Flor de Selva Año del Conejo 2023

Five years ago, Maya Selva began shipping the first cigar in the company’s Zodiac Series, which has since become an annual release. While this was not the first Zodiac-themed series from a cigar brand—Davidoff’s Year of the Dragon cigar from 2012 is likely the answer—it debuted before the major rush of releases from companies such as Drew Estate, Great Wall, Habanos S.A., Plasencia and VegaFina.

In September, Maya Selva announced that the sixth addition to the Series would be inspired by the Year of the Rabbit. Appropriately named Año del Conejo 2023—which translates to Year of the Rabbit 2023 from Spanish—the 5 1/2 x 48 cigar is a Honduran puro covered in a wrapper grown in the Jamastrán region, while the binder comes from Azacualpa in Olancho.

“We have taken the opportunity to make a new, different, purely Honduran liga,” said Maya Selva, founder of Maya Selva Cigars, in a press release. “It’s a different personality, no doubt, but always with the same care to final details“.

As is the case with the other brand’s creations on the market that have been inspired by the Chinese Zodiac calendar, Maya Selva’s version features both red and gold colors as part of its packaging design, both of which symbolize good fortune and wealth in Chinese culture. However, the packaging for the Año del Conejo 2023 is also inspired by the Mayan culture by paying tribute to “18-Rabbit,” the 13th king of the city of Copán who ruled from 695 to 738.

Thus far, there have been six different releases in Maya Selva’s Zodiac Series:

• Flor de Selva Year of the Dog (5 9/10 x 52) — 2017
• Flor de Selva Year of the Pig (6 x 52) — 2018
• Flor de Selva Year of the Rat (6 x 52) — 2019
• Flor de Selva Year of the Ox (6 x 56) — 2020
• Flor de Selva Año del Tigre 2022 (6 x 52) —2021
• Flor de Selva Año del Conejo 2023 (5 1/2 x 48) — 2022

The cigars have an MSRP of €19.50 each—or $19.41—and are being packaged in 10-count boxes. Tying in the western year of 2023, a total of 2,023 boxes of cigars have been produced, for a total of 20,230 cigars.

• Cigar Reviewed: Flor de Selva Año del Conejo 2023
• Country of Origin: Honduras
• Factory: Tabacos de Oriente
• Wrapper: Honduras (Jamastrán)
• Binder: Honduras
• Filler: Honduras
• Length: 5 1/2 Inches
• Ring Gauge: 48
• Vitola: Corona Gorda
• MSRP: $19.41 (Box of 10, $194, 10)
• Release Date: September 2022
• Number of Cigars Released: 2,023 Boxes of 10 (20,230 Total Cigars)
• Number of Cigars Smoked For Review: 3

The first word that jumps to my mind when I feel the cinnamon brown-colored wrapper that covers the Flor de Selva Año del Conejo 2023 is “supple.” That wrapper features quite a bit of oil, very few overt veins and is almost slick to the touch thanks to an almost total lack of tooth. After a physical inspection, I noticed that one cigar has a small soft spot almost precisely halfway between main band and foot band on the right-hand side, but all three cigars are nicely firm when squeezed. Sweet cedar leads the aromas emanating from the wrapper, followed by nutmeg, earth, creamy hay, nuts and generic sweetness. The foot is a bit different, with creamy peanuts easily outpacing additional notes of white pepper, cedar, saltine crackers, mud and light vanilla sweetness. After a straight cut, the cold draw brings flavors of aged cedar, salted peanuts, tobacco leaves, leather, cocoa nibs and milk chocolate sweetness.

White pepper and leather tack are the first flavors I taste after lighting the foot of the Flor de Selva, but both notes quickly move to the background, replaced by a distinct cedar flavor that continues to top the profile for the entirety of the first third. Secondary notes of leather, gritty earth, plain oatmeal, dry hay and dark chocolate flit in and out, while the retrohale features some of the aforementioned white pepper combined with a small amount of vanilla bean sweetness. Flavor hits mild plus by the end of the first third, while the body and strength seem stuck between mild and medium. In terms of construction, my first cigar suffers from an extremely tight draw—although I can still barely get enough air through it to smoke it—but the other two cigars are fine in that regard, while the smoke production and burn have no issues for all three.

The overall profile of the cigar becomes noticeably creamier during the second third, and while cedar remains a main flavor, it is joined at the top by a distinct peanut note. Additional flavors include cocoa nibs, hay, leather tack, earth and nutmeg as well as a very slight vegetal note that shows up in two of the three cigars. A mineral saltiness has also become apparent on my lips—it is getting stronger as the second third burns down—while a combination of vanilla bean sweetness and white pepper continues to be present on the retrohale. The flavor and strength have bumped up slightly—to just under medium and mild plus, respectively—but the body has not moved from its place firmly between mild and medium. Thankfully, the loose draw on my problematic cigar has tightened up dramatically and there are no other draw issues for the other two cigars, while the smoke production and burn continue to give me no issues that need to be corrected.

Other than a bit less creaminess and spice in the profile overall, there are not many major changes during the final third of the Año del Conejo 2023. This includes the main flavors of cedar and peanuts, the combination of which continues to easily top the secondary notes of earth, hay, leather, dry cereal, sourdough bread and a touch of nutmeg. Unfortunately, there is not much change on the retrohale either, as the white pepper and vanilla bean sweetness remains steady. Flavor increases barely enough to reach a solid medium while the body has increased a bit to land at mild plus, but the strength has not budged from its place at just under medium. Finally, while the draw and smoke production on all three cigars continues to give me no issues, two cigars each need a couple of minor corrections with my lighter to stay on track before I put the nubs down with less than an inch remaining.

Final Notes

• At 5 1/2 x 48, this is both the shortest and smallest vitola released in Maya Selva’s Zodiac Series so far.
• On the Chinese Zodiac calendar, next year is the Year of the Rabbit, starting on Jan. 22, 2023–which is when the Chinese New Year is celebrated—and ending on Feb. 9, 2024 (Chinese New Year’s Eve.)
• According to Maya Selva, 18-Rabbit was known for the number of structures and monuments created during his reign and is considered to be one of the greatest patrons of the arts in the history of Copán.
• While the foot band on the first release in the series featured nothing more than a white and red layout, Maya Selva switched to a gold-on-red design for the 2019 release that it has continued to use since.
• The cigars smoked for this review were purchased by halfwheel.
• Final smoking time for all three cigars averaged one hour and 42 minutes.