Villiger La Libertad Gran Toro (2021)

Villiger’s La Libertad line—which translates to the freedom from Spanish—has included multiple blends for multiple markets under the same name over the years. It was originally made in Honduras by Plasencia before moving production to ABAM Factory in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. In 2019, the company gave the U.S. version a new look though the blend did not change at that time.

After being shipped to stores in France, Germany and Switzerland last summer, the newest incarnation of the La Libertad line debuted in the U.S. during the Tobacco Plus Expo (TPE) earlier this year. This version is made at Villiger’s new factory in Nicaragua using a Nicaraguan criollo wrapper covering a binder that is grown in the Cibao Valley in the Dominican Republic as well as Nicaraguan fillers that include seco from Jalapa along with viso and ligero grown in Estelí.  

In addition to new overall branding—albeit with a design that retains the brand’s existing color scheme of red, black and white as well as the slogan “Viva La Libertad”—the new blend is offered in different sizes from the most recent version of the La Libertad. While those cigars were originally scheduled to ship to U.S. retailers in November 2021, boxes did not actually start reaching store shelves until January.

The newest La Libertad line currently includes three vitolas, all of which are packaged in boxes of 20:

• Villiger La Libertad Robusto (5 x 52) — $8 (Box of 20, $160)
• Villiger La Libertad Corona (5 3/4 x 43) — $7.50 (Box of 20, $150)
• Villiger La Libertad Gran Toro (6 x 54) — $8.50 (Box of 20, $170)

• Cigar Reviewed: Villiger La Libertad Gran Toro (2021)
• Country of Origin: Nicaragua
• Factory: Villiger de Nicaragua
• Wrapper: Nicaragua (Criollo)
• Binder: Dominican Republic (Cibao)
• Filler: Nicaragua (Estelí & Jalapa)
• Length: 6 Inches
• Ring Gauge: 54
• Vitola: Toro Extra
• MSRP: $8.50 (Box of 20, $170)
• Release Date: 2021
• Number of Cigars Released: Regular Production
• Number of Cigars Smoked For Review: 3

The wrapper on the La Libertad Gran Toro is dark enough to give me pause when I see it for the first time, although after some time inspecting it close-up, I notice the espresso color has a slight reddish hue as well. In addition, the cigar feels very heavy in my hand and all three cigars are just short of rock hard when squeezed—one sample has a large soft spot above the foot band—while the aforementioned wrapper is parchment rough to the touch. There are shockingly few aromas coming from the wrapper; in fact, what I can distinguish can be summed up in two words, specifically earth and leather. However, the foot is another matter altogether, with aromas of cedar, earth, barnyard, cinnamon and fresh cracked black pepper, each of which is quite distinct. The cold draw is full of flavors after a straight cut, including sourdough bread, creamy cedar, leather, slight varnish, earth and extremely strong raisin sweetness.

Anise and earth start the profile of the La Libertad off—along with some light spice on my lips—and while the anise note begins to recede fairly quickly after I am done toasting the foot, the earthy flavors stay on to become one of the top notes in the profile. After about eight puffs, a powdery cocoa nibs flavor joins it, while additional notes include plain rice, creamy cedar, bitter espresso beans, nutmeg and very light cinnamon. The retrohale features both black pepper and raisin sweetness—albeit more of the former than the latter at this point—but both seem to be decreasing slightly as the first third burns down. Flavor and body are just under medium and the strength level hits mild plus, although it is increasing noticeably. Construction-wise, two cigars burn with no issues while the third runs into a big enough problem to need a quick correction with my lighter, but all three samples feature excellent draws after straight cuts and plenty of smoke.

The profile of the Villiger mellows out considerably during the second third, with the spice from the first third disappearing completely. In addition, while the main flavors of cocoa nibs and gritty earth continue to reign, the secondary notes have changed considerably and now include toast, cedar, peanuts, leather tack, charred meat and more cinnamon. There is also some significant changes to the retrohale, where a black licorice flavor has replaced the raisin sweetness, while the level of black pepper has increased a bit as well. Both body and flavor have increased in tandem to land at a solid medium, and while the strength has also increased, it ultimately fails to cross the medium line. The draw and some production continue to deliver ideal results, and while the burn on two of the samples strays off course quite a bit, none of the cigars get bad enough to need attention.

There is quite a bit of similarity between the final third of the Gran Toro and the preceding third, including the top flavors, which once again are made up of the familiar combination of gritty earth and powdery cocoa nibs. Following behind that combination are notes of generic nuts, cedar, sourdough bread, baker’s spices and espresso beans, while the black pepper and black licorice flavor on the retrohale remain at close to the same levels. One big change is the strength, which increases dramatically starting just after the start of the final third to land at a medium-plus, while the flavor ends the cigar slightly above medium and the body stays put at a solid medium. Finally, two of the samples run into enough problems to warrant two touch-ups with my lighter, but the last one give me no issues in that regard, and all three cigars continue to feature excellent draws and smoke production until I put the nubs down for the last time.

Final Notes

• The new La Libertad line is being rolled at Villiger de Nicaragua, the company’s new factory in Estelí, Nicaragua which opened in October 2021. The 33,000-square-foot factory is a joint venture with Joya de Nicaragua and will produce a number of additional Villiger brands, including the Villiger San’Doro Colorado and Claro lines, Villiger La Vencedora, Villiger La Meridiana, Corrida and Casa de Nicaragua.
• This is one of those blends that will get noticeably harsh if you puff too hard or too quickly, so take it slow.
• I really love the box design for this release where the top of the box opens horizontally instead of vertically.
• With that said, I find it a little odd that there is nothing printed on the black foot band other than gold borders. In fact, when I was photographing the box after opening it for the first time, I turned one of the cigars around just to make sure that there was nothing printed on the back of the band.
• Villiger Cigars North America advertises on halfwheel.
• The cigars smoked for this review were purchased by halfwheel.
• Final smoking time averaged one hour and 54 minutes for all three samples.
• If you would like to purchase any of the Villiger La Libertad Gran Toro cigars, site sponsor Famous Smoke Shop has them in stock here.