In late March Viaje Cigars debuted two new sizes in the Skull & Bones series, a powerful line created by brand owner Andre Farkas. The two sizes have ominous names, which he says are references to their strength: MOAB (Mother of All Bombs) and FOAB (Father of All Bombs).Both measure 4 1/2-inches long, and the Mother has a ring of 52 and the Father has a 56 ring gauge.
MOAB and FOAB are also part of the Skull & Bones White Label line (a Red Label also exists) and are Nicaraguan puros using with Criollo wrappers. According to Farkas, all sizes in the White Label are named after non-nuclear weapons, whereas the stronger Red Label cigars are named for nuclear ballistics.
The cigars are packaged in boxes of 25 and are have simple black bands bearing a standard skull and crossbones logo. MOAB retails for $8.80, while FOAB retails $9.20. Only 300 boxes of each size were produced. They are made in Honduras at the Raices Cubanas factory.
Video review HERE.
The cigar is well made and dark. It looks a little like a stick of chocolate. The cap is triple capped and very dense.
The initial flavors were a ton of black pepper, leather, what seemed like cinnamon and plenty of full bodied notes.
About 1/2 inch in the cigar settled down into grapefruit, cedar, light leather, sweetness, and almond notes with what seems like coffee and a ton of black pepper. The pepper carries directly over to the finish. The finish has a lot of those citrus notes at this point. The cigar already had burn issues so I decided to try to let the cigar even itself out.
After trying to let the cigar even itself out I finally had to touch it up with the torch lighter. The grapefruit citrus now has vanilla notes. The pepper is still amazing. The cedar is subdued and the leather is somewhat subdued. The citrus and vanilla are the main flavors along with the intense pepper. The finish now has creamy vanilla notes.
About 1 1/2 inches in the vanilla and grapefruit citrus are becoming somewhat rich. The citrus carries over to the finish combining with the pepper. The burn still concerns me as it is not burning evenly after touching it up. The flavors of the cigar are taking up for the uneven burn. It is quite tasty. The richness really adds to the positives of the cigars.
After removing the lower band the burn was uneven again to the point where I had to touch it up again! This is highly unusual. Perhaps the wrapper is so thick it causes the cigar to burn unevenly. The flavors are still good, however.
With no major changes from the previous point to the end I will wrap up my comments. The burn got off a little again. I tend to score cigars based on flavor as the main point but this cigar will lose points due to the burn. I enjoyed the flavors in the cigar quite a bit. The richness is still there at the end. The cigar is quite full bodied and not for a beginner. The cigar lost a couple points due to the burn but still got a very respectful score. Look for these wherever Viaje Cigars are sold. Let me know how the burn is for you as I am curious if this was a rare occurrence or more common.
Score: 91
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