Valacari Decimus

I think there is a strong case that at the 2026 PCA Convention & Trade Show, no company had a bigger makeover than Valacari.

It started nearly a year ago, when the company quietly moved the production of all its cigars from Tabacalera Pages de Nicaragua S.A. to the La Tabacaria Cigars factory. Fast forward to the trade show, it announced that going forward, each of its core lines would be offered in the same two vitolas— 5 x 54 robusto and a 6 x 52 toro—and packaged in boxes of 20 cigars instead of the 10-count packs that it previously used.

In addition, one line was rebranded, another was reblended, and there was a new limited production release to celebrate the company’s 10th anniversary: Decimus.

It’s offered in a lone 6 x 52 toro that uses a Mexican San Andrés wrapper over a Nicaraguan binder and fillers from Estelí, Jalapa and Ometepe in Nicaragua.

“For the past ten years, Valacari has been about honoring tradition while continuing to evolve,” said Nimmer Ahmad, the company’s founder, in a press release in April. “This rebrand celebrates where we’ve been, while positioning us for the next decade of creating exceptional cigars.”

• Cigar Reviewed: Valacari Decimus
• Country of Origin: Nicaragua
• Factory: La Tabacaria Cigars
• Wrapper: Mexico (San Andrés)
• Binder: Nicaragua
• Filler: Nicaragua (Estelí, Jalapa & Ometepe)
• Length: 6 Inches
• Ring Gauge: 52
• Shape: Toro
• MSRP: $17 (Box of 20, $340)
• Release Date: May 2026
• Number of Cigars Released: Regular Production
• Number of Cigars Smoked For Review: 3

The Decimus has an umber-colored wrapper, darker than average but not close to being dark, with mostly small veins and rolled to have pretty flat seams. Far and away the most interesting thing is that about 30 percent of the first cigar’s wrapper has some vertical lines running up and down the cigar, almost like one side of the cigar got pressed against something and that texture got transposed onto the cigar. The scents from the wrappers remind me of two different rooms. One is being in a sorting room at a factory when the air gets filled with the sweetness that tobacco can have, interrupted by just a bit of ammonia. The other is a boot store, with the distinct leather smell. The first two cigars have a medium-full wrapper aroma, while the third is more medium-plus. The feet have a chocolate aroma but without any sugar, sort of like a sugar-free pudding or brownie, along with some wood and a bit of that leather shop smell, each medium-plus in intensity. The first cigar’s cold draw is milder than I would have expected, with sweet and hearty wood flavors alongside some dry soil. The second cigar is medium-full with grains and a berry sweetness over some woodiness and caramel, medium-full. The third cigar is also medium-full but has a distinct bourbon barrel flavor over vanilla cream and chili flakes, also medium-full.

Earth and wood are the dominant flavors of the first puff of each cigar. Plum sweetness, dry cracker, acidity and bitter macadamia nuts round out the list of secondary flavors of the medium-full or full starts. Pretty quickly, the earthiness takes the lead, rendering the woodiness to a clear second place for the strongest flavor. Other flavors include creaminess, bread, toastiness and some barnyard. The second cigar has a taste that reminds me of an intense mineral water, more of a refreshing sensation than anything else, though quite weird to find in a cigar. The finish gets drier with sharp and bitter nuts emerging from the main profile. Secondary notes include black pepper, white pepper, creaminess, lime soda and caramel. Retrohaling is led by leather with roasted woods, toastiness, berries, caramel and sharp paprika. During the first cigar, there’s a sweet metallic flavor that reminds me of the flavor of tar, though I don’t see any signs of it. The first cigar has a tighter draw, seemingly due to a knot right where the “DECIMUS” text is on the band. Flavor is medium-full or full, body is medium-full and strength ranges between medium-plus and medium-full. Outside of the first cigar’s tight draw, my only other construction note is that the ash is quite flimsy.

While I’m not seeing any signs of tar, I wouldn’t be surprised if the first Valacari Decimus has some inside the cigar itself. There are some flavors—earth, butter, poultry—that taste normal, but there’s a fruitiness and saltiness that have this weird metallic coating, which has me concerned. Fortunately, the other two cigars don’t have me thinking about tar. Instead, those cigars have earth—accented by dampness, bread and black pepper—leading leather, more of the dry nuts, some of the mineral water crispness for the second cigar, and a green tea flavor in the third. The finishes are more similar, as woodiness and sweetness add themselves to each flavor, though most of the initial flavors are still present. The leather has left the retrohale, replaced by earth, white bread, and nutty flavors. At times, the saltiness can bring out a nice pistachio flavor, but there are also some drier flavors like sawdust. A meat flavor is regularly lingering in the background, though I’d say it’s most apparent during the finish of the second cigar’s retrohales, when a distinct grilled beef flavor emerges through the smoke. Flavor is full, body is medium-plus or medium-full and strength is medium in the first cigar, medium-full in the second and medium-plus for the third. The first cigar’s draw remains too tight, and I need to make a touch-up for some uneven burn, the only two construction issues in this section.

The mineral elements of the earthiness are more apparent in the final third, and while it never rises to the level it was in the first, the woodiness is back and a pretty consistent second flavor. Fortunately, I’m not tasting any of the tar elements in the first cigar, but the mixture of earth, woods, meatiness and mint is a bit hollow and a bit weird. The other two cigars are getting harsher, but have a more layered profile with breads, red pepper and some dark sweetness filling in the gaps. A bitter toastiness enters during the finish, which during the second cigar serves as a nice transition before lighter flavors like bread, bergamot and citrus emerge. Unfortunately, for the other two cigars, the finish oftentimes tastes like the cigar has hit a wall. They have fewer flavors than before and, for my liking, are too sharp and too bitter. Retrohaling sees the leather return to the front, not as commanding as it was in the first third, but clearly the strongest flavor. Again, the second cigar is my favorite of the trio: behind the leather, white pepper combines with some saltiness and unsweet floral flavors. Flavor is full, body is medium-plus or medium-full, while strength is medium-plus for most of the final section. Construction-wise, the good news is that once the first cigar makes it to where the knot was, the draw instantly improves. Unfortunately, both the first and second cigars need a touch-up in the final third.

Final Notes

• Decimus is the Latin word for tenth.

• When this cigar was announced, press photos showed a cigar with a pigtail. I did not see any sign of a pigtail.
• The plan is to make 500 boxes of Decimus per year.
• While I tasted some tar-like elements on the first cigar, I never saw any signs of it. Every once in a while, I’ll find a cigar with tar flavors that doesn’t show it above the cap, but if I cut it open, I can see it underneath. Most of the time, if I don’t see it at the top of the cigar, it’s not present. I didn’t cut open any of these cigars
• The cigars for this review were purchased by halfwheel.

• Valacari lists the Decimus as a 6 x 52 toro. Above are the dimensions I found for the three cigars smoked for this review.
• Final smoking time was right around two hours.
• Site sponsor Small Batch Cigar carries the Valacari Decimus.

La Tabacaria Cigars
Nicaragua
Toro
Valacari Cigars
Valacari Decimus