La Vencedora, which translates either to "a whale's vagina" or "The Victor," my Korean is rusty -- follows the La Flor de Ynclan into Villiger's premium portfolio. Each is a name resurrected from pre-Castro brands of the American Tobacco Co. Whilst the Ynclan is a milder treat, the Vencedora is positioned at the brawny-end of the spectrum. This Nica puro in my grubby hands currently, is actually a re-blend of that 2005 re-brand.
As to that Nica puro...
Overtones of a sour-sweetness are followed closely by a front-loaded varietal of pepper-spice pungency. Then bitter notes dashed with savory salt in rich but somewhat dry undertones. At their zenith the flavors hit a med.-full. Up near its top-height in that aforementioned sourness, is a quite unfortunate chemical tendency I remember from the Ynclan I reviewed. A fakey medicinal orange. This leads to an out-front and unavoidable acidity. 'Nuff out front to wonk the blend's balance. However, in this Robusto format, there are some nice complexities and tick more-so than wading pool nuanced depth. Could use a tick or two more savory bits as that dials back with pepper-spice via progression.
The body presents itself smoothly, in a ground powder texture, not as heavy as the draw notes might imply. Not rich but almost, and more-so rigid would be an apt descriptor. Its finish builds in both sweetness & complexity as the smoke progresses, then the same progression leads to a 3/3 unclean and rather bitey diesel end. The temperature of smoke-hole rises at that mark. This "Whale's Vagina" seems not to have the strength the remainder of its profile would need. In other words, it's outta balance in flavors as well as delivery. The strength-o-meter barely budges, in fact.
Combustion behaves in a moderate nature till burn goes plum out at nigh mid-point. This may be the blame of construction humsoever, as from re-light on-down -- the draw becomes notably hollow and hesitant. Seams hold, ash grows. Cap/shoulder assemblage remains solid to deliver cool smoke through to the nub. Pack density dryly softens. Smoke out-put is cloudy then clear, cloudy then clear.
WRAPPER: Nicaraguan Habano Oscuro
BINDER: Nicaraguan
FILLER: Nicaraguan
STRENGTH: Med.-Full
FORMAT: Robusto
ORIGIN: Joya de Nicaragua factory, Esteli, Nicaragua
FINAL GRADE: B
A 90-100 B 80-89 C 70-79 D 60-69 F 0-59