Today we review the La Capitana in the Toro size from Villiger Cigars. As many know, Villiger Cigars has been in business since 1887. While it has firmly established itself in the machine-made space, it has also been in the premium handmade sector for quite a while. Over the years, Villiger has built a portfolio of many brands. We have also seen Villiger go into its portfolio and revitalize and/or revamp some older brands such as La Flor de Ynclan and La Libertad. Recently, Villiger decided to revamp another older brand in its portfolio, La Capitana. In 2022, Villiger redesigned its La Capitana cigarillo brand. This was followed up in 2025 with the revamping of the handmade version of La Capitana.
Villiger says La Capitana stands for a fearless female captain who steers her ship through the rough seas. It’s a brand that pays homage to both the nautical and female world. As many also know, female workers play a very key role in the art of cigar making, so there is a connection to the branding and the world of making premium handmade cigars.
Without further ado, let’s break down the revamped version of the Villiger La Capitana in the Toro size and see what this cigar brings to the table.
SPECIFICATIONS
Blend and Origin
La Capitana got a huge makeover when it came to its blend. It features an all-new blend, but more importantly this is now an Ecuadorian Connecticut Shade wrapped cigar (the previous version was a Habano). The cigar also features a Nicaraguan binder. As for the fillers, they are a combination of Nicaraguan and Dominican tobaccos. Production for La Capitana now is coming out of Villiger’s own Villiger de Nicaragua factory in Estelí, Nicaragua.
- Wrapper: Ecuadorian Connecticut
- Binder: Nicaraguan
- Filler: Nicaraguan, Dominican
- Country of Origin: Nicaragua
- Factory: Villiger de Nicaragua
Vitolas Available
La Capitana comes in four different sizes. Each of the sizes are presented in a 20-count box. This is a regular production line.
- Lonsdale: 6 x 43
- Robusto: 5 x 50
- Toro: 6 x 50
- Churchill: 7 x 50
Appearance
The Ecuadorian Connecticut wrapper of the La Capitana Toro had a classic light brown color to it. Depending on how the light hits the wrapper, it can give off some reddish qualities. There wasn’t much in the way of oils on this wrapper. Upon closer examination, a very slight amount of toothiness could be seen on the wrapper’s surface. In addition there were some visible veins as well as some visible wrapper seams.
PERFORMANCE
Pre-Light Draw
Before starting the smoking experience of the La Capitana Toro, I first removed the parchment sleeve that covered a little more than half of the cigar. Once the sleeve was removed, I placed a straight cut into the head of the cigar to remove the cap. From that point, it was on to the pre-light draw experience. The cold draw delivered cream, cedar, and floral notes. As many know the combination of cedar and floral is not one that I enjoy. As a result this was not a great pre-light draw. Given we do not score the pre-light draw experience, there was no loss of points here. With the pre-light draw complete, it was now time to toast the footer and move into the smoking phase.
Tasting Notes
The La Capitana Toro opened up with notes of natural tobacco, cedar, fruit, cream, and mixed pepper. Early on, the natural tobacco moved into the forefront while the cedar, fruit, cream, and mixed pepper notes settled in the background. The natural tobacco flavor was skewed more toward the bitter side, giving the cigar a bitter-forward profile. There was also an additional layer of black pepper on the retro-hale. Later in the first third, the black pepper surfaced on the tongue.
The second third of the La Capitana Toro saw the cedar notes increase in intensity. Meanwhile, the creaminess subsided. Before the midway point, the cedar joined the natural tobacco in the forefront, and just past the midway point, it took over as the sole primary note. There was still enough of the natural tobacco where it kept to the cigar’s bitter-forward profile. While there was some sweetness from the fruit, it wasn’t enough to offset the bitter notes. It was also at the start of the second half where the cream subsided.
The final third saw an increase in the mixed pepper notes. These notes closed in on the cedar notes. With the cigar dominated by cedar, pepper and natural tobacco bitters, this just was an experience that just didn’t wow me. As the smoking experience of the La Capitana Toro came to a close, the cigar finished with a soft, cool nub.
Burn
Overall the La Capitana was a well-constructed cigar and this was reflected in the burn. The cigar itself maintained a straight burn path and. a relatively straight burn line. The resulting ash was skewed toward the firmer side. This was an ash was salt and pepper colored. Meanwhile the burn rate and burn temperature maintained ideal levels.
Draw
The La Capitana Toro also performed well when it came to the draw. It had a touch of resistance to it which is something that I like. At the same time, this was a low maintenance cigar to derive flavor from.
Strength and Body
In terms of strength and body, the La Capitana Toro started out with medium intensity for both attributes. There was a slight increase in the intensity in both attributes, but the strength and body still remained in the medium range of their respective spectrums from start to finish. In terms of strength versus body, the body maintained a slight edge throughout the smoking experience.
BANDING AND PACKAGING NOTES (*)
Lighter blue colors contrast nicely against a Connecticut Shade wrapper. La Capitan has a light blue color on the box and band – and this worked quite well. The blue also looks quite nice One thing I really liked was the parchment sleeve with the nautical design on it.
OVERALL ASSESSMENT
Final Thoughts
The La Capitana Toro has the same problem as many Connecticut Shade cigars – it delivers a bitter-forward profile. The good news is the bitter profile wasn’t harsh. In some cases, bitter notes can help balance out the flavor profile. With La Capitana Toro, the bitter profile made this cigar quite unbalanced. It’s well contructed, and that’s a testament to the good work being done at Villiger de Nicaragua. However, this cigar did not deliver flavor-wise. While it has an attractive ten dollar price tag, that also isn’t enough for me to recommend this. In the end, this is a cigar I don’t see myself going back to.
Summary
- Key Flavors: Natural Tobacco, Cedar, Fruit, Cream, Pepper
- Burn: Excellent
- Draw: Excellent
- Complexity: Medium Minus
- Strength: Medium
- Body: Medium
- Finish: Good
Rating
Value: Not Recommended
Score: 85
REFERENCES
Photo Credits: Cigar Coop
(*) Indicates this is not factored into the score or value rating
(SRP $10.00/cigar)
