Wrapper: Mexican San Andrés Maduro
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan
Size: 6 x 54
Strength: Medium/Full
Price: $16.20
This is a limited release, but quantities are a mystery. Only a few online stores still have them for sale.
The cigars, according to Andre Farkas, were aged one year after being rolled.
I’ve only had my cigars for one month. I smoked one recently and felt confident that I could address the blender’s intent while these cigars are still available.
As of yesterday, sponsor Small Batch Cigar still had 25 count boxes for sale. Today, those are gone and only five packs are left.
THE WHOLE MEGILLAH:
Definition of a schmuck: I clip the cap and there is absolutely no draw. I stare at it for a few seconds and notice that the foot is encapsulated by wrapper with no opening. I am struck by a lightning bolt. I need to clip the cigar’s foot. The draw is still plugged so my PerfecDraw draw adjustment tool goes into action. Damn. I must screw the PerfecDraw its entire 4” length into the cigar three times. And then I use it at the foot, going in only an inch and finally: The Perfect Draw. I’d be pissed off if I didn’t have this tool.
This cigar is heavily packed. Solid as a stack of Krugerrands. Going to be a slow smoke.
The cigar begins with a punch to the gonads with a powerful strength that I didn’t expect. My first try a couple nights ago was on a full stomach. But I review in the mornings on an empty stomach. I find an empty stomach provides a better platform for what the cigar has to give. I don’t know why. I could be mentally ill…more than everyone thinks. Still, my favorite cigar of the day is before breakfast.
Any time I smoke a cigar with a tiny nipple at the foot, I get irregular burns. They do not last long, but that doesn’t stop me from fretting that it will get worse.
Dark flavors of dates, espresso, cured meat, a heap of black pepper, and bittersweet chocolate.
The cigar finds its complexity immediately. A dense intricacy is pulling me in. The foot nipple needs correction. I administer life saving techniques and it is now going to have a full life…for 90 minutes, and then there is no medical procedure that will save it.
Creaminess enters to save the day at ¾” burned. The medium/full strength relents and takes a time out as the cigar struggles to find its center. (That is Hippie speak).
Flavors start rolling in…black licorice, caramel, vanilla bean, spicy cayenne, Boston Baked Beans candy, a very tart lemon rind, and smoky cedar.
The blend is going bat shit crazy on my palate as it is assaulted like being in the Carlsbad Caverns during a release of those winged rats. As a kid, my dad always loved to take us on road trips and I remember the awe I felt at Carlsbad. Probably the reason my dad and I became rockhounds when I was 13. The high deserts of SoCal and western Arizona were gold mines of gorgeous finds.
The blend is on a contiguous journey across my palate. The quality and passion of the blend is anything but unnoticeable. Flavors run amok. Complexity and depth spread their wings like a ferret. Subtleties and nuances are not monolithic. Transitions are like darting into traffic at Piccadilly Circus. And I’ve only burned less than 1-1/2”.
The strength is readying itself for a giant leap…but not for mankind. It is sneaky and can’t wait to rip my head off with its superhero strength.
I wish I could have waited 6 months before reviewing this cigar, but it is what it is. The cigar still shines with outstanding blender’s intent. And the good part is that I bought a fiver and have more that will endure the act of sleeping with the fishes.
The burn is dead nuts perfect.
My vision blurs. I use my crown of thorns to keep me steady. (Amazon has them for only $13.00).
My brain is overheated. Once while rockhounding in Arizona with my pop, I walked past a Jumping Cholla Cactus. I brushed past the fucker and several big clusters of needles leaped to my left leg. I thought I had been bitten by a snake. My stupid instinct was to grab my leg and feel what happened. That was dumber than kissing a big parrot on the mouth. I tripped and fell into an entire Cholla. In the middle of nowhere, my dad had to pick spikes out one at a time with a pair of pliers. It took forever. I never disrespected cactus again.
Rich notes of dark chocolate, espresso, dried fruit, lemon rind, dark brown sugar, caramel, creaminess, spiciness, burning oak, and cinnamon are rotating like a super nova.
The cigar’s depth intensifies like riding the Matterhorn naked.
Mr. Farkas is a marvel of nature.
This is not a cigar for newbies. The strength is full tilt and death defying. With a year of humidor time, the cigar should mellow enough for new cigar smokers to imbibe. I am currently getting a newly released cigar’s test of one’s manhood and erectile dysfunction.
As I close in on the halfway point, the clock says I’ve been hacking away for nearly an hour.
The clouds break and my vision returns. I’m in the downdraft of a large tornado.
I am working on the blender’s intent. But I shall rate this cigar based upon its potential.
The halfway point settles into a creamy and complex blend.
There is a perfect Savory v. Sweet balance. Flavors coalesce that make this cigar a serious man.
This is the best Viaje Honey & Hand Grenades I’ve smoked. These babies have been released, in one form or another, yearly since 2012. But Farkas created such small batches that if you did not act instantly, you missed out.
If I were you, I’d head over to Small Batch Cigar and snag a fiver or two right now. Promo code ‘katman’ gets you 10% off.
I do something I rarely do in the middle of a review…I took my own advice and just bought another fiver from SBC. This cigar is just too good to miss out on. Charlotte is going to beat the shit out of me.
The cigar also comes with a Corojo wrapper as well. And SBC has those too.
Sips of water calm the beast. Strength returns in spades.
Creaminess leads the pack. The huge flavor profile becomes an exercise in watching “Fantasia’ on acid. Back in the 60’s, movie theaters caught on to this phenomenon and would show the 1940 film for Hippies. It packed the theaters with longhairs. They had to stock up on popcorn and candy.
The cigar takes a full two hours to finish.
Sophisticated smokers will go Bozo crazy for this blend.
Once again, Small Batch Cigar has the fivers for sale. Use ‘katman’ for 10% off.
RATING: 96
Categories: CIGAR REVIEWS
Cigar Reviews by Phil 'Katman' Kohn 
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