Villiger Cigars La Capitana 2025 Toro in Review

BRAND: Villiger
BLEND: La Capitana 2025

WRAPPER: Ecuadorian Connecticut
BINDER: Nicaraguan
FILLER: Nicaraguan, Dominican

FORMAT: Toro (650)
ORIGIN: Nicaraguan
INTENSITY: Mild-medium/Medium
SPICE: 3/5

NOTES:
Citrus | White chocolate | Golden hay

Tastes like staring into the sun. Citrus is a medicinal orange, chewable aspirin thing which I get to varying degrees across almost the entire Villiger line; here muchly-so. Way underneath comes white chocolate and golden hay is on the back-end of that, sinking into to terracotta nethers. Stiff suede. Coffee & cream.

White pepper, an apropos sea salt. Perhaps some metallic meandering on account of Peruvian silver. Some of that silver is still down there if anyone has a snorkel and metal detector handy. However, 1654 was a long time ago. Many have already gone looking and some have found; pack a heavy lunch and light hopes.

TASTE: B
DRAW: B+
BURN: B
BUILD: B+

FINAL GRADE: B
A 90-100 B 80-89 C 70-79

::: very ::: 

Kaplowitz Media. Cigars of the Month for February & March 2026

Kaplowitz Media.
Cigars of the Month
for February & March 2026

A double-barrel month on account of my yearly second-half of February hiatus.

(listed in alphabetical order)
(names are links to full reviews)

FEB

La Gloria Cubana Phillips & King Reserve Collection
Powstanie San Andres Corona Gorda

MARCH

CAO Flathead Speed Shop Habano
HDA Cataclysm

It's good to be back in the spring of things.

::: very ::: 

HDA Cigars (Hermanos de Armas) Cigars Cataclysm Toro in Review

BRAND: HDA
BLEND: Cataclysm

WRAPPER: Ecuadorian Habano
BINDER: Nicaraguan
FILLER: Nicaraguan

FORMAT: Toro (654)
ORIGIN: Nicaragua
INTENSITY: Medium-full
SPICE: 3.5/5

NOTES:
French Hot Chocolate | Savory (the herb) | Hickory Bark

Hot chocolate not from powder but via the more decadent manner of melting solid chocolate. Summer Savory, think between oregano and thyme. Hickory bark is rather self-explanatory, and damp. An Italian Coffee Cream desert, a coffee mousse of sorts. Interesting. Sating.

Could use a tick more tension to structure; does sit a bit softly though not flatly. Burns a hair quick, pinches a hair under-stufft. Evenly-packed. Excellent quite-open draw. Black walnut comes in at half-ish to lend some tightening astringency. Rather a unique note or two, and black pepper.

Honey Graham and a deeper marshmallow creaminess lends to a s'mores nod. Hickory toasts and I'm left at a campfire possibly somewhere in Europe. I can tell it's not Eastern Europe, however, on account I do not hear my ancestral Yiddish. Quite haute while also provincial, this. 

TASTE: A-
DRAW: A-
BURN: B+
BUILD: A-

FINAL GRADE: A-
A 90-100 B 80-89 C 70-79

::: very ::: 

Lovely Cigars Ain't They Lovely Elegante X2 in Redux Ten (10) Thoughts Review

BRAND: Lovely
BLEND: Ain't They Lovely Elegante X2

WRAPPER: Ecuadorian
BINDER: Mexican
FILLER: Nicaraguan

FORMAT: Toro (652)
ORIGIN: Nicaragua (Tacasa SA)
INTENSITY: Medium
SPICE: 2/5

NOTES:
Lemon Meringue | White & Green Peppercorn | Caramel

TEN (10) THOUGHTS

(alphabetically)

Buttery suede note
Nice ash growth
Nougat, thinly
Salty Herbaceousness note on front
Slight, correctable runner threat
Thick puckered veins (cosmetic only)
Tick tight and slightly tightening draw.
Twinge-tangy back-end catch
Uneven complexion
Uneven seams

PAIRINGS

Builders Tea
Blended Scotch

TASTE: B+
DRAW: B
BURN: B
BUILD: B

FINAL GRADE: B
A 90-100 B 80-89 C 70-79

FURTHER KM READING

Lovely Cigars Ain't They Lovely Elegante X2 in Review

::: very :::