Review: Viaje Exclusivo Chiquito (2011)
Today we will be taking a look at a new release from Viaje, the 2011 Chiquito! In 2009, using the very popular Exclusivo Blend, Viaje released a 4 7/8 x 51 Figurado named the Chiquito, the cigar was made in very limited quantities and was only made available at two stores: Tower Cigars in California and Cigar Masters in Rhode Island. The cigar sold out very quickly and it was decided by Viaje that they would release the cigar every two years at only two stores with the stores being chosen randomly each year. (By chance Tower Cigars was picked twice in a row.)
Our good friend and sponsor Mark Just at Tower Cigars contacted us this past week to let us know that it was that time again, the 2011 Viaje Chiquito’s were in and they would not be around long! I must say the vitola is really cool, very reminiscent of the Arturo Fuente Short Story and Hemingway Best Seller, the cigar is a Figurado shape with an extreme bulb like shape at the foot. Only 100 boxes of 25 are available split between the two stores.
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The boxes for the release look like this:
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Let’s get to the review shall we?
- Cigar Reviewed: Viaje Exclusivo Chiquito (2011)
- Country of Origin: Honduras
- Factory: Fabrica De Tobacos Raíces Cubanas S. de R.L (Raíces Cubanas)
- Wrapper: Nicaraguan Criollo
- Binder: Nicaraguan
- Filler: Nicaraguan
- Size: 4 7/8 Inches
- Ring Gauge: 51
- Vitola: Figurado
- MSRP: $8.50 ($212.50)
- Number of Cigars Released: 100 Boxes Of 25 Cigars (2,500 Total Cigars)
- Date Released: Early June 2011
- Number of Cigars Smoked for Review: 3
The cigar is really gorgeous looking, very well constructed with a tight pack, seamless wrap and a milk chocolate wrapper with a nice bit of oil. The cigar itself smells of sweet tobacco with a light chocolate aroma, and barnyard notes. The pre-light draw is full of cedar and earth with hints of leather and a touch of pepper.
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Starting off in the First Third the cigar hits me with a blast of spice and pepper not untypical with this blend. A quarter of an inch into the cigar the spice and pepper mellow considerably and the flavors start to fill my palate starting with a nice oak and earth combination. There is leather and coffee on the finish which is considerably long with a wash of pepper over the tongue. The smoke is thick and lush, cigar is medium bodied.
Coming into the Second Third the cigar intensifies a bit with a splash of darker flavors and aromas, flavors of wood, espresso and dark chocolate fill my mouth with a thick, creamy, leathery finish with a nice bit of spice and pepper through the nose. The cigar is medium to full with a great draw and an even burn.
Finishing up in the Final Third the spice and pepper ramp up a bit while the flavors themselves mellow a bit, overall more of a cedary, creamy coffee and leather profile as opposed to the last thirds darker, bitter profile. The cigar is medium to full with a long finish and fantastic burn.
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Final Notes:
- One thing that attracts me to this cigar is the vitola, I absolutely love it. The cigar feels great in the hand and smokes very well putting off large clouds of smoke. In most cases with figurados of this type I usually cut a little off the foot to give it a better burn and to let it open up faster but with these I was able to light them as is and they smoked perfectly fine without giving me draw or burn issues. Great construction indeed…
- In my experience with the Exclusivo blend the smaller vitolas lack a little bit in the flavor department, both this and the Exclusivo Short that came out recently fall a little bit short of say, the Double Edge Sword, or the Tower Cigars 45th. It’s a great cigar but looking at the blend as a whole, flavor wise I would go for the bigger sizes before this.
- If you are looking for some of these give Mark Just a call at Tower Cigars and ask him. I am not sure if he has any left but its worth a shot. They also have a ton of other Viaje products so if you need anything Viaje you should call them first for sure.
- Final Smoking time was 51 minutes.
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The Bottom Line: This is definitely a box worthy cigar in my opinion, especially considering how limited they are. It offered a great flavor profile, nice spice and pepper and great construction. The fact that I feel this isn’t as good as some of the other Exclusivos is really just a small point, a good cigar is a good cigar and this is certainly a good cigar. I think the size is just so cool and a real pleasure to smoke, it would be a perfect morning smoke because of the size and the fact that it has flavor and strength but it doesn’t make you want to throw up. Overall a fine cigar and if you can find some I would pull the trigger!
Final Score: 89
My what a deliciously curvy figure she has, yum!
Great review as always.
Cheers
pretty interesting vitola. thanks for the review!
Man, I hate when I miss these Viaje releases!
Great looking stick
dig the shape
Thanks for the contest and review!
There are getting to be so many Viajes I can't keep track. At least this one is a good size.
Woot you said "And Ryan, we do need a little bit of variety here. Tatuaje will release stupid chit all the time. What is the point of reviewing 100 Tats if you will never be able to get a hold of it?"
These cigars are not that hard to get a hold of...all you have to do is pick up the phone. Honestly...
Me and brook speaks about this subject all the time. Whenever i smoke a cigar and it gets a good rating i think to myself "damn! another 90 plus cigar!" I hate it just as much as anyone else but i am just being as honest as possible with my reviews. The fact remains that we smoke and review on average REALLY GOOD cigars. That's the biggest problem with reviewing Limited, hard to find, rare cigars is.MOST OF THEM ARE REALLY GOOD! Not all of them but most of them. We can't control this.Perhaps someday we will review regular smokes but that day hasn't come and until then if you don't like it, you don't have to read but i refuse to give a cigar a lower rating simply because my last few reviews were high ratings. where is the honesty in that?
Nice looking stick! Thanks for the review and giveaway!
Nice review thanks again for taking the time out to write it.
great viaje blend meets
great hemi shape
good smokin times
Thanks!
Hmm...interesting review. Thanks!
@w00t- As you know, since you have been reading the site for a while, our niche in the cigar world is to photograph and review rare and htf cigars...Since Tatuaje and Viaje release their limited edition smokes, it is our job to review them...Yes, there are quite a few of their cigars reviewed here, but to say that we are "in their pockets" simply because we review all of their LE releases is disingenuous. No one else in the blogger world reviews all of these releases, and we believe that each one of them DESERVES to be reviewed.
As for the comment "SMOKE SOMETHING IN YOUR HUMIDOR THAT YOU WEREN'T GIVEN BY A CIGAR LABEL/RETAILER TO REVIEW", we purchase almost EVERY cigar we review, either with cash or trade (and yes, we do get cigars from our sponsors, but they are paid for by the advertising they do with us...We just thought it would be easier for them to send us cigars then cash, which we would then just turn around and buy those same cigars from them with)...The only cigars we do not purchase (or get in trade) for reviews are (some) prereleases, which can't be purchased anyway.
We are reviewing some of the hardest to find cigars on the planet day in and day out (What other site do you know of that has reviews of Dunhills, Davidoffs and 90 year old cigars?)...If you are going to get upset every time you read a review of a cigar you might not be able to find, you might want to visit some other blogs, which are more then happy to review the latest $2 smoke from CI.
@cibao who said "you are definitely in bed with tatuaje and viaje lets see other reviews"...you have no idea what you are talking about...We are not "in bed" with anyone (by which I assume you mean that we are giving good scores for some unspecified reason), and until you have PROOF of anything that you are implying, you should probably STFU. BTW, what other cigars would you like to see reviewed? I am curious to see what YOU think we should review on this site.
@Everyone- One of the reasons we decided to take on ONLY retailers as sponsors is to make sure that we keep our objectivity, as the retailers don't care one way or the other what we rate the cigars...There are PLENTY of cigar blogs out there with retailers as sponsors, but we are not one of them. So for anyone to say we are "in bed" with a specific manufacturer is just plain wrong.
And Ryan, we do need a little bit of variety here. Tatuaje will release stupid chit all the time. What is the point of reviewing 100 Tats if you will never be able to get a hold of it?
SMOKE SOMETHING IN YOUR HUMIDOR THAT YOU WEREN'T GIVEN BY A CIGAR LABEL/RETAILER TO REVIEW. And there are way too many high ratings. Your site loses credibility when you give everything a 90+ rating (yeah Steve, I am talking about you).
Great looking cigar. Someone is trying to break out.
sweet looking cigar. nice shape
Looking forward to it!
Thanks for the review.
I love perfectos and next fine brand produce cigar in this shape. Great.
Another 90+ rating by Steve...
Good looking figurado. Thanks for the review!
Actually they're not in bed with Viaje and Tatuaje, cibao. Both just happen to be two very popular cigar makers right now making great sticks. Sounds like you're just upset you can't get any. Ignore him and keep reviewing what you're reviewing guys.
I'm starting to really like Viaje sticks. Looks like you only have half a thumb on the second to last picture, but thanks for not covering that sick label.
another good looking smoke!
you are definitely in bed with tatuaje and viaje lets see other reviews....
i like the band!!
nice figurado. love this size. wonder if it's any better than a short story.
Cool cigar! Haven't had a Viaje yet. Would love to try one some day.
Would love to get some, but I doubt I would be able too
Niiiiiiiiiiicccccccccccceeeeeeeeeeeeeee.
Is this an LE?
Nice review Steve!
Dad gum Viaje's.... Theres always a new one I want to try.
Nice review. Are these as good as the OR's that Mark had last year?
Nice review, thanks!
Sounds great! Thanks for the review.
Thanks for it would nice to win.
Great looking little stick!
Very nice.
Those look nice.
Good stuff as always
Looks to be another good cigar. Really big fan of that size. Thanks for the review!
Seems like figurados are becoming more popular. Looks good.
I loved this stick ROTT. In fact, I enjoyed it more than the 45th rested, which is a fantastic smoke. These are easily a 93 in my book. Glad I've got a huge stash of 'em!! Thanks Mark :).
Great little smoke... love the Chiquito !
Thanks for the review. The Exclusivos are some of my favorites.
another viaje w/ a good score....
Size is key to all blends.