Villiger TAA Exclusive 2023

The factory producing a new line of cigars is one of the many details that is almost always included in stories and reviews on this website, a detail the owners of this site find interesting and necessary for our coverage of the industry. But one question I have always been curious about is whether or not consumers care about such a detail. Does the fact that one factory is producing a certain cigar make one lick of difference to someone when they’re in their local B&M or clicking around their preferred website?

It’s a question I ask because for the fourth consecutive year, Villiger picked a different factory to produce its exclusive cigar for the Tobacconists’ Association of America. In 2023, it was the Aganorsa factory, which joins Ernesto Perez-Carrillo Jr.’s Tabacalera La Lalinza, Jochy Blanco’s Tabcalera Palma, and the La Zona Cigar Factory in being selected for the project.

• Villiger TAA Exclusive 2020 (6 x 54) — Tabacalera La Alianza S.A.
• Villiger TAA Exclusive 2021 (6 x 54) — Tabacalera Palma
• Villiger TAA Exclusive 2022 (6 x 52) — La Zona Cigar Factory
• Villiger TAA Exclusive 2023 (6 1/4 x 52) — Agricola Ganadera Norteña S.A. (Aganorsa)

The Villiger TAA Exclusive 2023 is a 6 1/4 x 52 box-pressed toro with an all-Nicaraguan blend, highlighted by a habano-seed wrapper.

Pricing for the Villiger TAA Exclusive 2023 is set at $15 per cigar and $300 for a box of 20 cigars. Only 500 boxes were produced, which were shipped to stores in late June.

The TAA is a membership group, which also includes approximately 40 manufacturers, that gathers annually to discuss issues facing the industry and retailers, as well as to have its annual trade show, a unique event that works on a group buying format in order to secure exclusive deals for these generally high-volume merchants.

During the event—which in 2023 took place March 26-30 at Casa de Campo in the Dominican Republic—the organization holds two selling events, one known as the Dream Machine, where the retailers collectively order to secure larger discounts, while the other is a more traditional trade show. Typically, around a dozen manufacturers release new exclusive cigars for the retail members of the organization under the TAA Exclusive Series Program banner. Those manufacturers agree to give a portion of the proceeds to the organization, a minimum of 50 cents per cigar.

CLE, Crowned Heads, E.P. Carrillo, Espinosa Premium Cigars, Ferio Tego, Forged Cigar Co., General Cigar Co., Gurkha, J.C. Newman, Joya de Nicaragua, Kristoff, La Palina, Miami Cigar & Co., My Father, Plasencia, Quesada and Rocky Patel, Tatuaje and Alec Bradley also created TAA 2023 releases.

• Cigar Reviewed: Villiger TAA Exclusive 2023
• Country of Origin: Nicaragua
• Factory: Aganorsa
• Wrapper: Nicaragua (Habano)
• Binder: Nicaragua
• Filler: Nicaragua
• Length: 6 1/4 Inches
• Ring Gauge: 52
• Vitola: Toro
• MSRP: $15 (Box of 20, $300)
• Release Date: June 26, 2023
• Number of Cigars Released: 500 Boxes of 20 Cigars (10,000 Total Cigars)
• Number of Cigars Smoked For Review: 3

Given how I’m smoking this cigar in late November and early December, the colors on the band feel like they fit in with the colors of the season, though they are different enough so as to not be confused with a Christmas theme. Underneath the bands is an evenly-colored, medium-brown wrapper leaf with a decent network of veins and a smooth, dry, slightly textured feel. One cigar has a particularly waxy finish, which adds to the smoothness. The cigar has a pronounced box press, and while I expect the density of a firm pillow, it almost feels like there is a reinforcement in the center of the first cigar. It’s not hard, but it is firmer than expected. The second is more in line with what I think of for box-pressed cigars in that it is a bit softer, while the third is firm in the body and a bit softer towards the head and foot. The aroma off the foot smells damp first and foremost, leading with damp wood and leaves, then some black pepper, and finally a lighter, sweeter wood. An occasional sweetness appears in the aroma as well, reminding me of the sugary glaze on a donut on one cigar and a chocolate cake donut on another. The cold draw is firm, enough so that two of the three cigars have me willing to call it reminiscent of a thick, cold milkshake. The flavor is softer and creamier, with just faint hints of the woods found in the aroma and seemingly no pepper.

The Villiger TAA Exclusive 2023 gets going with a very pleasant profile, a familiar combination of light wood, black pepper and creaminess that stimulates the senses right out of the gate. One cigar has a bit of chocolate cake and rich earth, which makes it my favorite as it gives the profile a thickness and richness that the other two didn’t have. Retrohales add black pepper to the mix, with each subsequent one adding just a touch more than that of the previous exhale, with all three reaching a point where they deliver a rather pronounced tingle. Along the way, the profile picks up a bit more thick creaminess, somewhere between condensed milk and fondant. Flavor is medium-plus with the ability to go a few ticks up by way of retrohales, while body is medium and strength is mild, maybe mild-plus as its strongest thus far. Construction is good, but the experience is hampered by tight draws in two of the three cigars.

After a very good, if occasionally flavor-dense first third, I’m eager to get into the second third to see if the flavor starts opening up a touch more, something I have to think is also going to be dependent on the draws improving, which I’m only mildly optimistic will happen. The creaminess begins to depart from the profile, and in its place comes a light, dry, and almost crisp wood, reminding me a bit of cedar sheets and disposable chopsticks. The midpoint has a solid mix of wood, earth and pepper, marred only by a slight sharpness that gives the cigar just enough of an edge to be noticeable. The aroma is what I find myself gravitating towards past the midway point, as I get reminders of a slightly damp tobacco field on a warm day, where the richness of the earth wafts up into the air. The dry wood and its related sharpness continue to nudge forward in the profile as this section comes to a close, while retrohales are still hearty and pepper-forward. Flavor is right between medium and full, body is medium or a tick fuller at times, while the strength has crept up closer to medium. The construction of the three cigars have plenty of good, with an even burn line and plenty of smoke, but the draws still leave me hoping for improvement, as the tobacco simply has too firm of a grasp on the airflow.

A bit of sweet creaminess emerges in retrohales as the final third gets underway, though it often fights for my attention with some emerging roughness in the profile as the earthiness loses its richness. While the retrohales were quite enjoyable in the first two thirds, now they bring out the rougher spots in the profile, which leads to irritation in my throat. The final inches show a bit of roughness, something notable mainly because of how smooth the cigar has been to this point. I can’t tell exactly what has changed, other than both the light wood and black pepper seem to have some newfound edge to them. This flavor, though in varying intensities, takes the cigar to its conclusion. While the final third can be very good on its own, it’s notably a step down from the previous two thirds in terms of complexity, flavor cohesion and a lack of harshness. Flavor is medium-full, body is medium-plus and strength is now medium-plus. Construction continues as it has been thus far: an even burn line, good smoke production, but a Goldilocks trio of air flow.

Final Notes

• While Aganorsa’s factory was referred to as Agricola Ganadera Norteña S.A.—and TABSA before that—on this site for a while, we have since been informed that the company would prefer the factory be referred to simply as Aganorsa.
• I don’t know how much the third cigar suffered from its tight draw, but it was easy to say that it lacked the vibrance of the other two cigars, despite the flavors and progression largely being the exact same.
• One of the three cigars hit me with some nicotine strength, one hit me with a bit less, and another didn’t give me any.
• Villiger Cigars North America advertises on halfwheel.
• The cigars for this review were purchased by halfwheel.
• Final smoking time was three hours and five minutes on average, with two cigars finishing at three hours, while the third, with the tightest draw, was three hours and 20 minutes.
• Site sponsor Corona Cigar Co. carries the Villiger TAA Exclusive 2023.

Patrick Lagreid

I strive to capture the essence of a cigar and the people behind them in my work – every cigar you light up is the culmination of the work of countless people and often represents generations of struggle and stories. For me, it’s about so much more than the cigar – it’s about the story behind it, the experience of enjoying the work of artisans and the way that a good cigar can bring people together. In addition to my work with halfwheel, I’m the public address announcer for the Colorado Rockies and Arizona Diamondbacks during spring training, as well as for the Salt River Rafters of the Arizona Fall League, the WNBA's Phoenix Mercury and previously the Arizona Rattlers of the Indoor Football League. I also work in a number of roles for Major League Baseball, plus I'm a voice over artist. Prior to joining halfwheel, I covered the Phoenix and national cigar scene for Examiner.com, and was an editor for Cigar Snob magazine.