Viaje Pina Mahana (6 x 52)

Video review HERE.

(Description taken from Cigar-Coop.com website)

Viaje Cigars has announced its latest collaborative project: Piña. This marks the first collaboration that the company has done with Ernesto Perez-Carrillo’s EPC Cigar Company.

According to Viaje, Piña is a concept that originated in Hawaii and has been over a year in the making. It’s a cigar that features tobaccos from Mexico, Ecuador, and Nicaragua. Piña is available in two sizes: Bohea (5 x 54) and Mahana (6 x 52). The cigars are packaged in boxes that use a magnetic enclosure to house a 24-count wheel.

Blend:

Mexican San Andrés wrapper

Ecuadoran binder

Nicaraguan filler

The cigar is very dark and well made. The wrapper is slightly oily. Here is a shot of the foot.

 

The test draw after cutting the cap was good. The initial flavors were black licorice, dark chocolate, and espresso. There was black pepper rated at an 8. This is a very dark noted cigar at the outset.

About 1 1/2 inches in (23 minutes) the burn is very even. The light colored ash is in contrast to the dark wrapper. The flavors are changing. Now there are sweet, twangy orange citrus notes, a touch of brown sugar, some buttery notes, and a left over residue of the licorice notes, which are becoming less and less. The espresso has toned down due to the elevated sweetness of the citrus notes. The dark chocolate notes are still there. The cigar is at least medium to full bodied and moving up. The finish has a subtle sweetness of the orange citrus and there are cream notes. There is a touch of lingering black pepper. The cigar made quite a change from the beginning. 

At 2 1/2 inches (38 minutes) the ash is still intact and burning evenly. You still have a slight amount of the twangy orange citrus but it's becoming fuzzy due to the dark chocolate notes and espresso notes becoming elevated. The brown sugar notes are still there. I lost the buttery notes. The finish has also changed. It's now a dry cocoa and cream. The lingering black pepper has moved up. The cigar is very close, if not, full bodied. The cigar is bouncing around a bit. 

With 2 1/2 inches remaining (53 minutes) the ash did finally give way but it made it this far:

The flavors are starting to revert back to where they were at the beginning. I started to get more of the sweet, twangy orange citrus along with some of the buttery notes (not a lot, but some). There are still a lot of the dark chocolate and espresso notes. Some of the dry cocoa notes are now on the front end. The finish is a cream, dark chocolate, and a touch of the twang of the orange citrus. The lingering black pepper continues to improve. This is not a complex cigar but it is an ever changing cigar. The cigar is definitely full bodied now. The sweetness is at modest level; not overly sweet. 

As the cigar ended (1 hour 22 minutes) the tangy, sweet orange citrus notes came out a little more similar to the way they were at the beginning (about 1 1/2 inches in). There are still a lot of dark chocolate and espresso notes. There was a wee bit of brown sugar. The dry cocoa on the front end was very faint. The finish was a cream with dark chocolate and some dry cocoa with the best lingering black pepper that the cigar had all day. The cigar is very full bodied. The flavors start one way, dip a little, and then go back to where they were. This was a good cigar, albeit different. This was a different sort of cigar for the Carrillos; very dark noted. 

Score: 92