Tasting Villa Zamorano Danlí Robusto - Honduran simplicity

Villa Zamorano Danlí Robusto

The Villa Zamorano Danlí Robusto in its 5 x 50 format is a sober Honduran cigar. From the Fábrica de Puros (a Maya Selva property inaugurated earlier this year), it combines a Honduran Carmelita wrapper, a Trojes binder and an all-Honduran filler.

Visually, the cigar has a light brown wrapper with reddish highlights, supple under the fingers and well-filled without excess. The ring, whose tones evoke the terroir and the fields, gives the whole a rustic and simple image. The construction confirms these first impressions: the touch is supple and homogeneous. Raw, earthy and humus notes emerge, with a supple draught that augurs easy combustion.

Tasting note

Lighting up immediately reveals an initial sweet, woody note, supported by a hint of liquorice. The smoke is dense, smooth and soft on the palate, enveloping you from the very first puff. Retroolfaction reveals a slight hint of spice, but the exercise remains accessible and could easily be attempted by an occasional smoker. The start-up power is light, the combustion regular and the compact ash holds well.

In the second third, nutty aromas make their appearance, bringing an interesting evolution without upsetting the balance. The strength remains light to medium, while a hint of acidity, reminiscent of coffee, subtly awakens the tip of the tongue. This acidity adds depth without being aggressive. The cigar is easy to savour, and remains very accessible.

At the start of the final third, green notes appear, evoking freshly cut grass and ivy. The cigar warms up slightly as it approaches the band, probably accentuated by a slightly rapid smoking pace. However, this change is consistent with a balanced, smooth tasting experience.

Pairing

The Villa Zamorano Danlí Robusto is a simple, no-nonsense cigar with accessible, balanced aromas. It is the perfect choice for a morning cigar accompanied by a coffee, or for an enthusiast in search of a smooth, reassuring smoke. Thirty years after her debut in the cigar world, Maya Selva's VZ Danlí range is a fitting tribute to the Honduran tradition of tobacco growing, true to the spirit of simplicity and sincerity that characterises her creations.

The cigar anecdote

With the VZ Danlí range, Maya Selva pays homage to the Honduran tradition of tobacco growing, in the same spirit of simplicity and sincerity that characterises her creations.



Maya 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