Viaje White Label Project Atlantic Cigar 20th Anniversary Limited Edition Toro | Cigar Reviews by the Katman

Wrapper: Nicaraguan Criollo
Binder: Nicaraguan (Double Binder)
Filler: Cuban-seed Grade “A” Nicaraguan
Size: 6 x 52 Toro
Body: Medium
Price: $10.00 MSRP ($9.00 at Atlantic Cigar)
Humidor time: 10 weeks
Number of cigars smoked prior to review: 0

Today we take a look at the Viaje White Label Project Atlantic Cigar 20th Anniversary Limited Edition Toro. (“Everybody’s Got Something to Hide Except Me and My Monkey.”) Viaje wins…by 1.
Even though limited production, still available at Atlantic Cigar.

BACKGROUND:
Only available from Atlantic Cigar:
“The Viaje White Label Project – Atlantic Cigar 20th Anniversary Limited Edition Toro, the first release of four limited edition cigars from four of the industry’s best cigar makers in celebration of Atlantic Cigar Company’s 20 years in business. The first release of our anniversary collection was back in 2011 marking our 15th Anniversary, these cigars were a huge hit, receiving great reviews and selling out fast! We’ve decided to celebrate our 20th in the same fashion, this may very well be the last release of our Anniversary Collection due to FDA regulations on the cigar industry.

“The Viaje WLP Atlantic Cigar 20th Anniversary Limited Edition Toro’s are handcrafted in the Raices Cubanas cigar factory, this limited edition WLP blend is a medium to medium-full bodied, a slight change of pace from the current super-strong Viaje lineup. The idea was to create a cigar that can be enjoyed by everyone—anytime of the day. The cigar boasts a Nicaraguan Criollo wrapper, and beneath this leaf is a complex Cuban-seed mixture of grade “A” Nicaraguan long-leaf tobaccos, which are secured within two bold Nicaraguan binders. Each cigar is then box-pressed to perfection!

“The blend delivers a smooth well balanced smoke that allows each of the tobaccos to shine, making for a mouth-watering and extremely satisfying smoke. With production of all of our Anniversary cigars, they will be a small-batch run, never to be produced again. Andre Farkas of Viaje Cigar Co. produced only 400 boxes of this this amazing cigar, so grab a box today before they are gone forever.”

DESCRIPTION:
A beautiful oily, mottled/marbled wrapper with hues of coffee bean and hickory.
Seams are invisible.
A rustic cigar with loads of small and large veins. Slightly toothy.
Perfect application of the triple cap.
Not a very firm cigar. Allowed it to dry box prior to review. very light in the hand.

AROMAS AND COLD DRAW NOTES:
From the shaft, I smell floral notes, pepper, milk chocolate, vegetal notes, cedar, coffee, nutmeg, and cinnamon.
From the clipped cap and the foot, I smell dark chocolate, red pepper, cinnamon, coffee, cedar, beef jerky, Oreos, and lavender.
The cold draw presents flavors of bananas, chocolate, red pepper, cedar, malt, baking spices, and smokiness.

FIRST THIRD:
Good draw that attracts a huge amount of red pepper. .. as well as chocolate, cream, malt, nutmeg, cinnamon, cedar, and very meaty.
Nice start.

Complexity digs its heels in within the first 5 minutes. Transitions begin. A long finish.
If the Viaje White Label Project Atlantic Cigar 20th Anniversary Limited Edition Toro can build upon this platform, it will be a stunning blend.

Viaje has lost its sheen in the last couple of years. There was a time when each release was a very big deal. With the same fanfare as a new boutique blend. There was always a rush to acquire the cigar.

Strength is a solid medium.

I take a look at my reviews of different Viaje blends and it appears to be a 50/50 proposition. Maybe it’s just me, but I remember that only a few years ago, every blend was a stunner.
So far, this stick harkens back to the day when a Viaje could be relied upon to impress.

I seem to have been correct in assessing that the cigar feels light in the loafers. It doesn’t possess that heavy in the hand element. And it is burning quickly.

Near the start of the second third, the flavors open their petals and the bees swarm: Chocolate, creaminess, red pepper, malts, meaty, plums, raisins, black grapes, heavy on the cinnamon and nutmeg, a light smokiness, cedar, almond marzipan, and graham crackers.

The Viaje White Label Project Atlantic Cigar 20th Anniversary Limited Edition Toro is transitioning towards being a mighty fine blend. The thing that will affect the rating is the under filled tobacco.

SECOND THIRD:
Smoke time is 20 minutes. This is way too fast.
My first burn issue.

There is no heft to the cigar’s weight. It now feels like I’m holding a tooth pick.
Everything is whizzing by so fast that it gives me little time to savor the blend.

The flavor profile is amazing. The couple months, or so, of humidor time really brought out the best and discovered the blender’s intent.

What were they thinking in respect to quality control when producing this cigar? A 20th anniversary cigar is a major timeline event. And while Viaje, and Atlantic Cigar, don’t gouge the consumer with a ridiculous double digit price point, it didn’t provide a solid cigar. Hence, the obvious reasonable price of $9.00. I think they goofed when they discovered this thing burns like a cigarette. Their wish list of making this a $12 or $13 cigar vanished into thin air.
Which is a damn shame as the blend’s flavors are winning my heart.

This may just turn out to be the fastest review of a Toro I’ve ever done. I keep looking askance at the cigar sitting in the ashtray and I can’t believe I’m nearing the halfway point after only 27 minutes. This is absurd. I will need to deliver two ratings. One for the construction and one for the flavor profile. Never did this before.

Halfway point.
Smoke time is 28 minutes.

The burn problem has become a recurring issue. The bottom line is that the best rollers were not used for this blend. What were these folks thinking? This should have been a blockbuster of a cigar all the way through construction, burn, flavors, character, complexity, and transitions.

Strength is medium/full.

The Viaje White Label Project Atlantic Cigar 20th Anniversary Limited Edition Toro has been out for months and yet Atlantic still has them in stock. Only 400 boxes were produced! Apparently, word of mouth spread quicker than a donkey swishing his tail to remove flies and the word wasn’t good.

Flavor isn’t the problem. It is the awful construction. Shame on you Andre Farkas. And shame on you Atlantic Cigar for not being more proactive in the quality control aspect. You guys took what could have been a monster blend and reduced it to rubble to save a few bucks.

In my disappointment over construction, I have neglected describing the cigar flavors as it burns.
The pepper has moved to the back of the line. Flavors aren’t as bold as earlier. Transitions slow. Complexity is border line.

LAST THIRD:
Smoke time is 35 minutes. Redonkulous.

My brain is overwhelmed with anxiety over crappy construction and causing synapses not to open and close as they ignore the nice flavors.
No. The flavor profile did not take off like a rocket as it should have in the last third. Instead, it settled into comfortably numb.
Man, Viaje and Atlantic really screwed the pooch on the Viaje White Label Project Atlantic Cigar 20th Anniversary Limited Edition Toro.

Look at the unrelenting construction issue:

This blend began with such promise only to fail in the end.

The burn problems have been out of check from the start. Months after the release, Atlantic still has plenty of 10 count boxes for sale. And they have nine 5 packs left. I can only conjecture; but I bet there is still at least a third of that 400 left.

My favorite song from Jimi is Dylan’s “All Along the Watchtower.” The music channel just played Dylan’s version. Just as blistering.

The Viaje White Label Project Atlantic Cigar 20th Anniversary Limited Edition Toro will fade into the sunset soon and be just a faint memory. A less than stellar example of fine blending marking the big deal of Atlantic’s 20th anniversary a mockery. They have to be disappointed for not only the lousy quality control; but also that the cigars didn’t sell out in a couple of weeks. Now months later, they still have plenty. That has to hurt.

If Atlantic was smart, they would have approached a more consistent boutique manufacturer instead of a brand that is quickly becoming irrelevant.

Flavors are just going crazy once again. That lull, a while back, vanished and the blend is now back into full ahead, Scotty.

I’ve stared at this blend for two months as it rested in my humidor. Many a time, I thought about just smoking it. But then my senses returned and the destiny of the cigar remained in the review status category.
Now I wish I had just smoked it and been done with it. But then, my fine readers, you might not have known that this cigar labors under the weight of incompetence.

The Viaje White Label Project Atlantic Cigar 20th Anniversary Limited Edition Toro required no less than 8 touch ups to the burn line.

What a cluster fuck. They nailed the blend on important flavor points but failed miserably on its construction. Thank goodness the cigar did not cost $15. Atlantic would still be sitting on 350 boxes.
This kind of shit ruins my morning.

Strength falls back to medium body.

Final smoke time is 45 minutes.

RATING: 91 for flavor, 70 for construction