. When I took the band off, it caused a bit of wrapper damage. Other than that, the construction was superb. The draw and burn line were outstanding.
Given the Ecuador Connecticut wrapper, I expected this cigar to be more medium-bodied. I was wrong. La Flor de Ynclan slowly snuck up on me and topped out closer to full-bodied, eventually hitting an 8 out of 10 in terms of strength. If you are interested in trying a perfectly balanced, medium to full-bodied cigar but don’t want to break the bank, Holt’s is your #1 stop for big discounts on Villiger!
