At the 2025 Premium Cigar Association (PCA25) trade show in New Orleans, Villiger Cigars will showcase two new releases: the limited-edition Villiger 1888 Gran Reserva and the revamped La Capitana.
Villiger’s 1888 Gran Reserva is a limited-edition cigar made in Nicaragua at Villiger de Nicaragua. This cigar has a Mexican San Andrés wrapper, an Ecuadoran Habano binder, and filler tobacco from Nicaragua. It is a medium-to-full-bodied smoke available in a box-pressed Toro size measuring 6 x 54.
In a press release, Villiger North America president René Castañeda stated, “We define a Gran Reserva as a cigar that uses tobacco aged two years in the bales, and then the cigars are aged for a minimum of a year at our factory.”
According to Villiger, the 1888 Gran Reserva is a “robust cigar [that] delivers a broad spectrum of aromas, leather notes, black pepper, nuts, and roasted coffee. It is rounded off by a subtle sweet chocolate finish.” Only 1,000 10-count boxes of this cigar will be released, and each cigar will have a suggested retail price of $22 before applicable taxes.
Additionally, Villiger will introduce a new version of the La Capitana premium cigar. The cigar’s name is Spanish for “female captain,” as one may be able to tell from its logo, which features a female captain at the helm of her ship.
Previously, La Capitana was a cigar made entirely of Nicaraguan tobacco and was handcrafted in the Dominican Republic. The new La Capitana will have an Ecuadorian Connecticut wrapper, Nicaraguan binder, and filler from the Dominican Republic and Nicaragua. This version of the cigar is manufactured in Nicaragua at its newest factory, Villiger de Nicaragua [read more here].
La Capitana will be available in four sizes: Robusto, 5 x 50; Toro, 6 x 50; Churchill, 7 x 50; and Lonsdale, 6 x 43. The suggested retail price will range from $9.50 to $11 per cigar before applicable taxes. It is expected to ship to retailers beginning in May 2025.