Viaje has recently announced two new projects via social media that will soon be showing up on retail shelves, Full Moon Collector’s Edition and Exclusivo Nicaragua.

On its Facebook page, the company said that this year’s Full Moon release will bear the Collector’s Edition secondary band, with the packaging updated as well. As for the cigar, it measures 6 x 56 and features an unfinished foot and oversized pigtail cap.

viaje-full-moon-collectors-edition-2016

Full Moon debuted in 2013 and has made appearances every year since, with 2015 getting both a regular version and an Edición Limitada version. The regular version of the cigar has been a Nicaraguan puro, while the Edición Limitada replaced the Nicaraguan corojo wrapper with a Mexican San Andrés leaf. All of the releases have come in a robusto gordo vitola that measured 5 x 58.

The Collector’s Edition is a status given to certain cigars to designate that they are intended for fans of Viaje, and those who collect the company’s releases beyond the level of a typical cigar smoker. According to brand owner Andre Farkas, the idea is to create a one-time release of a new shape in an existing line, just for those people who are collectors.  Previous releases include the Viaje Oro Collector’s Edition 2012 FuerzaViaje Exclusivo Collector’s Edition 2013 Double Edged Sword IIViaje Skull and Bones Ten Ton Tess Collector’s Edition and Viaje Skull and Bones Ten Ton Tess Gold Collector’s Edition, which were both released in 2015.

Also new is the Viaje Exclusivo Nicaragua, which while it looks like the existing Exclusivo line, features a new band with a blue shade to it, as well as a similar marking on the packaging to indicate that it is not only a new blend, but is being made at the TABSA factory in Nicaragua, which is owned by Casa Fernández. It is being released in three sizes, Robusto (5 X 52), Toro (6 X 50) and Double R (5 1/2 X 54), the same three sizes in the original Exclusivo line that the company designated as being regular production in 2015.

viaje-exclusivo-nicaragua

Exclusivo was said to be Farkas’ personal smoke and unattainable until its first commercial launch in 2009 in a 4 3/4 x 51 vitola called the Chiquito. It has steadily added sizes in the years since, including a Robusto, Double Edged Sword, Short, Corona Gorda, Super Lance, Double Edged Sword II, Double R and Lancero. In 2014, the Exclusivo Leaded was added as the first extension to the line. The original line is a Nicaraguan puro with a criollo 98 wrapper from AGANORSA, with the cigars made at Raíces Cubanas in Honduras.

The new Exclusivo Nicaragua expression “is intended to complement the existing line of EXCLUSIVO, not replace it,” according to a Facebook post from the company.

Viaje has not announced pricing or production numbers on either line, with an email to a Viaje representative going unreturned.

Images via Viaje’s Facebook page.

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.