Viaje was once again found in the PDR Cigars booth, sharing space with Abe Flores and crew. Andre Farkas and his team manned what was effectively a single booth space, with no cabinets full of products, no racks of sales sheets, or really any of the other things generally found in trade show booths. Instead, there was a standing table with a single box of cigars on it.

Farkas mentioned that his seasonal releases will return this year, and has Stuffed Turkey Light Meat and Dark Meat in the queue, along with Farmer Bill Hatchet and a new Stuffed Turkey offshoot, as well as a few other things in the works.

Viaje Private Keep

The lone new project on the table was Private Keep, which stems from the unreleased stashes of cigar blends that Farkas has accumulated over the years. He said that for every one cigar blend that ends up getting released, there are at least five more that didn’t make the cut for one reason or another, and that’s not just iterations of the final blend, but different things being tried at the factory when that released blend was being created. The cigars will come unbanded and will only be distinguished by the color of the ribbon holding the bundle together, which in this case is a light blue, though the flag cap and covered foot will also be useful in identifying it.

The debut cigar uses all AGANORSA tobacco, with Farkas calling it a much more medium, down to earth blend that what people generally think of from his other lines. He said he doesn’t have a fixed schedule for future releases, but the next one most likely wouldn’t be released until 2019 at the earliest.

  • Wrapper: Nicaragua (Corojo 99)
  • Binder: Nicaragua
  • Filler: Nicaragua
  • Viaje Private Keep (6 x 48) — $9.50 (Boxes of 37, $351.50)*

*estimated price, Farkas had not yet confirmed the MSRP but said it will be between $9 and $10

Production: 150 Boxes of 37 Cigars (5,550 Total Cigars)

Launch Date: August 2018

Davidoff is the official sponsor of halfwheel's coverage of the 2018 IPCPR Convention & Trade Show.
Avatar photo

Patrick Lagreid

I strive to capture the essence of a cigar and the people behind them in my work – every cigar you light up is the culmination of the work of countless people and often represents generations of struggle and stories. For me, it’s about so much more than the cigar – it’s about the story behind it, the experience of enjoying the work of artisans and the way that a good cigar can bring people together. In addition to my work with halfwheel, I’m the public address announcer for the Colorado Rockies and Arizona Diamondbacks during spring training, as well as for the Salt River Rafters of the Arizona Fall League, the WNBA's Phoenix Mercury and previously the Arizona Rattlers of the Indoor Football League. I also work in a number of roles for MLB.com, plus I'm a voice over artist. Prior to joining halfwheel, I covered the Phoenix and national cigar scene for Examiner.com, and was an editor for Cigar Snob magazine.