For those of you that don’t know…

There has been a growing trend in recent years for the makers of cigars to release the blends that they themselves (supposedly) smoke as limited releases for the rest of us to enjoy…Much like Pete Johnson’s Black Label and Steve Saka’s Liga Privada #9, the Viaje Exclusivo blend is said to be Andre Farkas’ personal blend…

Over the past two years, there have actually been quite a few different releases in this particular blend (albeit in very limited quantities)…There are more vitolas to be released this year (the new Chiquito soon and the Tower 45th in April among them) and there are always rumors of even more, of course (I am hoping for a Lancero

The 5 Exclusivo blends that are on the Market at this moment (and two that have not yet been released) are (left to right):

• Exclusivo Robusto (Jar Release)
• Exclusivo Robusto (Bundle Release)
• Exclusivo Chiquito
• Double Edged Sword
• Exclusivo Short
• Tower 45th (not yet released)
• Corona Gorda (unreleased)

The Exclusivo Corona Gorda is an unreleased vitola in the Exclusivo lineup, given out only at Viaje Events and by Andre himself, and are not available for purchase….According to Farkas, less then 500 of the Corona Gordas have been rolled, and I was happy to get my hands on one of them, especially considering my (well documented) love for the CG vitola…

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But enough of that, let’s get down to business, shall we?

• Cigar Reviewed: Viaje Exclusivo Corona Gorda
• Country of Origin: Honduras
• Factory: Fabrica de Tabacos Raíces Cubanas S. de R.L. (Raíces Cubanas)
• Wrapper: Nicaraguan Criollo
• Binder: Nicaraguan
• Filler: Nicaraguan
• Size: 5 1/2
• Ring Gauge: 46
• Vitola: Corona Gorda
• Est. Price: Cannot be Purchased
• Date Released: N/A
• Number of Cigars Smoked for Review: 2

The cigar itself is a great looking stick…I do love the pigtail on top as always (and comparing it to the pigtail on the OR Robusto, the CG’s is quite a bit taller)…It has a gorgeous Dark Mocha brown wrapper with quite a bit of oil present, and is totally seamless…There is a triple cap, and the wrapper smells of sweet chocolate, cedar, and also has a breadish note, sort of like sourdough bread? It has the perfect resistance when squeezed, and the Predraw brings a flavor of that same breadish note along with chocolate and spice…

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The First Third starts out with the perfect amount of spice on the tongue, along with notes of sweet cedar, leather and that same sweet breadish note from the predraw…there is also a bit of cinnamon in the background as well…It is a really great opening for a cigar, one that makes you take notice…

The Second Third shifted profiles abruptly, and an interesting Meaty flavor takes over, like a well cooked steak…it is not an overwhemling note by any means, but it is very obvious…The spice, leather and cinnamon are stil present as well…(the cinnamon is especially noticeable on the retrohale)…

The Last Third shifts profiles again, with the meaty flavor fading (it was totally gone by the end of the cigar), replaced with a great caramel sweetness along with wood, leather and espresso notes…It never got hot at the end, and was a nice way to end a cigar…

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Final Notes:

• The profile on this cigar was extremely rich, almost amazingly so…The flavors were extremely distinct, and I had no problems picking them out…
• All of the Exclusivo blends have the same variation on the normal Viaje Band…the color scheme is a VERY dark greenish tint, with silver accents…
• The look of the construction on this cigar was perfect, as was the draw…the burn was irregular for pretty much the entire cigar, but not enough to anything more then mildly annoying…
• I smoked one of the OR Robustos right before my second one of these to compare, and I personally thought that the CG was not as strong as the robusto, but it was close…
• There was quite a bit of smoke present…it had a great velvety quality, and smelled great…
• The Final Smoking Time was 1 Hour and 15 minutes…

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The Bottom Line: This was a VERY good cigar, as I expected it to be…I have long been a fan of the Exclusivo blend (more so then any other blend that Andre makes, honestly), and this cigar suited my tastes perfectly…The wonderful construction and draw only added to the experience (the burn was off, but not that bad)…

Now, the only question you may have is “Is it better then the Original Release Exclusivo Robusto (considered by many BOTL to be one of the best cigars Andre has released)”? The answer is “Yes”, the Corona Gorda is better then the Robusto, but not by much…I think the Exclusivo blend really shines in the CG vitola (although the robusto format was great as well)…

Final Score: 92