Cigar Info
In 2022, Villiger Cigars North America release the third iteration of their exclusive cigar for the Tobacconists’ Association of America (TAA). TAA is an organization of over 80 of the country’s top tobacconists and over 40 manufacturers. The Villiger TAA Exclusive 2022 comes in just one size, a 6 x 52 toro. This is a slightly smaller ring gauge than previous years.
This cigar was reviewed blind (no bands) by a panel of at least 4 reviewers. They did not know what they were smoking beforehand. The scores are an average of all the reviewers' scores with outliers removed. All of our cigars reviewed are shipped to the panelists with Boveda packs to ensure optimal smoking experience.
The blend uses a Mexican San Andrés wrapper, Nicaraguan Jalapa binder, and Nicaraguan fillers including corojo from Estelí and criollo from Jalapa. The cigar is made for Villiger at La Zona, the factory behind Espinosa Premium Cigars. The Villiger TAA Exclusive 2022 is limited to just 500 boxes of 20. Each cigar has an MSRP of $10 or $200 for the box.
Not only is this the third year for the Villiger TAA Exclusive, this is also the third different factory to make it. The 2020 was made by Tabacalera La Alianza S.A. and the 2021 was made by Tabacalera Palma, both of those factories were in Dominican Republic.
Vital Stats:
Vitola: Toro
Length: 6″
Ring Gauge: 52
Country of Origin: Nicaragua
Wrapper: Mexican San Andres
Binder: Nicraguan Jalapa
Filler: Estelí Corojo, Jalapa Criollo
Factory: La Zona
Blender: Hector Alfonso Sr.
Number of reviewers: 4 – Randy B. (randobush) Sean F. (fullermaine) Chris M. (Chris) Angel M. (Angel)
Price: $10.00
Age: 6 Months
Release Date: May 2022
Contributed by: Villiger Cigars
Initial Impressions – Villiger TAA Exclusive 2022
Appearance: 95
“A nice, soft-pressed, chocolate brown toro. Even pack with no flaws and well-hidden seams. A little sloppy at the cap, but centered enough for a good cut.” –Chris M. (Chris)
Aroma: 92
“Dark chocolate notes on the cold draw. Oak and cinnamon notes once lit.” –Sean F. (fullermaine)
First Third
Flavor: 98
Strength: Medium
Body/Complexity: Medium-Full
“Musty, mossy cedar, dark chocolate, and leather mix-up top. At a slightly lower level are brown sugar, black peppercorn, cream, and earth. Very well-balanced. Floral notes are noticeable passing a half inch in. Oak occasionally joins on the finish.” –Chris M. (Chris)
“The oak and cinnamon notes give way to nice subtle notes of leather.” –Sean F. (fullermaine)
Second Third
Flavor: 94
Strength: Medium-Strong
Body/Complexity: Medium-Full
“The musty cedar, floral notes, and earth up top. Cream and brown sugar are almost at that level. The peppercorn and leather mix with the dark chocolate. Moss seems to have moved to the occasional oak on the finish. Nearing the midpoint the chocolate shifts to an unsweetened hot cocoa powder.” –Chris M. (Chris)
“Going into the second third as stated before, the black pepper has taken a backseat, and although present it is very diminished. The second third is dominated by Coco and baking spice and a small bit of cedar. The smoke texture has definitely smoothed out and is very enjoyable, the temperature has dropped to slightly warm bordering on cool. Definitely a positive upswing. There’s also definitely a small, nicotine buzz kicking in.” –Angel M. (Angel)
Final Third
Flavor: 94
Strength: Medium-Strong
Body/Complexity: Medium-Full
“Going into the final third, the ash falls for the first and final time. Mouthfuls of delicious smoke. Retrohale is still top-notch. There is cocoa, stone fruit, creamy baking spice, and a hint of earthy cinnamon and cedar. It’s really quite delicious. The finish is long-lasting in the final third and very satisfying.” –Randy B. (randobush)
“Musty cedar and floral notes just above the hot cocoa powder and brown sugar. Definitely getting a bit sweeter moving into this third. Earth, peppercorn, and cream are at a more moderate level, with leather dropping to the background. Oak is now consistently on the finish. Coming up on the nub and hot cocoa goes fudge. Slight rise in spice from the peppercorn.” –Chris M. (Chris)
Overall Impressions – Villiger TAA Exclusive 2022
Draw: 96
“Just a sliver off the cap and I’m getting resistance right about where I like it. Smoke output is pretty good throughout.” –Chris M. (Chris)
Burn: 92
“Even burn throughout that came with a dark grey ash mixed with a white ash.” –Sean F. (fullermaine)
Construction: 92
“I can not find one thing in the construction of this cigar to critique, only praise!” –Randy B. (randobush)
Overall Strength: Medium-Strong
Overall Body/Complexity: Medium-Full
Experience Overall: 95
“I really enjoyed this cigar. It was right in my wheelhouse from start to finish. Draw, burn, construction, and aesthetics, all get high marks. I’d def buy this cigar, and something tells me that I have. We will find out at the reveal!” –Randy B. (randobush)
“As a fan of box-pressed cigars, this was perfection throughout. Pre-light, appearance, construction, and burn were spot on. A beautiful dark grey and white ash. Great notes of dark chocolate, oak, cinnamon, leather, black pepper, and peanut made this smoking experience phenomenal. This cigar is worth the time to smoke and worth having in your humidor.” –Sean F. (fullermaine)
“Bold, but smooth. One of the most well-balanced, darker-noted cigars I’ve had in a while. A perfect amount of sweetness to keep it from becoming too heavy. Strength was definitely there, but never overwhelming. This was one I’d very easily pick up again.” –Chris M. (Chris)
“Overall, this was an excellent cigar. It started off a little rough, but the rough patch only lasted for just a moment. Shortly after a few draws, everything transitioned into a much smoother and more flavorful cigar, so don’t let the first few puffs fool you. It does have a little nicotine punch, so maybe not for someone too sensitive to nicotine. The dominating flavors of Coco, baking spice, and cedar along with the leather kicking in towards the end, made for an overall enjoyable experience. I did find that although the smoke was smooth during the second and final third, it did dry out my mouth a little bit, so you would want to have something on hand to drink while smoking this cigar. I would definitely recommend this to individuals with a more robust pallet and would definitely smoke this again.” –Angel M. (Angel)
Smoking Time (in minutes): 66
| Reviewer | Appear. | Aroma | 1/3 | 2/3 | 3/3 | Draw | Burn | Constr. | Overall Experience |
| Randy B. | 95 | 90 | 97 | 95 | 95 | 97 | 95 | 95 | 95 |
| Sean F. | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 | 100 |
| Chris M. | 95 | 95 | 95 | 93 | 95 | 95 | 88 | 90 | 95 |
| Angel M. | 95 | 90 | 90 | 95 | 93 | 95 | 85 | 90 | 95 |
To view the complete scores and notes, click here.