Flor de Selva Año del Dragón

Name: Flor de Selva Año del Dragón
Brand: Flor de Selva
SKU: 7902
Availability: InStock

Maya Selva treats us to a new module to celebrate the Chinese New Year. In the Mayan and Chinese cultures, animals are of particular importance. The ancients say that we all have a totem animal or 'nahual' to guide us through life.
Combining traditional Aztec hieroglyphs with Chinese motifs, Maya has combined the strength and serenity of the dragon to bring us this magnificent double corona.

It feels firm to the touch and the module, with its extraordinary size (19cm for a cepo of 52), is well filled. The tasting that follows promises to be long and beautiful. Allow around 75-90 minutes to fully enjoy this 'little' marvel, of which only 2024 boxes were made (150 for Switzerland).

Once you remove the imposing red and gold ring adorned with the famous dragon, the cigar is all the more beautiful. The wrapper comes from the Jamastén region. Smooth and even, it feels silky to the touch. On the nose, you can already detect the scent of herbs and leather.

Tasting note

Notes

The first puffs are very pleasant. Light and with a subtle hint of coffee. They already fill the mouth and will keep our taste buds active for many seconds.

The draw is smooth and a die-cut is ideal for concentrating the aromas. The ash that forms is slightly fluffy. On closer inspection, this texture is found throughout the wrapper.

The first third delights us with its subtle yet complex aromas: a soft, slightly saline hue mixed with the praline of creamy chocolate.

The second third brings its share of novelties, with a strengthening of the hazelnut aromas and a slight increase in the power of the roasted and spicy notes.
The journey to the land of Maya continues with the empyreumatic, woody notes of an aged barrel.

The final third continues in the same vein. The aromas remain constant and the power is always skilfully controlled. The finish is pleasant, and when you put the core down to let it fade, you realise that almost an hour and a half has passed.

Pairing

Maya stands on its own 🙂 If you're feeling thirsty, a barrel-aged Chardonnay from Fils Maye will ride this dragon.

Flor de Selva

Maya. One word is enough to command respect. She is a monument of the cigar world, and thanks to her, women are proudly represented. Maya is Madame Blue Smoke's favourite; an evening at Royal Cigar to meet Maya in the flesh. It's the discovery of an incredibly broad and deep personality, proud of her country and her origins. It's the breath of charisma in her words, her radiant authenticity, the resonance of her values in her deep voice.

Like a warrior, she wanted to raise the Honduran flag as high as possible in the world of cigars. It's a mission accomplished, because in 2024, Maya is crowned with the " LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT 2024″

Madame Blue Smoke has an idol: Maya Selva.

That's where the emotion comes in. Maya is an incredibly charismatic leader. Inspiring, sunny, warm. When she speaks, she mesmerises the crowd. A male crowd. She stands high on the list of cigar monuments, alongside Eric M. Newman and Robert C. Newman, Rocky Patel, Manuel Quesada, Benjamin "Benji" Menendez and Carlito Fuente.

But I don't think that's what motivates Maya. She sincerely wants to raise the profile of Honduras, create jobs, (re)burnish the image of the cigar industry and make her country a key player in the field.

Maya is a team. Every member we met - advisors, importers, sales people, brand managers - speaks with respect and conviction about their values, convinced of the products and moving in the same direction.

So it was with great emotion that we watched him take to the stage at the ceremony. Cigar Trophy Award 2024.

Maya's core value: ethics

Maya's aim is to create jobs in Honduras, and to involve every trade that contributes to making a cigar. In the tobacco fields, but also in all the packaging that wraps the cigars. Every single box produced, including the raw materials, comes from Honduras.

Maya doesn't lie. Its brand manager, Nina Cobos Rosa, tells us at Intertabac: "Initially, the new 'Villa Zamorano' brand rings were to have a gold shade with green. The material for the gold finish was not available in Honduras, so it was impossible to obtain. Maya decided to change the tones of the ring to a greener shade, in order to make this 100% ring in Honduras".

Where did this Honduran icon come from?

Born to a French mother and a Honduran father, Maya grew up in Tegucigalpa. After studying engineering in France and the USA, Maya returned to Honduras with a master's degree in her pocket, but not yet ready to decide on a career.

She then spent a year learning how cigars are made in the Danli region. It was through the prism of her studies that she meticulously studied all the parameters essential to the design of high quality cigars.

In 1994, it was her meeting with Nestor Plasencia that was to prove decisive for her career. And it was a year later, after planning the production criteria for her cigars with Nestor, that she launched "Flor de Selva" on the French market.

Read the story of Maya Selva

Discover the brand's other cigars