Wrapper: Nicaraguan Maduro
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan
Size: 4.5 x 48 Rothschild
Strength: Medium/Full
Price: $8.00
Date Released: August 2025
Quantities Released: Undisclosed
Factory: Tabacos Valle de Jalapa SA

My cigars received two months naked humidor time.

THE WHOLE MEGILLAH:
I had an epiphany. I reviewed the Stulac/Katman cigar on a full stomach to demonstrate that a strong kick arse cigar is a great go-to after dinner. In the last 15 years, I’ve always reviewed in the morning, on an empty stomach, sans a little coffee. I’ve suffered countless wild and hallucinogenic breakfasts while trying to come down from a full strength cigar. This will be a new thing. I didn’t invent reviewing on a fatso belly, I’m just going to perfect it…well, if not perfect it, at least screw it into the ground.

Chicharrones in Bold, Spicy, and Original have been around since 2015. Always in very limited numbers and I might not be able to save you from the Out of Stock monster.

It’s a nice looking stick with an even coating of oil that gives off the appearance of a bronze appendage or a Slim Jim. The wrapper is gorgeous with aromas of sweet cinnamon rolls, sweet but dark chocolate, café au lait, candied orange skin pulp, leathery tones, black pepper, and earthing underpinnings. Nearly zero barnyard.

The 8mm punch on my PerfecPunch works beautifully on this slim bimbo’s cap. The cold draw mimics perfectly or pointedly or emotionally the same notes as the aromas. I love it when that happens. Deeply earthy messages of fat and unhealthy Cinnabon, decadent caramel, sweet oranges, black pepper, and mocha java.

I’ve only smoked one stick prior to this review which prompted me to proceed incandescently this eve after eating two healthy slices of cheese pizza.

I hold the lighter to the foot and my hands shake in a most similar manner to my first Fleet Enema of the day. The one before lunch.

Farkas sounds a lot like Farkel. The Farkel family was a running gag on Laugh In a million years ago when 95% of you weren’t even born. I was 83. I was admitted entrance to a 6-hour taping in 1969. My buddy Dan and I were the only ones in the audience until hour number three. Female cast members took turns sitting on our laps. We swooned. They laughed.

The start is done well by all accounts. The orange slices and the coffee work like Abbot & Costello. Or Dick and Spiro. Maybe Donny and Jimmy. Emphatically Dr. Rod and Bubbles. Earthy beyond its years in the quagmire. Dinosaur footprints sing in the key of life.

Excellent start. I’ve gotten so cranky that if a cigar doesn’t serenade me by the end of the first half inch, it’s a goner. Worse is if the flavors are only slightly off putting. I got no patience. Dr. Rod is nodding his head vociferously.

Stark Naked and the Car Thieves decided to fire lead singer George Hatcher. The band was on a two month break so that the original Curved Air, plus one, could do a reunion tour of England and Europe. No one in Air could predict how popular they had become after a 2 year hiatus. Darryl and Sonja put their heads together, seeing the British Sterling numbers, and decided to use Stark Naked as the new Curved Air. This meant Florian Pilkington-Miksa and Francis Monkman would be asked to leave. Darryl gave us the news at a band rehearsal before George showed up.

If you want tedious reviews, there are a million options for you.

Strength wastes no time and oochie gooches to medium/full. There is a dry pasta flavor I like. My tongue tingles from the newly acquired red pepperiness. The black pepper recedes to a cavern near La Jolla. I’m clocking this diminutive cigar. An hour, maybe an hour and 15. If that is the end result, I can snickerdoodle my way into another cigar before the warden says she’s reached her limit of cigar smoke for the day.

I was shocked. I thought that Stark Naked was a great band with original tunes that were in line with the type of music I loved. I was hired because I brought da funk with a jazzy awareness. Stewart Copeland and I jelled immediately. Being in Curved Air was a great experience because it loaded my wallet with serious dough compared to the fledgling Stark Naked. The Naked was making 50 Quid or $900 in 2025 dollars. Curved Air made an average of 5,000 Pounds or $75,000 in 2025 dollars. Shit. Copeland and I were still eating like paupers. Man, we were dumbfucks.

Ever heard of the band Rockpile with Dave Edmunds and Nick Lowe? You should if you like how Brits do rockabilly. In the late 80’s, I played with a band that loved those guys. We played Elvis Costello, Bonnie Raitt, and Beatles. First rehearsal and they handed me charts for 100 songs. They asked that I had a month to learn them. Our first gig was a backyard BBQ.

Flavors get lowdown. The earthiness soars. Creaminess kicks in. Cinnamon rules the range but small additions of ginger and anise bade this audience a welcome hello.

The blend smooths out any rough edges present at the start. It seems to focus in on itself that I find different than most Viaje blends. While this is a Nic puro, it feels more like something exotic. Farkas rarely divulges what he puts into his blends so it is hard to know what you’re smoking. You are buying his wares strictly on love and respect.

I asked “What’s going to happen to George? Are you going to fire George?” Darryl immediately said he would step up. I was still trying to process this when George showed up, late as usual. I liked George a lot. His musical roots were the same as mine. I liked the direction of the band with him as lead singer. He had an Allman Brothers sensibility and style. I mean, what’s not to like.

George stepped in the door with his usual enthusiasm, which included shaking all our hands. I was in a good mood until 15 minutes earlier. I waited for Darryl to step up. Nothing. Copeland, Jacques, and Way were busying themselves with setting up gear while ignoring Hatcher. And then Stewart stated that he was shy an additional extension cord. No one could find one as I stood there with my mouth hanging open. What the fuck was going on?

The first inch took 15 minutes which will put this cigar at its finito stage at 75 minutes. Nothing rocked the boat that redefines this as anything other than a nice clear definition of something worth smoking. As I said earlier, you know within minutes if you’re sticking with it. I’m good to go for the next 3-1/2”.

The char line is as sharp as Putin’s wit before he pokes you with a poison umbrella. These days, an $8 stick no longer wallet pounds for most of us, at least the ones that read reviews. So, I gather my best adverbs and declare that I’m moribundly and diaphanously urging myself to plow on.
If it continues on this path, an ashtray photo will be in order. Stay tuned.

This is a completely new experience writing in the tertiary part of my day. I believe I may be enjoying it. Caffeine has left my body and I’m working solely on good intentions and unnecessary carbs.

Traditionally, flavors are not moving in a particular direction. They seem to have been canonized in that first inch. But the cute complexity and heartiness keep my delete key at bay.

Finally, Copeland declared that he had an extension cord at his flat only a block away, next to Abbey Road Studios. George piped up immediately and he would go get it. I was flapping my arms. Darryl said, “Sure, George, why don’t you go get it.” My arm flapping was nearing 6000 rpm. George was a foot from the door when I bellowed, “George don’t go. Because when you get back we are going to fire your ass!” Those were my exact words that I remember 50 years later…clearly, I’m not shy about trauma.

Inch two finds its way home to the end of the first half. Objects are closer than they appear in the mirror as the strength hits full tilt. I’m handling it without provocation because me belly full and me wan’ go home. I am home. What? No nicotine so I have no excuses. A kick arse cigar for the after party.

The blend tantalizes with an endearing overture of aromas and dry notes and then proceeds to slowly see flavors come second and rich heartiness become a mainstay.

I was on Carol Kaye’s website yesterday. Every time I show up, I’m the only person logged on the forum. And then, after a couple minutes, a guest shows up. I think it’s Carol.

I’m looking for the sweet spot. Or maybe the bridge. Kashmir is on the horizon.

The color drained from Hatcher’s face as stood there wilting. “What? What?” I repeated my bellowing doom statement but this time in a lower, more modulated voice. I looked to Darryl Way, the leader of this band. The big mover and shaker that made all the decisions. He was fiddling about with his violin and avoiding interaction. George got in Way’s face and asked him to ‘splain. Things went south. George fought it. My heart sank. He had a steady gig with Stark Naked and Darryl and Sonja pulled the rug out from under him. Just fuck off. Something they also had no reservations about when dealing with me a year and a half later.

I truly enjoy Viaje cigars when I want something familiar. I can always count on the blends. It annoys me when manufacturers declare Classified to the leaf stats. Farkas does this a lot. It’s a tricky business counting on the loyalty of his fans.

This is a great $8 stick. I also bought the Spicy and Original blends when I bought the Bold. I should have bought more but I need to make prompt payments on my funeral insurance.

I’m going to have dental work done in a couple of weeks. I sent my cigar loving oral surgeon some nice cigars so he is gentle and has a heavy hand with the anesthesia.

The sweet spot is nigh. Still in play are notes of spicy cinnamon, ginger, whipped cream adorned orange slices, café au lait, dark chocolate, earthy and used leather, a huge display of nuts (Me getting into the shower), and red pepper.

The size of this cigar fooled me. I was for sure, for sure, expecting a short smoke. Damn my eyes. 75-85 minutes is the outlook.

George Hatcher founded a new band in London. A good band made up of solid British players. I was the only one to stay in touch. We were friends. While I was the one who belted out that he was fired, he knew that it was because I didn’t want him to go fetch and then get fired. George continued on his musical journey with his own band here in the States. Two seconds after Hatcher left from being heartlessly fired, I gave Darryl Way a shitload of expletives. Way just shrugged. I’ve known guys like him my whole life. After Way facilitated me being fired from Curved Air, our manager Miles Copeland urged me to go to a rehearsal featuring Curved Air Minus Me to talk money with the band. Everyone was happy to see me. Except Darryl, who pretended I wasn’t there. Not even an acknowledgment. Miles Copeland III told me in his office that if I wanted severance so I could stay alive 6,000 miles from home, I’d have to ask the band. They refused to pay me a dime. And when I asked about my record royalties, Miles laughed. What a cowardly asshole. Currently, Copeland owns and operates CIA (Copeland International Arts) whose main act is the ‘Bellydance Superstars.’ Things always even out.

The blend has earned its status as sweet, bold, spicy, complex, earthly transitions, and deeply punctual. 80 minutes.

I should have bought more.

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RATING: 95

Categories: CIGAR REVIEWS

Tags: andre farkas, cigar reviews, cigar reviews by the katman, cigars, katman, phil kohn, Viaje Chicharrones 2025 ‘Bold’ (Maduro) | Cigar Reviews by the Katman, viaje cigars