Flor de Selva Coleccion Aniversario Nº20 Robusto by Maya Selva Cigars
In 2015, Maya Selva Cigars celebrated 20 years in the cigar business. When it comes to the U.S. market, the brands of Maya Selva Cigars are newer, but they have been around in the European Market since 1995. Maya Selva Cigars’ first brand was Flor de Selva, so when it came time to create a commemorate their 20th anniversary, the company decided to create an all-new blend under that brand. That cigar would be a limited edition lancero known as Flor de Selva Nº20. Last year, the company decided to use the blend and launched a regular production line in four new sizes known as the Flor de Selva Colección Aniversario Nº20. Today, we take a look at one those new sizes, the Flor de Selva Colección Aniversario Nº20 Robusto.
The Flor de Selva Colección Aniversario Nº20 was first launched at InterTabac 2016 and subsequently to the European market. This past May, Maya Selva Cigars announced the line would be released in the U.S. market. While Maya Selva Cigars did not exhibit at this year’s IPCPR Trade Show, the launch of the Flor de Selva Colección Aniversario Nº20 occurred right around the time of the Trade Show.
Without further ado, we break down the Flor de Selva Colección Aniversario Nº20 Robusto and see what this cigar brings to the table. As a disclaimer only one cigar of the Robusto size was smoked.
Blend Profile
The Flor de Selva Colección Aniversario Nº20 is a Honduran puro. This is highlighted by a Habano wrapper grown in the Jamastran valley. This complements the other two wrapper offerings in the Flor de Selva line – the Flor de Selva Connecticut and the Flor de Selva Maduro.
Wrapper: Habano Jamastran
Binder: Olancho / Azacualpa
Filler: Honduran (Various)
Country of Origin: Honduras
Vitolas Available
The Flor de Selva Colección Aniversario Nº20 is available in four sizes. Incidentally, the Limited Edition Lancero is not among the four sizes. Each of the four sizes is available in ten-count wooden boxes.
Egoista: 3 1/2 x 56
Petit-Corona: 5 1/2 x 42
Robusto: 4 3/4 X 50
Tempo: 6 x 60
Flor de Selva Coleccion Aniversario Nº20
Appearance
The Habano wrapper of the Flor de Selva Colección Aniversario Nº20 Robusto had a medium to dark brown color with some colorado red mixed in. There was a thin layer of oil on the surface. This wrapper had was on the smooth side with only some thin visible veins and thin visible wrapper seams. I found this to be a well-packed cigar. When you pick up this cigar, it has a little bit of weight to it.
There are two bands on the Flor de Selva Colección Aniversario Nº20 Robusto. The primary band features the new Flor de Selva logo on an ovular field. This is an antique white colored band with a dull-bronze font. It consists of an image of a Roman Statue with the text “FLOR DE SELVA” just below it. Just below that text is the vitola name of the Flor de Selva Colección Aniversario Nº20. In this case, it says “ROBUSTO”. To the left and right of the ovular field is a white and bronze pattern. The text “HECHO TOTALMENTE A MANO” is immediately to the left of the field while the text “HONDURAS DESDE 1995” is immediately to the right. The lower portion of the band has a pseudo-secondary band effect. This portion has a fire engine red background with the text “N20 ANIVERSARIO” in white font.
There is a secondary band and it’s around the footer. The upper two-thirds of the band has an antique background with a subtle light beige design on it. The “MAYA SELVA CIGARS” scripted logo sits on that portion. There also is a dull Bronze pinstripe toward the lower part of the antique background. The lower third is fire engine red with the text “N20 ANIVERSARIO” in white font.
Preparation for the Cigar Experience
As I normally do, I went with a straight cut to remove the cap of the Flor de Selva Colección Aniversario Nº20 Robusto. Once the cap was removed, I proceeded with the pre-light draw. The dry draw delivered a mix of natural tobacco and light cedar. While this wasn’t the most exciting pre-light draw, it was not a bad one either. I then removed the footer band of the Flor de Selva Colección Aniversario Nº20 Robusto, lit up the cigar, and moved into the smoking phase.
Flavor Profile
The start to the Flor de Selva Colección Aniversario Nº20 Robusto produced notes of earth, cedar, and natural tobacco. The earth and cedar notes became primary early on with the natural tobacco in the background. Meanwhile, there was a combination of black pepper and cedar on the retro-hale.
During the first third, the cedar and earth remained in the forefront. Both notes varied in intensity. Toward the end of the first third, the earth notes finally took the edge. Meanwhile, the natural tobacco remained in the background. I found the natural tobacco had a bitter component to it that lingered on the finish.
The earth notes remained primary during the second third of the Flor de Selva Colección Aniversario Nº20 Robusto. Meanwhile, the cedar and natural tobacco notes remained in the background. Toward the latter part of the second third, I found some of the bitterness from the natural tobacco dissipated.
The last third continued to see the earth notes primary. There still was a some cedar and natural tobacco in the background. I also found some black pepper to be present on the tongue. This is the way the Flor de Selva Colección Aniversario Nº20 Robusto came to a close. The resulting nub was firm to the touch and cool in temperature.
Burn and Draw
The Flor de Selva Colección Aniversario Nº20 Robusto was a cigar with excellent construction and this reflected nicely on the scores of the burn and draw. The cigar had no problem maintaining relatively straight burn path. I found minimal jaggedness on the burn line itself. The resulting ash was on the firm side with a nice salt and pepper color. This was a cigar that also had no problem maintaining an ideal burn rate and ideal burn temperature.
Burn of the Flor de Selva Coleccion Aniversario No.20 Robusto
The draw of this robusto was excellent as well. The tighter pack gave this cigar a little resistance to the draw, but that’s ideal in my book.
Strength and Body
In terms of both strength and body, the Flor de Selva Colección Aniversario Nº20 Robusto was a solid medium. Throughout the cigar experience, I found there to be little in the way of variance of the level of intensity of both the strength and body. Both the strength and body balanced each other very nicely with neither attribute overshadowing the other.
Final Thoughts
The originalFlor de Selva Nº20 Limited Edition Lancero was an excellent cigar. The Flor de Selva Colección Aniversario Nº20 is a line based on that cigar. Maya Selva Cigars is known to blend to the specific vitola size. Like any blend, sometimes it is going to work better in some sizes than others. Flavor-wise, I found the blend put into the original Lancero sizes worked very well. In terms of the Aniversario Nº20 Robusto, while it has excellent construction, I didn’t find it delivered as much flavor-wise. It’s still not a bad cigar, but one that lacked any “wow” factor. It’s still a cigar that I would encourage a cigar enthusiast to try and one that I look forward to trying in some of the other sizes.
Summary
Key Flavors: Earth, Cedar, Natural Tobacco, Black Pepper
Burn: Excellent
Draw: Excellent
Complexity: Medium
Strength: Medium
Body: Medium
Finish: Excellent
Rating
Assessment: 2.5-Try One
Score: 87
References
News: Maya Selva Cigars’ Flor de Selva Colección Aniversario Nº20 Heading to U.S.
Price: $12.00
Source: Maya Selva Cigars
Brand Reference: Flor de Selva
Photo Credits: Cigar Coop
