Wrapper: Mexican San Andrés
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan
Size: 6 x 52 Toro
Strength: Medium
Price: $11.00
Factory: AGANORSA

My cigars received 3 months of naked humidor time.

THE WHOLE MEGILLAH:
So many Viaje blends. So little money.

It’s like being on a never-ending carousel. Getting in position on the horsey as you see the brass ring ready to be plucked. You lean precariously at 60 degrees. The merry go round is going 38mph and your head will truly become Bolognese if you fall. You have 3 seconds to grab it. And…you miss. Grabbing wind. This is the way I feel about the million Viaje cigars released every week. I want them all. I want the cherry blossoms. I want the best weed money can buy. Thank God that Farkas makes reasonably priced cigars…and that’s the rub my friends. You talk yourself into blind reasoning that your wife won’t mind…or even better, she won’t find out. You have the story ready in case you need one. She has no clue that you dropped $55 on a fiver and you’re disappointed that your perfectly appointed bullshit is no longer needed. Did I get away with murder? How can this be? She knows everything. This is the psychosis of being a cigar junkie. If you were single, you’d only be mildly neurotic.

A medium heavy stick. Smells mostly like barnyard. There are slight aromas of dark chocolate, despresso, de-lovely hazelnuts, and morbid cinnamon.

The cold draw is hot cocoa with marshmallows. My lips burn. Spicy. Also, creamy sassafras, caramel, and toasty goldenrod tea.

Have we not been down this road before? Mexican wrapper and Nic guts. When anyone releases this mostly tired old blend, they really need to spill the beans a little. There is an arrogance from blenders and cigar manufacturers who think that their name value alone is enough for us to keep buying their cigars. How many times do they release the same leaf stats over and over…without adding info for the consumer as to the processes used and creating a narrative about the gestation of the blend. Sure, they may release this information in a press release…but cigar smokers don’t read press releases. Stating that it is made at AGANORSA doesn’t give you a pass. Cigar smokers’ wallets stretch only so far. Plenty of cigars to choose from. Just stunning arrogance.

The ritual of fire to twigs begins. My 10-year-old S.T. Dupont Maxijet is beat to shit. I need to say goodbye to my old one and get a new one. The adjustment wheel on my lighter no longer works. Ever heard of a Xikar lighter that lasted even 10 months? Doubt it. It’s worth a couple hundred bucks for a decent everyday lighter.

Viaje blends tend to do well with 3-9 months of naked sleep. I chose to review this cigar because I felt like it. Industry sites are more strategic. I appreciate my freedom of choice.

The opening bid is meaty in nature. Full of black pepper. My instinct tells me that this is going to be a powerful blend. But the leaf stats say not so fast. Medium strength is how its described. The spicy black pepper sells full tilt potency.

I smoked a couple during the ‘Let’s See’ Period. They were OK but they screamed for sleep and some ageing. Jeremy Casdagli told me that he finds 3 months the golden hour. Jeremy is always right.

Who hasn’t been here…you date a girl. You get on great. You finally have sex, and she tells you she doesn’t like getting her lips anywhere near a man’s bodeen. Things screech to a halt. Your neck begins to convulsively stutter. Your brain goes into overdrive trying to assess what to do next. You think, “OK. Maybe I can convince her if I treat her to a good time” …with real conviction. And…nope. Now you’re a few dates in and you’re reassessing your life. Can I live without getting a BJ ever again? Of course, the answer is no. Do you look back and maybe feel you made the wrong decision? No. You don’t.

Creamy and woody. The sassafras is strong. Bitter chocolate, very black coffee, and strong black tea. The cigar needs some sweetness. One of the hardest things a blender is up against is the right choice of leaves that will defer into some easy-going sugariness. A straight-ahead power cigar with no distinct flavor, or some sweetness for the palate, is a death knell. The first couple of inches is nothing special…Tastes exactly like what you expect from these leaf stats. No mysteries.

You ask what my IGM Katman cigars will be called? The working title is Moon Steps. You’re going to dig them. The wrapper is Costa Rican. The binder is Peruvian. And the binder is Undisclosed 3-year aged tobacco. Over the couple of months that I’ve had them, they’ve shown serious growth. And have become beautifully sweet and flavorful. When I review them when they are released, I will have distinct comparisons of beloved cigars to make.

It’s a solid blend. I’ve smoked a million cigars just like it. The flavor profile is limited. Complexity is barely there. Transitions are nearly devoid of any presence. The balance waffles between just too damn spicy and earth laden oakiness.

In college, we had a game that involved smoking us some J’s. Our favorite was watching the 1945 John Wayne movie, “They Were Expendable.” All about the PT boats of WWII. The Duke heads out on his boat to reconnoiter the enemy ships. A lone sailor awaits him on the dock. The boat pulls up and Wayne jumps out. Sailor: “Any dope sir?” Wayne: “No dope.” Bogarting was a sport.

I knew guys that read on cigar social media that the second half of the cigar was usually much better than the first half. I’m not shitting you, but I saw them cut the cigar and discard the first half. You guys must have seen the same thing. These are observations when I worked in an upscale cigar lounge as a retirement gig.

I’m disappointed. It’s not a bad cigar. It’s not a good cigar. It’s a pedestrian blend that might impress the unsophisticated palate, but I get no thrill from snorting cocaine.

I hear that the other blends in the Viaje Craft Series are better. The Roots blend has Ecuadorian Habano wrapper. Nicaraguan binder. And filler consisting of Brazilian Arapiraca, Nicaraguan, and US leaves. This is the cigar I should have reviewed. It’s more up my alley because of the diversity of origin countries.

You can purchase the Viaje Craft Series from sponsor Small Batch Cigar (10% off with promo code ‘katman’). NOTE: Through the end of Nov.7, the katman promo code will get you 15% off.

Don’t forget to enter the SWAG Daddy Contest and win a bunch of cool stuff from SBC. Click here. Also, some cool samplers taken from my Top 32 Cigars of 2023 list. Click here.

RATING: 89

Categories: CIGAR REVIEWS

Tags: cigar reviews, cigar reviews by the katman, cigars, katman, phil kohn, Viaje Craft Series For the Love of the Leaf | Cigar Reviews by the Katman