EMBARKING ON THE FLOR DE SELVA 2012/2022 EXPERIENCE

In July of 2023, Maya Selva Cigars announced a special experience for cigar smokers. Over a decade ago, brand owner Maya Selva, predicted that premium cigar smokers would enjoy smoking aged cigars. To make this a reality, the rollers at Maya Selva took thousands of their 2012 Flor de Selva No 15 blend, crafted to celebrate the companies fifteenth anniversary, and set them aside in their warehouse. These cigars were stored under carefully controlled temperature, humidity, and light conditions and would eventually be paired with newly rolled cigars for comparison.  Cigar enthusiasts would be able to experience what the aging process did to tobaccos without the effort or wait. These aged cigars were paired with year old cigars from 2022 using the same formula and were made available in boxes of 20, ten cigars from each batch.

The Flor de Selva is a Honduran puro and comes dressed in a Connecticut wrapper, binder from Jamastran and the filler is comprised of the best tobaccos Honduras has to offer. The Vitola selected is a 5 ¼ x 54 Torpedo and is a beautiful example of the quality craftsmanship coming from the Maya Selva factories.

I removed the foot bands from both cigars and admired the wrappers on both cigars. The newer cigar might be slightly darker in color but both wrappers reminded me of café con leche, heavy on the cream. The newer cigar had an oily appearance while the dressing of the 2012 was more matte. The caps showed three wrapped bands and were easy to open with my knife. The newer cigar splitting ever so slightly but it did not detract from the smoking experience. The foot of the older 2012 cigar had a darker colored swirl of tobacco than the 2022. Cold draw on both cigars had a vegetal note, the scent of the cigar had a sweetness to it. To differentiate between the two cigars below, I will refer to one as ’12 and the other as ’22.

FIRST THIRD

After toasting and lighting both cigars, I was greeted by a sweet aromatic smoke. Both cigars produced ample amounts of smoke from their foot. I drew on the newer ‘22 cigar first. The smoke had lots of body, laying thick and heavy in the mouth. Having just reviewed another Connecticut earlier this week that had a disappointing body the Selva de Maya was a welcome presence. You can feel the smoke on your tongue and palate. I switched to the ’12 and took two draws through the cigar. The ’12 presented as slightly pepper forward and also had a nice heavy feel to the smoke. It was impressive how much smoke both cigars produced on a single puff, a shockingly good amount of smoke.

I also began to discern a difference in the mouth feel of both cigars, on the ’12, the cigar felt smooth on the lips where the ‘22 has a slight gritty sandpaper feel. The burn line on both cigars was the most telling visual difference. The ‘12’s burn line was dark and kept very close to the edge of combustion. It remained sharper and more even than the ’22. One the younger cigar, you could see some darker discoloration of the wrapper creeping past the point of combustion, like the oils in the wrapper leaf were affected more by the heat inside the cigar.

I methodically took two puffs of each cigar in turn and then let them rest while I judged what I was experiencing and how to convey my thoughts to you. Visually, it appeared that the ‘22 was burning slightly faster than its older companion. The ash on both of these cigars looked fantastic. It was a nice salt and pepper gray, I could see some layering the ash of the ’22. The younger cigar had that stacking dimes appearance while the ‘12 was of a solid chunk of ash. I continued to alternate draws between the two cigars while I took notes. 

I am not shy of retro haling and giving both of these cigars a big draw and releasing the smoke reinforced the vegetable note and both were easy on the sinus, smooth. The ‘22 has a very smooth, creamy sweet note on the retro and it’s got a nice little burn that crept up after I was finished. I did not get that creamy sweetness or lingering burn on the ’12. The older cigar really held firm to the vegetal flavor. Both cigars burned beautifully through the first third. Since I was smoking both cigars back and forth, I can’t speak about each cigars strength individually but would say these are a solid medium, feeling a heaviness on the chest. I was smoking these at 10 o’clock in the morning so this is not the normal time for me to be smoking cigars, but I could feel this blend. 

SECOND THIRD

I ashed both cigars to avoid making a mess. The ‘22’s flavor shifted to a musty sweet flavor that I was not finding on the ’12 which remained consistent. Both cigars continued burning well, the combustion line on the 12 was beautifully refined, the ’22 waivered slightly but did not need assistance. The ash on the ‘22 broke off in one clean chunk with a centered peak. The ’12 just came off clean showing that the aged tobacco was burning evenly.

The flavor notes on the ‘12 remained very smooth and creamy. It still had that same vegetal note while the ’22 with the new mustiness also had a slightly sweeter profile. Another change I picked up going to the 2^nd third was the draw on the ’22 suddenly opened right up. The ’12 had a great draw with just enough resistance to not feel like a snorkel, both continued burning amazingly well and I continued to enjoy this experiment. Lots of smoke continued to emanate off the foot of the cigar as the rested while I collected my thoughts. Smoking time has probably been forty minutes or so as I approach just shy of the halfway point on both cigars.

I went to pick up the ‘12 and it fell knocking the ash off, so I went ahead and ashed the ’22 as well. The ash on the ’12 had a gritty feel rolling it between my fingers. The ash on the ‘22 felt a more like a soft powdery and both cigars are still combusting extremely well. The draw still more open on the ’22, flavor notes holding with no change as the burned moved past the midway point on the ‘22 and the ‘12 .

I am once again drawn to the difference in the mouth feel between these two cigars. They both offer smoke with weight and body. Both cigars leave a nice finish on the pallet. I would still say they are both a medium strength and body, the finish is not quite clean and lingers and letting you know that you smoked a cigar. The vegetal sweetness coming a little more pronounced as we move past the midway point on the ‘12 and the musty sweetness on the ‘22 still very pronounced. 

FINAL THIRD

Well past the halfway mark, if I had to choose a favorite between both of the cigars, I do think the overall feel of smoking the ‘12 with its more comfortable mouth feel, smooth characteristic and smoke production give it a slight edge over the ’22. Aging has improved the Flor de Selva No 15 blend and the cigar performs flawlessly. They both maintained their original vegetal sweetness but the ‘22 has become a bit more musty, sweet. 

The extra age has made the blend more balanced and less complex, as was probably expected with the passage of time. Both cigars are extremely cool burning. The retro hale on the ‘12 is incredibly smooth with no irritation on the sinus. The ‘22 does provide a very slight tingle in the nose, just enough to let you know it’s there.

Getting close to the end of the experiment, these cigars are still burning exceptionally well. The ’12 required no touchups or relights. The ‘22 was more complex and did require one relight in the final third. I would say the ‘12 with its sweetness has a drying quality to the pallet. The ‘22 is a little more forward with the vegetable sweetness and has the opposite effect and produced more saliva.  Looking at the combustion line on both cigars, the ‘12’s wrapper is holding up to the heat better and burning more evenly. The ‘22 is showing some signs of buckling or wrinkling close to the combustion line.

CLOSING THOUGHTS

Having smoked both cigars for close to two hours, I am very impressed with how aging the Flor de Selva has altered the quality of the tobacco. Although not very dynamic, the cigar burned perfectly and needed no maintenance. An enjoyable smoking experience, the ‘12 definitely has a feel that I’m more comfortable with and while I enjoyed the ‘22 as well it was for different reasons. Presenting a slightly sweeter profile than the ’12, I would pick up either and enjoy them again. I could see both pairing very well with rum, I would even try a full-bodied red wine to complement the cigars.

This has been a worthwhile smoking experiment that I would recommend to all our readers. It was impressive to taste how ten years allows tobaccos to marry and become one consistent profile. I want to thank Filippo Costi for recommending this experience to me. I purchased my pack from Neptune Cigars and although the price may seem high, understanding and tasting the care that was given to aging the ’12 was well worth the cost. You can purchase your pack HERE. I would highly recommend that anyone who enjoys premium cigars should experience this for themselves. Let me know in the comments below if any of you age your cigars and what works and what doesn’t.

I’m going to enjoy the final bit of both cigars.