Video review HERE.
(Description taken from Cigar-coop.com website)
Viaje recently shipped two of its popular releases for the Christmas Season. The Viaje Holiday Blend and the Viaje Holiday Blend Candy Cane.
The Viaje Holiday Blend was first introduced in 2009, and has been a near-annual release since then. Over the years, the Holiday Blend has been released in several sizes. The Viaje Holiday Blend 2020 Edition is a 5 x 54 box-pressed Robusto – marking the first time since 2015, it is being released in a box-pressed format.
Blend and production details of this year’s Holiday Blend and were not disclosed. The size will be a 5 x 54 Robusto – which was the size of the original 2009 Viaje Holiday Blend. The 2020 Holiday Blend is packaged in 30-count boxes.
The cigar features a closed foot.
The test draw after cutting the cap was good with a bit of firmness. The initial flavor at light up were some low levels of citrus with brown sugar, orange peel, a lot of a creamy, thick nutmeg, and a lot of a very earthy black coffee. There was a white pepper rated at 6 1/2 to 7.
At the first third (22 minutes) the cigar is extremely earthy. There is a ton of black coffee and a ton of earthines. The sweet notes are dwarfed by the extreme earthy black coffee and nutmeg. And, the sweeter notes actually decreased as I went through the first third. There is a touch of bitterness also. The finish is very earthy with black coffee. I rated the first third 82.
As I moved through the second third (43 minutes) things did not improve. There is a twinkle of sweetness as you expel the smoke but it does not blossom. It gets swept out of the way by the earthy black coffee. The cigar is medium bodied. The finish is heavy on the nutmeg and black coffee. I have no idea why this cigar was blended this way but it's not working for me. I rated the second third 80.
At 45 minutes in I decided to stop the review. I'd had enough. The cigar is trending down and the lowest score I issue is 80. The reason; I have too much respect for the industry to issue a lower score. This cigar did not impress me. It's loaded with too much earthy black coffee and nutmeg and not nearly enough sweet notes to counteract the dark notes.
Overall Score: 80
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