Last week I picked up a Villiger 1888 Fuerte Robusto. The Villiger 1888 Fuerte was released in 2011 as a line extension and stronger alternative to the original Villiger 1888 released in 2008. Villiger 1888 cigars were the first Villiger & Sons cigars produced in the Dominican Republic and marketed in the US. The development and production are overseen by Heinrich Villiger, one of the last grand old men of the tobacco world. The original 1888 was a mild to medium blend so I was excited to see how much they kicked it up with this blend.

Size: 5 x 50 (Robusto)
Wrapper: Mexican Negro San Andreas Claro
Binder: Peruvian Habano seed binder
Filler: Ligeros from several countries, the exact blend is only known to a few.
Strength: Mild to medium
Body: Full
Flavor: Full
Factory: Dominican
Vitolas: Robusto, Toro
Cigars Smoked For Review: 1

Appearance and Construction: The wrapper is a chestnut brown with some variation in color and a moderate oil sheen. It is rolled using the booking method, and triple capped. It is thinly veined and firm in hand.

Flavor and notes: The foot of the cigar smells of molasses, raisins, and a mildly nutty. The pre-light draw is sweet and nutty. The first draw packs a bit of a pepper spice to it, with a touch of raisin or date flavor.

Smoking characteristics: The pepper settles down almost immediately becoming more of an after thought. During the first third the smoke is smooth and sweet, the flavor of molasses is the most notable, but a bit of pepper holds out mostly on the tongue and is joined by a slight nutty flavor. The smoke is medium in body, the draw and burn perfect, the ash tight.

Moving into the  second third the sweet molasses and raisin flavor begins to shift,  revealing cedar notes and bringing a woodiness to both the smoke and aroma. Nutty flavors become more pronounced now and the smoke is dry and sweet, with the body moving towards full. The burn and draw are still excellent and has required no attention.

Into the final third the cedar spice eases up. The three most pronounced flavors blend together, making a nutty, woody, sweet raisin mix . The flavor profile becomes full, the body remaining slightly more than medium the smoke smooth and sweet, still more on the dry side. The overall strength of the cigar is medium but may be stronger to a novice smoker. The burn and draw has been impeccable still requiring no attention at all. This is my favorite third of the cigar, the flavors have mixed well and have become impressive. As I smoke down to the nub the pepper starts to kick back up with a slight boost in strength to finish this smoke off.

Conclusion: From start to finish the cigar had an excellent burn and draw which required no attention at any time. The flavors worked well with each other and made this an enjoyable smoke. With the 1888 Fuerte’s lower price it makes this cigar a fantastic deal, one worthy of any humidor.

Raiting: 87

Price: 5.00 MSRP