Video review HERE.
(Description taken from Halfwheel.com website)
This is neither the first time Viaje has used the Banner nor the Hulk names. Both—references to the comic book character Bruce Banner who transforms into Hulk—have been used for Skull and Bones releases.
This cigar has a barber pole design, meaning it has two distinct wrappers that create a look similar to a classic barber’s pole sign. One of those wrappers is the green leaf known as candela, and while Hulk is known for his green color, Viaje has—to this point—not used a candela wrapper for a Hulk-named cigar.
This release is part of Viaje’s White Label Project (WLP) Series, which has encompassed a variety of cigars over the years that aren’t really related to one another except for the black text on white band they all share.
On invoices, the cigar is listed as a 5.25 x 58 vitola packaged in bundles of 25 with an MSRP of $340 per bundle. A Viaje spokesperson declined to answer questions about this cigar, so none of the other details are known.
Blend and Origin:
Country of Origin: Undisclosed
Factory: Undisclosed
Wrapper: Undisclosed
Binder: Undisclosed
Filler: Undisclosed
The cigar is a beauty to look upon. The wide barber pole stripes are an eye catcher. The cigar has a nice feel in the hand and features a closed foot.
The test draw after cutting the cap was good even with the closed foot. The initial flavors at light up were nougat, brown sugar, a lot of earthy nutmeg, and a black coffee base. There was black pepper rated at 7 to 7 1/2. The cigar is starting off with nice sweetness but it also has a lot of earthy nutmeg. We'll see how that plays out.
At the first third (30 minutes) I had a really bad burn issue. The cigar is canoeing badly. The burn time seems to be about right so I don't think I'm going too fast. I will deduct 1/2 point for the bad burn. The flavors, however, are still pretty good; nougat, brown sugar, nutmeg that is now less earthy, and black coffee. The finish is nougat, nutmeg, and pretty good lingering black pepper. The cigar is currently medium bodied. The cigar flavor-wise is pretty good but that bad burn really frustrates me. I rated the first third (before deduction) 91.
Moving through the second third (54 minutes) the burn issue continued. Even after touching it up in the first third it began canoeing again. So, I am deducting another 1/2 point. Again, the flavors are pretty nice; nougat, brown sugar, light caramel adding some richness, nutmeg that is more inline, and black coffee. The cigar is now medium to full bodied. The finish is unchanged. I held 91 for the second third.
The cigar lasted 1 hour 21 minutes. The burn did fairly well in the final third so there are no further deductions. However, the cigar had a lot more earthiness and black coffee. The sweeter notes suffered due to the elevated earthiness and black coffee. The cigar is medium to full bodied. Overall the cigar had pretty nice flavors but don't forget about the bad burn issues. I rated the final third 89. The raw overall score is 91.33. With the one point deduction it falls to 89.33. This cigar has nice flavors and hopefully yours will burn evenly.
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