Today we will be taking a look at the Viaje Platino Reserva Double Torpedo 2011, a very special cigar indeed that consists of aged tobacco and is only rolled twice a year. The V.O.R. stands for Viaje Oro Reserva and the V.P.R stands for Viaje Platino Reserva. A lot of you may be familiar with Viaje’s core lines, the Oro and the Platino, each containing all Nicaraguan tobacco with Corojo 99 wrappers, both are very good cigars so you can imagine that the Reserva’s will be at least on par.

Last year’s Cigar Aficionado tasting panel found the Viaje V.O.R #5 (Oro Reserva) to be a very tasty cigar indeed giving it the #2 cigar of the year spot which is a spot usually held for Padróns, Opus X or Cohibas. Since then Viaje has been thrown into the mainstream and has definitely been a contender.

This year’s V.O.R. and V.P.R. will be slightly different than last year’s, Last year’s release featured two vitolas, the V.O.R #5 was a box-pressed Robusto and the V.P.R #6 was a box-pressed Toro. This year’s releases will feature the same vitola for both, a box-pressed Perfecto very reminiscent of last year’s Double Edge Sword, my favorite Viaje release to date. It will be interesting to see how these stand up to last year’s given the vitola change.

Lets get to it shall we?

• Cigar Reviewed: Viaje Platino Reserva Double Torpedo (2011)
• Country of Origin: Honduras
• Factory: Fabrica de Tabacos Raíces Cubanas S. de R.L. (Raíces Cubanas)
• Wrapper: Nicaraguan Corojo 99
• Binder: Nicaragua
• Filler: Nicaragua
• Size: 5 3/4 Inches
• Ring Gauge: 52
• Vitola: Double Torpedo
• MSRP: $11.50 (Boxes of 25, $287.50)
• Release Date: May 2011
• Number of Cigars Released: 200 Boxes of 25 Cigars (5,000 Total Cigars)
• Number of Cigars Smoked for Review: 3

The appearance of the cigar is quite extraordinary, it has a pretty extreme box-press and the Double Torpedo shape is quite unique to see. A lot of people are comparing it to the Padrón 80th, but it’s different in the fact that it’s closed on both ends, which is I assume why they call it a Double Torpedo and not a Perfecto. It has minimal veins, a wonderful oily, milk chocolate wrapper with a tight noticeable seam. The cigar is packed well but is very soft and spongy to the touch.

The pre-light aroma is wonderful with notes of cedar, coffee, leather and raisin. The pre-light draw is woody, with notes of coffee and leather.

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Starting off in the First Third I get a nice spice and pepper kick, especially through the nose. Initial flavors are woody, toasty tobacco, coffee and leather. The cigar is medium to full to start and quite complex. The finish is oily and smooth with notes of cocoa, coffee and leather.

Coming into the Second Third the cigar really picks up; I get a really nice rich woody profile with lashings of creamy coffee, chocolate and leather. The flavors are very refined and easy to experience, extremely smooth, long finish full of roasted coffee bean and leather.

Finishing up in the Final Third the cigar doesn’t loose any steam. The profile is rich, complex and smooth. Wood, coffee, chocolate, leather, and now a sweetness that is just amazing…it’s a caramel like flavor with a sugary finish. The cigar stays smooth the entire way down to the nub.

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Final Notes:

• On two of the samples I smoked there were fairly large stems when I cut the foot, I ended up having to cut more off the foot than I usually would to get past the stems. It certainly didn’t affect the smoking experience at all but something I felt I needed to note.

• One thing that bothered me about this release is the fact that it has 3 bands on it, I feel that it’s definitely overkill and that third Edición Limitada band is virtually pointless. It would look much better with just the Reserva band in my opinion

• If any of you are interested in these (which you should be) Please call up Tobacco Grove or Tower Cigars and they will be able to help you out with these (tell them we sent you) for info on them please check out our sponsor section on the left hand side of the page.

• Final Smoking time was 1 hour 15 minutes.

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The Bottom Line: As with last year’s release these are a hit in my opinion, they taste exactly like what they are… Viajes with aged tobacco. They have all of the characteristics of their core line counterparts, but are just that much more flavorful and smooth, a very complex and balanced cigar all the way through and a vitola that you can’t help but love. These won’t last long so when they come out I would jump on them, I know I am.

Final Score: 89