Villiger
A family name that celebrates 135 years of experience in the tobacco industry.
"Willkommen in Pfeffikon". This flowery sign welcomes us at the entrance of the small village located in the canton of Lucerne, Switzerland. Overlooked by the magnificent church "Pfarrkirche ST. Maurice", the village of Pfeffikon gives the impression of a real cultural shock. The new modern houses blend in with the traditional buildings and inns, surrounded by plains and fields that create a particularly peaceful environment. Who would have thought that this small hamlet of a thousand residents would be the home of one of the most prestigious cigar houses in the world?
It was at this exact location that a businessman named Jean Villiger founded "Villiger". He oversaw finances for a large company of cheroot, small cigars that are cut at both ends, before opening his own cigar factory. Following his premature death in 1902, when he was only 42 years old, his wife Louise Villiger took over the management of the company. She became extremely successful after launching Villiger Kiel, the first cigar with a quill mouthpiece, and created a German subsidiary called "Villiger Söhne Waldshut-Tiengen" in 1910. Louise will give the relay to her sons Hans and Max, in 1918, after 16 years of loyal services.
The two brothers renamed the factory "Villiger Söhne" and worked for its expansion by opening two factories in Munich. With the arrival of the World War II, their development was suddenly suspended and they were destroyed by an American bombing in 1943. However, the time for reconstruction came in 1950! It is at this moment that Heinrich Villiger, the eldest son of Max Villiger, who will become an emblematic figure of the brand, will get involved in the manufacturing of cigars. He was appointed director of "Villiger Söhne", whose headquarters are still located in the village of Pfeffikon.
Heinrich bought his brother's shares in the company in 1966, making him the exclusive owner of "Villiger Söhne", which produces more than a billion cigars each year. Slender and discreet, he is one of the most important players in the tobacco industry and still runs the company to this day. The family tradition has been thriving for over a century now!
In 2020, Heinrich celebrated his 90th birthday, becoming the oldest cigar entrepreneur still in business and remains one of the leading experts in the world of tobacco. He has visited Cuba more than 100 times in his lifetime and is the exclusive importer and distributor of Cuban cigars in five European countries. In the same year, "Villiger" welcomed a new limited edition to its portfolio: the Villiger Anniversary 2020, which celebrates not only Heinrich's birthday, but also that of the German foundation "Villiger Söhne", which was founded by his grandmother Louise, 110 years ago.
The company took an international turn with the creation of Villiger North America and France distribution networks, indicating a precise objective: to establish the brand worldwide. Thus, the construction of a new modern and very promising factory started, the Villiger de Nicaragua factory. Its grand opening took place on January 26, 2023, during the "Puro Sabor" festival in Estelí, on a high plateau in the northwest of Nicaragua, surrounded by mountains.
The factory is characterized by a well thought and clear material flow concept, bright and spacious work areas and offices, a modern IT infrastructure and a security and storage concept. Latin American music is played in the background, giving the whole place a unique and pleasant atmosphere. With this novelty, "Villiger" takes an important step to strengthen its competence in the field of handmade cigars in Nicaragua. In a constantly changing global tobacco market, Heinrich Villiger has adapted his company to the needs of aficionados in an innovative way. His cigars are not only pleasing to the taste, but also have an aesthetic and construction that meets the highest standards.
The House of Grauer, which has a special relationship with Villiger, is proud to have a collector's piece signed by Heinrich Villiger himself. We have supported the Camaquito Foundation, which provides educational, sports and cultural assistance to Cuban children, by obtaining the Humidor Punch Supremos Exclusivo Suiza de 2015 - No.48/100 from the private collection of Mr. Urs Tanner. Auctioned for the occasion, this piece was signed by the hand of Heinrich who is also the Vice President of the Board of Directors of Intertabak and the President of 5th Avenue, Germany.
Today, "Villiger Söhne" is the only cigar manufacturer still operating in Switzerland and its success is based on an unwavering entrepreneurial spirit, a family tradition of over a century, but also on the quality and innovation of its products.
As the brand has grown, it has become a veritable cigar empire with more than 1500 craftsmen in Switzerland, Germany, Indonesia, Brazil and Nicaragua. It is one of the largest factories in Europe. However, for Heinrich, who belongs to the third generation of the company's management, tradition remains a priority and there is no question of interrupting this lineage.
The quality of Villiger cigars is guaranteed by this tradition and by the experience of the family in the field, as evidenced by the Villiger 1888 collection: they are produced by Matias Maragoto, a Cuban exile, with a high-quality wrapper grown by ASP Enterprises in Latin America. The binder comes from Mexico and the filler from the Dominican Republic and Nicaragua. It is a line that knows how to convince by the richness of its bouquet.
In another historical range, we find the Villiger 1492 which pays tribute, by its name, to Christopher Columbus. The latter discovered the New World that year and brought back from his journey the pleasure of smoking tobacco in Europe. Its blend of Ecuadorian, Indonesian and Dominican tobaccos offers a sweet and aromatic tasting.
Regarding the La Meridiana collection, Heinrich's ambition was to highlight a long-lost Cuban cigar heritage. It is rooted in the famous factory of the same name, "La Meridiana", which helped shape the urban landscape of Havana in the late 19th century. It was sold by Pedro Murias after the war of independence and its legacy disappeared into history. If their inspiration is Cuban, the cigars of the collection are puros from Nicaragua.
Originally, Villiger's La Libertad line, which translates to "freedom" in Spanish, was manufactured in Honduras by Plasencia before its production was moved to Estelí, Nicaragua in Villiger's new factory. The cigars of this line are composed of a Nicaraguan Criollo wrapper from Jalapa and a Dominican binder from the Cibao Valley. As for their filler, it is a mixture of Seco tobacco leaves from Jalapa and Viso and Ligero leaves from Estelí.
The brand's success is also based on its international presence in the field of tobacco. In 2018, it opened a factory in Brazil, which will give birth to the Villiger Do Brasil range comprising two different blends: the Claro uses, for its wrapper, a Connecticut seed variety that is grown in Brazil and for the Maduro, an Arapiraca tobacco.
The Corrida brand, created by "Villiger", includes several lines that highlight the different territories in which the company operates. They each have two different vitolas, a Robusto + (56 x 127 mm) and a Toro + (52 x 152 mm). Notably, Corrida Honduras which offers two cigars of character produced in Danli, Corrida Dominican Republic whose vitolas present a balanced blend of Dominican tobaccos matured for a long time. There is also the Corrida Nicaragua, with its tobacco matured for at least 6 months and double fermented, and finally, the Corrida Brazil whose finely spiced Arapiraca wrapper surrounds a complex filler of Brazilian tobacco.
To continue, the Cortez collection is perfect to illustrate the House's expertise in high-end cigars. Handmade in the Dominican Republic, the cigars offer 3 variations: a Robusto (50 x 127 mm), a Corona (42 x 152 mm) and a Torpedo (52 x 152 mm).
Finally, "Villiger" adds to its portfolio limited editions such as the Villiger de Nicaragua Edición Limitada. This Gran Toro (54 x 152 mm) is the first Limitada of the "Villiger" factory of Esteli and it has everything to please, a pronounced taste, a light spiciness emanating from the Nicaraguan tobacco which compose its filler.
To learn more about Villiger and the history of the brand, we would be delighted to welcome you in our Walk-In humidor, where you will find our selection of the brand's cigars, in special productions, but also in regular production.
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