(Description taken from Cigar-coop.com website)
While Viaje is known for keeping information low-key on its releases, when it comes to the Viaje Zombie series, it’s as low key as it comes. This year, the Viaje Zombie Series is being released in three blends: Green (Natural), Red (Maduro), and Black (Unknown). In addition, the Zombie Series will be a part of Viaje’s Collector’s Series – getting a special one time release in the form of a 5 1/2 x 54 figurado. The announcement of the line came early this month and now the cigars have begun to arrive at retailers.
Viaje’s “Collector’s Edition” designation was first introduced in 2012. It provides a special cigar size for those who like to “collect” Viaje cigars. The Collector’s Edition releases have been “one and done” – meaning the cigars are made once and there are no plans to make more.
Since 2014, the Viaje Zombie has been released in the Zombie Green and Zombie Red lines. The Zombie Black is not completely new, as it had been seen in a release aimed at the cigar market in China.
All three Zombie blends are presented in the signature 20-count elongated box the line is known for.
Today we take a look at the Green.
The cigar is a very dark for a natural. It has a decent feel in the hand and the foot, like the others, is closed.
The test draw was ok taking into account the foot is closed. The initial flavors at light up were a somewhat tangy, sweet citrus, brown sugar, a little cinnamon, leathery nutmeg, and light black coffee. The sweeter flavors are almost dwarfed by the leathery nutmeg. You get the leathery nutmeg micro-seconds after the sweeter notes. There was light black pepper initially rated at 6 1/2 to 7.
At the first third (31 minutes) the leather and nutmeg are really increasing. They take away from the sweeter notes of citrus and brown sugar. The cinnamon has greatly reduced and almost gone. There is orange peel in the mix, also. The black coffee is much less in this cigar than the other 2. The black pepper has risen to a solid 7. The finish is a leathery nutmeg with modest lingering black pepper. The cigar is medium bodied. The cigar is ok at this point; not great. I rated the first third 91.
Moving through the second third (1 hour 6 minutes) there was modest improvement. The citrus and brown sugar are slightly improved. The nutmeg and leather are still very much elevated. The cigar is medium to full bodied. The finish has a lot of leather and nutmeg with improved lingering black pepper. The cigar is slightly better so I raised the score to 92 for the second third.
The cigar lasted 1 hour 33 minutes. The best burn time of all 3. The citrus notes are now more like cedar with light brown sugar. There is still quite a bit of nutmeg and leather. The black coffee became elevated to a moderate amount. Not nearly as much as the Black or Red. The black pepper reached 7 1/2. The cigar is full bodied. The finish is unchanged but the lingering black pepper is pretty good. The best it has been. Overall the sweet notes went back to the way they were in the first third so I lowered the score to 91 for the final third. This cigar has been the best of the 3 but it's not great. In conclusion, the Zombie Collector's Edition 2020 did not overly impress me.
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