Review of Villa Zamorano Reserva Cigar

By: Dr. Mitch Fadem (aka doctoxin)

Cigar Rating: 4.5 Stars Out of 5

In 2020, the Villa Zamorano Reserva was rated as the best Honduran value cigar. I have to tell you that this is a hugely understated evaluation. Aside from being a good value, it is definitely the best Honduran cigar I have smoked and perhaps one of the best cigars I have ever smoked. Go back and read my Opus X Challenge. This will certainly make that challenge list and has the potential to rise to the top of that list close to knocking Opus X off of its perch.

I ordered the cigar beer-can sampler which contained an Expresso (3.5x54), Robusto (5x50), N°15 (5.5x54), El Gordo (5x56) and Soberano (6x60). The can is much stronger than a normal aluminum beer can. They are more akin to the steel beer cans we knew when we were younger, which stopped being made in 1984. The lid also makes a nice convenient ashtray.

Each cigar burned evenly with an excellent draw and in my opinion, a perfect medium full flavor cigar. I am not usually a fan of large ring gauge cigars but my paradigm has shifted to appreciate what you get from a larger cigar…more flavor from all aspects of the cigar and perhaps a bit more binder.

The blend is an Habano wrapper, Honduran binder and nicely blended mix of Honduran and Nicaraguan tobaccos. Maya Selva’s factory is located in Danli, Honduras and to get her factory going, she partnered with Armando Andres Diaz, who had hand in the development of the Flor de Selva along with Nester Placencia, to create the Villa Zamorano label.

The flavor profile is mostly that of coffee with a little spice and a very smooth smoking stick. There are a few more cigars in the Villa Zamorano Reserva line up….Intenso (4x46), Corona (5x42), and Churchill (7x48). When you consider that all of these cigars will cost you around $5 or less, you will realize you are getting an excellent hand rolled cigar for a machine-made price. The accompanying photo was taken before I smoked the last two cigars.