Viaje White Label Project 50/50 Red

[jsnake]

If you know anything about me, you know how much I like Viaje Cigars. I admit I have not smoked every blend yet but I am in the process of completing the task. So far I have enjoyed each Viaje blend I have smoked and the White Label Project 50/50 Red has kept the streak going. Viaje White Label Project (WLP) are experimental cigars with different blends, vitolas, errors, a test batch, or some other differentiating factor that are released to give the consumer a look at what is going on at the factory where Viaje Cigars are made. The WLP 50/50 Red, third in the WLP Series, was made available in only 200 bundles of 25. I managed to pick up a couple, traded for a couple, and even got bombed a couple.

Size: 6X48
Wrapper: Nicaraguan Criollo
Binder: Nicaragua
Filler: Nicaragua
Price: $10

The WLP 50/50 Red is a great looking cigar with a nice dark brown wrapper pig tailed at the cap and extending over the foot. There is just a hint of oil and a very slight toothiness to the wrapper. A few small veins can be seen. As I roll the cigar between my fingers it feels very firm and evenly packed. There is hardly any give when squeezed. The wrapper has the aroma of dark chocolate, wood, and earth. I punched the cigar carefully at the perfect triple cap. You would think lighting a cigar with a wrapper covering the foot would prove difficult but it lights the same as any other cigar.

The first few puffs bring pepper that fades away slowly. Each puff brings a generous amount of smoke and I find the draw to be perfect. Flavors of nuts, cream, and leather are present and the finish has a hint of spice at first. I find the retrohale to be very smooth and soon the finish has a creamy smooth quality as well. The cigar starts to pick up a hint of bitter sweetness and a nice cedar. Somewhere in the mix I get spices that I can't quite place. Some kind of baking spices used to cook with. The retrohale is now a very lively cedar with a pepper kick. Towards the end the wood flavor makes a distinct change from cedar to oak. Leather continues in the mix and it seems like a dark chocolate is trying to make an appearance but never really fully develops.

This cigar starts off in the medium range and builds in strength to the end. You can feel the fullness at the end but to me it was on the lower end of the full scale. The burn stayed even for the most part and I found myself having to make several touch ups. You can see at the foot that the wrapper is pretty thick and might be the underlying cause for the touch ups. The dark grey ash looked slightly flaky but held well and never fell off on its own.

The Viaje WLP 50/50 Red lived up to my high expectations of what a Viaje Cigar should be. I highly recommend this cigar if you can find them. Given it is a one time, limited production cigar, it is going to be hard to find. I know of a few B&M's that still have some available and you can always seek them out in trade or for sale on forums. If you can't find these anywhere you should try the Viaje 50/50 Red. The 50/50 Red is very similar but more of a solid medium where the WLP 50/50 Red has more strength. Many people who are familiar with the White Label Project claim these get much better over time if you can let them sit in your humidor. I have smoked five and now have five more resting. I plan on re-evaluating these in six months and then again in a year to see if what is good can get even better.

The best cigar is a cigar shared with a friend

http://cigarcatadore.blogspot.com/20...-red.html#more
Someday I will figure out how to format pictures so the turn out a normal size on here.

[Weelok]

Sounds like a great cigar.

[kaisersozei]

If you don't mind, Jake, I'll piggy-back on your pig-tailed cigar review to add my own comments:



I, too, was fortunate (maybe...) to pick up this limited release a few months ago from Winston's Humidor. Have shared a few & smoked a few, including last night on the deck at our beach house. My review would be similar to yours, except--I didn't like it. Not very much at all. Here's why:

It struck me as an illusione cg:4 wannabe. For some reason I can't help but shake that feeling on most Viaje sticks I smoke--they're all very similar to an illusione blend, but just not quite there. This one was harsh & peppery at first, but settled down after the first 1" or so. It had the peppery spice, leather & woody tones that you noted, but I didn't get any of the chocolate. The stick needed some sweetness, I should have paired it with some port to balance the very strong flavors of burnt, chargrilled meat that picked up about halfway. The cigar was tarry, reminding me of one of the original 5V Miami blends I smoked ROTT a few years ago. Those finally settled down to become great cigars, maybe these will as well.

On the good side, I'd say the construction on it was top notch. And I really liked the presentation of the cigar. I smoked it within an inch of the band, but had to put it down for good at that point.

I had heard that this was a reblended 2010 Summerfest. I have a couple of those left from last year, perhaps I'll pull one out to see what time has done to it.

[kelmac07]

Very curious about these now. Which is not a good thing, because I am certain they are all gone.