Trill by Villiger Cigars – Toro

The Trill is one of three new lines by Villiger Cigars launched by Villiger Cigars in 2014. It was two years go when Roy MacLaren was named President of Villiger North America. MacLaren has been instrumental in bringing renewed focus and energy to the premium cigar division at Villiger. This included hiring Fabian Barrantes as Director of Marketing at Villiger North America. Both MacLaren and Barrantes were instrumental in building these new lines. The company turned to Jochi Blanco and the Tabacalera Factory for his tobacco and production to bring the product behind these brands to life. Today, we look closer at one of these brands – the Trill. I recently have had an opportunity to sample the Trill. It appears that the commitment to this renewed focus is in high gear as this is one outstanding cigar.

The Trill represents the Habano wrapper offering of the new lines.  The lines go across the spectrum as there also is an Ecuadorian Connecticut (Cuellar Connecticut Kreme) offering as well as a Maduro (Cabarette Maduro) offering.  The packaging reflects a nice cross between contemporary and classic.  In a lot of ways, the cigars themselves reflect this in their profile.  The name Trill has origins in the music industry referring to someone that is “true” or “real” in the music industry.  This ties to what the Trill cigar is all about – producing a true or genuine cigar experience to the cigar enthusiast.

The three cigar lines were released first to the TAA, and now are making their way to all retailers nationwide.

Without further ado, let’s dive deeper into the Trill and see what this cigar brings to the table.

Blend Profile

The Trill features tobacco from Tabacalera Palma’s private farm in Jacagua, the La Canela farms, and a farm in Hundidera – all located in the Dominican Republic.  The cigar is being made at Tabacalera Palma.

Wrapper: Habano
Binder: Cuban Seed
Filler: Cuban Seed Corojo and Criollo 98

Vitolas Available

There are currently four sizes available.  A corona size will be added at the 2014 IPCPR Trade Show.

Robusto: 5 x 50
Toro: 6 x 54
Gordo: 6 1/4 x 60
Torpedo Gordo: 4 1/2 x 60
Corona: 5 x 46

The cigars are packaged in 21 count boxes in a black piano finish cedar box.

Appearance

For this cigar experience, I smoked the Trill Toro.  The Habano wrapper of the Trill has a light coffee bean color with a rosado tint to it.  Upon closer examination, some darker marbling can be seen on the surface.  The wrapper has a light oily complexion to it.  There are some visible veins and the wrapper seams are decently hidden.  There also was a subtle cocoa aroma I detected on the cigar.

The band has both contemporary and classic elements to it. The band has a black background with the name “TRILL” in a classic white font that includes a cursive like “T”. Below that is the text “Cigars” in a small cursive white font. Above the text is a white crown with some gold adornments. There is a white ribbon on the left side of the logo with the text “Original Blends” in landscape mode with black font. To the right is another white ribbon with the text “Can’t Hustle a Hustler” – also in landscape mode with black font. On each side of the Trill logo is a white crown and the text “2014” in gold font. On the lower left side of the band is the text “Hand Made” in small cursive white font. On the right side of the band is the text “Long Filler” – also in small cursive white font. There are gold adornments around the band and there is also gold trim.

There is a gold ribbon on the footer.

Preparation for the Cigar Experience

Prior to lighting up the Trill Toro I went with my usual choice of a straight cut to remove the cutter.  It was then on to the pre-light draw phase.  The cold draw provided notes of natural tobacco, a spice that had a slight tingling sensation on the tongue, and a touch of cocoa.  Overall I found the pre-light draw of the Trill to be very good.  At this point, I removed the ribbon to the Trill, lit up the footer, and awaited what the actual smoking phase would bring to the table.

Flavor Profile

The start of the Trill provided a mix of natural tobacco and a pepper note that seemed slanted more toward a red pepper.  I also detected this pepper on the retro-hale throughout the smoking experience.  Meanwhile the natural tobacco also provided a nice sweetness during this smoking experience.

Toward the latter part of the first third a couple of changes happened.  The natural tobacco flavor became the primary flavor.  The spices, now a close secondary flavor transitioned to more of a baker’s spice where it had some sweetness to it as well.  The pepper remained present on the retro-hale and the after-draw.  I also detected a bread-like flavor in the background as well.

In the second third, the bread-like notes joined the natural tobacco flavor in the forefront.  This made for a very interesting fusion.  Meanwhile the combination of baker’s spice in the background and pepper on the retro-hale and after-draw continued.  By the last third, I saw some of the spice increase on the Trill.  The baker’s spice still very much had a sweet component.  There were times I could detect that sweetness more than the other times.  At the same time, some of the pepper qualities surfaced from time to time.

Burn and Draw

From a burn perspective, I found the Trill scored very nicely.  There was a slight bit of curivness to the burn line, but in general the burn line remained relatively straight.  I didn’t find this a cigar to require an high amount of touch-ups.  The resulting ash was firm with a bright white color.  There were a couple of points of some minor flaking, but nothing out of the ordinary.  The burn rate and burn temperature were ideal.

Burn of the Trill by Villiger Cigars

The draw performed also scored very nicely.  The draw wasn’t too tight or too loose.  It made the Trill  what I term a “low maintenance cigar” to puff on.

Strength and Body

From a strength perspective, I found the Trill to have some pop, but this isn’t going to be a nicotine bomb either.  The strength of the Trill starts out in the medium to full range.  In the last third, there is an increase and the strength progresses to full.  Meanwhile the flavors have some nice depth to them.  I found the flavors to be medium to full-bodied to start.  By the second third, the weight of these flavors increased on the pallet and I found this cigar move to full-bodied.  In terms of strength versus body, for the most part I gave the edge to the body.

Final Thoughts

I feel the Trill is a nice change in direction for Villiger Cigars.  This is a product that brings some key components together – great tobacco and great blending.  It results in a cigar that has great flavor, excellent construction, and a decent amount of complexity throughout the smoking experience.  While this is a cigar I would recommend more for an experienced cigar enthusiast, I would still recommend this cigar for a novice looking for a cigar with a little more strength and a little more body.  As for myself, this is a cigar I most certainly would reach for and smoke again.  It’s a cigar that’s easily worth a box split.

Summary

Burn: Excellent
Draw: Excellent
Complexity: High
Strength: Medium to Full (1st 2/3), Full (Last third)
Body: Medium to Full (1st third), Full (Remainder)
Finish: Excellent
Assessment: 3.5 – Box Split
Score: 92


References

News: Villiger to Launch Trill, Cabarete Maduro, and Connecticut Kreme Lines in 2014
Price $7.19 ($151 box of 21)
Source: Sample Provided by Manufacturer
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