5" x 54 ring gauge / $11.95, Burns
Viaje's new website has a Flash-animated picture of company founder, Andre Farkas, with his hand on fire; he is simply looking at it while puffing on a cigar. Unfortunately, there did not appear to be any time or funding to supply information about the cigar I am reviewing today, so I will rely solely on hearsay and speculation in trying to convey the facts. Okay...I'm being slightly ironic, or sarcastic, or something...but only slightly. Like other sticks in the Viaje line, this is purported to be solely Nicaraguan leaf. Some sources have specified a Criollo wrapper as well, although most other pictures I have seen are lighter than what I am looking at. Burns got a few boxes of this second release of Skull & Bones; I smoked one in the shop, then bought one more for this review.
I have to admire anyone who puts a skull and bones logo on a cigar--it just seems to be a slap in the face of the anti-tobacco health Nazis. The wrapper leaf was very dark with some reddish tone to it and a few sizable veins. The foot was a shaggy fold-over, which I planned on trimming before attempting to light--it just did not appear wise to light it because it was just sort of hanging on and I did not want any fly-away embers. Otherwise construction seemed very good and there was a bit of oil to the touch and to the eyes. Giving the cigar a sniff, I got leather and earth notes on the body and cocoa powder and manure on the foot. I put a v-cut on the head and got a great draw that was very heavy on cocoa powder flavor.
I used a triple-flame lighter to cut through the remnants of the fold-over wrapper and created a good ignition. Right from the outset the Skull & Bones had a ton of black pepper both on the tongue and the nose. The retrohale was so peppery it made me wince. I also got earth and cocoa powder flavors, but the peppery opening was so intense that I really had to be patient and let them develop. I needed to check out a tip I had gotten, so I gave the cigar the "wet finger smudge test" and...unfortunately, this is probably a dyed wrapper leaf. Why? No good reason that I can think of. After a few minutes the pepper settled down a bit and more earth and even some dark roast coffee came through. This was a seriously full-bodied stick right from the start, though, and smoking it could not be rushed.
The second third remained dark and smoky--full-bodied with intense flavors of earth and espresso roast coffee. There were still hints of cocoa powder in there, too, but really just as a sweetener that balanced out the bitter aspects rather well. The draw was still great; the burn line was wavy and uneven with a little bit of banana-peeling. The fullness of the body reminded me to some degree of the second half of the 50/50 Black.By the time the last third started there was nothing left of the peppery blast that started off the Skull & Bones. Instead the cigar was still deeply earthy, with dark coffee flavors on the tongue and a nutty retrohale. In the end, I enjoyed this second experience with the S&B much more than the first. Maybe it had to do with just slowing it down a bit as I was slightly rushed on the first one. I appreciated the flavors but still realize that something this full-bodied could never be an everyday smoke for me. With all this goodness, I have to wonder at the decision to dye the wrapper leaf. Surely the flavor would have been just as good--maybe better--without using artificial means to darken the tobacco. At any rate, this is a cigar that full-bodied fans should seek out, but only if you can get it at a decent price. Even at $12 a stick I felt it to be a bit too high and you will be hard-pressed to get them at that price now that the run is sold out. Novice smokers should avoid this one as it would easily overwhelm those without an experienced palate...and leave them sick from nicotine overload.
Body: 10/10
Strength: 8/10
Complexity: 7/10
AFP Scale
Prelight: 2/2
Construction: 1.5/2
Flavor: 4.5/5
Value: 1/1
Total: 9/10
Let us know what you think. Agree. Disagree. Join the conversation and make your thoughts known. The Comments section is open and ready for business.
You gave it a higher rating then I thought it would get just from reading the review. Seems like the first 2/3rds you really had to work at it to enjoy the cigar, but guess that wasn't the case.
ReplyDeleteSo how much color came off on your finger in order to say that the wrapper was dyed? Thats a pretty bold statement.
It was pretty messy and I am not the only one who has asserted that the wrappers on these are dyed.
ReplyDeleteConstruction was a bit wonky in places and but I liked the flavor. I try not to be too hard in the ratings for construction unless it is continuously bad. In re-reading my review, to me I stated that I enjoyed the flavor quite a bit throughout, though. Yes, the pepper blast at the beginning was painful...but I liked it! :)
What qualifies you to make assertions of a dyed wrapper? This is exactly how rumors get started. I doubt you spoke to anyone at Viaje to validate your claim. As a member of the cigar community it bothers me to read defamatory statements without anything to back them up. This is simply your opinion stated as fact. Other cigar companies fall victim to this nonsense as well. Get the real story before you start typing.
ReplyDeleteIt's amazing that people read words and really don't understand them. I really don't think that "probably" is implying "fact". If the manufacturer actually described the cigar somewhere, people wouldn't have to make guesses as to composition and construction. I suggest to Anonymous that he/she should identify themselves before making defamatory statements!
ReplyDeleteKeep up with the good reviews. This post makes me want to try this stick.
Thanks for the comment, Dale. I would go even further and say that I doubt there is any cigar company out there that would actually admit to dying a wrapper leaf, but the fact remains that it is done. If we were to rely solely on what the company states in its marketing materials, there would be no reason for reviewing these cigars at all, because we would have to assume that they are all just fantastic. Also, as I pointed out, Viaje does not provide any information on their website concerning these cigars.
ReplyDeleteIf I were doing this as a full-time job and getting paid for it, then not contacting the company and hounding them for facts could be considered an oversight. Let's get real, though, Anonymous...I don't get paid for this, I rarely get anything for free, and many cigar companies that I have tried to contact never have replied (and people with much more "juice" than me in the cigar media have the same problem). I simply do not have the time to track down every question or lead before publishing a story (I have a real job...two, actually)...which is why I state things as "opinion" in a review.
So, to state once again...this wrapper left a messy, nasty residue on my fingers, especially when my fingers were dampened. In my experience, and based on the experiences of other well-respected cigar personalities, I believe this cigar to have a dyed wrapper.
Lets see if this "anonymous" Clown has anything more to say huh? I doubt it. He's out of line.
ReplyDeleteDMJ, keep up the good work.
I appreciate a kind BOTL that was able to secure a few of these for me on his trip to a local tobacconist. I had one during the UT and Alabama game. Not the best mood for which to try a new smoke. I have the others resting in the humidor for a while and look forward to trying them after some rest.
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ReplyDelete