Video review HERE.
(Description taken from Cigar-Coop.com website)
According to Andre Farkas, "nobody seems to celebrate half-year anniversaries in the cigar industry, so why not start now?" At this year’s IPCPR Trade Show, Farkas unveiled a series of cigars to commemorate the company’s 12 1/2 years known as Viaje Ten Plus Two And A Half Anniversary.
There are three blends that are a part of the series.
The Viaje Ten Plus Two And A Half Anniversary Silver features a Criollo ’98 wrapper over Nicaraguan binder and filler with all of the tobaccos from the Aganorsa Leaf farms in Nicaragua. Meanwhile, the Viaje Ten Plus Two And A Half Anniversary Gold also features a Criollo ’98 wrapper over Aganorsa farm-grown tobaccos for the binder and filler, but in a different blend. Both cigars are 6 x 54 Toros and each are packaged in 25-count boxes. The total production of the Viaje Ten Plus Two And A Half Anniversary Silver and Gold are 350 boxes per blend.
The third blend is the Viaje Ten Plus Two And A Half Anniversary Red. This cigar features a San Andres Mexican wrapper over Aganorsa-grown binder and filler. While the Red also comes in a 6 x 54 Toro, the Red is unique in that it is box-pressed with an unfinished foot. While the Viaje Ten Plus Two And A Half Anniversary Red also comes in 25-count boxes, production is limited to 200 boxes.
Today we are looking at the Silver.
Wrapper: Nicaraguan Criollo ’98
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan
Country of Origin: Nicaragua
Factory: Tabacos Valle de Jalapa S.A. (TABSA)
Toro: 6 x 54
The cigar has a very dense feel in the hand.
The test draw after cutting the cap was very good, which surprised me since the cigar is so dense feeling. The initial flavors at light up were a distinctive, sweet, somewhat tangy orange citrus, quite a bit of brown sugar and cinnamon, quite a bit of nutmeg, a light leather thread, a semi-light caramel thread, and a black coffee base. There was black pepper noted at 7 1/2. Good start.
At the first third (41 minutes) I've decided this is one of those "soup cigars". By that I mean the flavors are mixed into one flavor. All the previously named flavors are mixed into a nice soup of flavors led by a dry nutmeg. The finish is surprisingly one of cream with a modest amount of lingering black pepper. It's surprising because there is no cream on the front end. The cigar is a low grade medium to full bodied at this point. I like the cigar at this point. I rated the first third at 93.
At the second third (1 hour 24 minutes) we already have a great burn time. The cigar in the second third went through some changes. The soup mixture is less sweet. The citrus is undefined, there is a lot of leather and nutmeg, and the sweeter flavors of caramel, brown sugar, and cinnamon are having to work hard to be noticed. The overall mixture is still the same but the amounts of each ingredient have changed. The cigar is a definite medium to full bodied. The finish is unchanged; cream, but there may be a little more lingering black pepper now. The front end mixture is not as appealing as it was in the first third. I lowered the score to 91.
The cigar lasted an amazing 2 hours 4 minutes! That's an incredible burn time. In the final third the flavors narrowed. I had a lot of nutmeg and a light brown sugar, and that's about it besides the black coffee base. No citrus, leather, or cinnamon. This cigar really went through a transformation and not for the better. The finish was cream and nutmeg with a nice amount of lingering black pepper. The strength was a definite full bodied. The cigar was so nice in the first third but it just could not hold it. The final third did the cigar in. I rated the final third at 88.
Overall Score: 90.67
No comments:
Post a Comment