Viaje Ghost Pepper (4 7/8 x 51)

Video review HERE.

(Description take from Cigar-Coop.com website)

Two years ago, Viaje launched a cigar called the Viaje Jalapeño. Now there is a bolder, spicier sequel coming as the company has announced the Viaje Ghost Pepper.

Also known as bhut jolokia, a Ghost Pepper is hybrid chili pepper grown in India. In 2007, it was certified by the Guinness Book of World Records as the world’s hottest chili pepper.

How this translates to the Viaje Ghost Pepper, it is unknown. Much like the original Viaje Jalapeño, details of the Ghost Pepper blend are unknown. The Ghost Pepper will have the same 4 7/8 x 51 figurado format as the Jalapeño. It will be packaged in 25 count boxes. The cigar will have a red covering on the lower portion of the cigar.

The cigar is well made and feels dense. The figurado shape is beautiful to look at. The foot is always cool looking on the figurado.

I cleansed my palate with a nice, crisp apple prior to sampling the cigar along with a little water. The test draw after cutting the cap was very good. The initial flavors were a very sweet, candy-like orange citrus along with some brown sugar. The main sweetness at this point is from the orange citrus and it truly is candy-like. There are also underlying sweet chocolate notes and some black coffee. With a name like Ghost Pepper you would expect there to be a massive amount of pepper in the cigar. While there is quite a bit I would rate the coarse black pepper flavor at an 8. The lingering black pepper is also very good to go along with a dull caramel-like flavor. The flavors give an impression of a medium to full bodied cigar at this early stage.

About one inch in (23 minutes) the cigar is burning fairly even. Since this is the largest ring-size of the cigar it is burning very slowly. The orange citrus is still there but it is matched or surpassed by the sweet, sweet chocolate and brown sugar. The coffee continues to hold the base. This continues to be a very sweet cigar. It is making a turn toward a darker format but still very sweet. Imagine an orange chocolate cake. It's very much like that. The finish is a straight caramel with nice lingering pepper. The cigar is a solid medium to full bodied.

Close to 2 inches in (38 minutes) the cigar continues to move to the dark side. As the cigar burns the ring size gets smaller and smaller. As it does the chocolate and coffee notes come out more and more. The citrus notes are barely there but the brown sugar, dark sweet chocolate, and black coffee are quite dominant. The cigar is still medium to full bodied. The finish is unchanged. 

As the cigar ended (1 hour 12 minutes) the heavy chocolate notes continued. The brown sugar and coffee were also very good but the citrus notes are completely gone. The cigar remained medium to full bodied and the finish was unchanged. This was a very good cigar. It made massive changes from start to finish. The initial extremely sweet orange citrus was great and as it transitioned to a sweet, dark chocolate was very nice. The black pepper was very good throughout the cigar but not overwhelming, as it's name might imply. Very good cigar that you should grab when you find them!

Score: 94