I have been on a detour from my trip through the Viaje world recently. Frankly, I just have not enjoyed many of the blends thus far and there have been other, more interesting smokes to conquer in the meantime. There really is a ton of buzz amongst industry bloggers about this manufacturer and the overall impression from most of them would have us believe that these cigars are all classics. I don't get it, but I guess even the Edsel and the Corvair became classics at one point or another despite their poor performance.
This particular cigar has been hanging around in my humi for several months as I looked for a time to get to it. It is capped with a pigtail that gives the cigar a somewhat whimsical visual impression. The wrapper is nice looking, with few veins and no visible flaws. An inspection reveals a nice bunch and roll and I can't find any areas that cause me any concern at all. The pre light aroma is full of rich spices. The pre light draw shows some serious red pepper influences.
The cigar opens with a profile that is all hickory and red pepper, it is charming and enticing array of flavor as the wood provides a robust background for some serious pepper flavors early on. It is not as complex or deep as I would like, but it is showing some serious promise for development, after all it is very early in this smoke. At the back of the palate there are some very fine spice flavors that are showing through and some different pepper flavors that complement the front of the palate. The draw is exceptional, it is just the way I like it, fluid with a full provision of smoke with every draw. The burn is solid, but the ash is flaky.
The first half of the cigar continues to develop flavors. The core profile stays woody, mainly hickory, but there are some solid oak and cedar notes here as well. Red pepper continues to dance across the palate, but it is tantalizing, rather than overpowering and I find this subtle mix of flavor to be quite good. At the back of the palate there are still some spice notes, but a sweet oatmeal essence is also present and it takes some of the sting out of the peppery front of the experience. The draw is still fabulous. The burn has gone off just a bit due to a void in the very center of the bunch, but it is not terrible at this point.
The final half of the cigar performs solidly as well. The core profile become a full presentation of woods. Hickory, Oak and Pine are all present at one time or another and they are pleasing, but not as complex as I would like this late in an experience. The back of the palate continues to show spice notes, but not much else. The draw is one of the best I have experienced in awhile. The burn stays wonky to the end, and some retouch is necessary in the last third.
The finish was solid and showed some nice pepper and spice flavors.
In the end I am slightly disappointed that there was not more to this cigar in terms of profile, but was there was more than satisfactory, there just could have been so much more. This is by far my favorite Viaje blend to this point.
Appearance- 88 a nice looking smoke
Taste- 89 a very solid performance that just came up a bit short
Construction- 89 also solid, but some burn issues take away points
Strength- 88 a very nice medium that transitions to full late in the smoke
Overall- 88.75 just short of being exceptional
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