In 2013, Viaje released a new blend based around the Halloween holiday named Full Moon that was composed of a Nicaraguan Corojo wrapper and Nicaraguan tobaccos in the filler binder. The 5 x 58 robusto gordo was packaged in a circular box and featured a cartoon logo depicting a grinning pumpkin.

While the regular Full Moon was released this year with the same components as the previous two years, there was an additional blend that replaces the original Nicaraguan Corojo wrapper with a Mexican San Andrés leaf, along with a Edición Limitada band.

“Andre rolled a few (Full Moons) using San Andres for himself last year,” said a company spokesperson about the new blend. “He’s constantly experimenting. He loved the blend so he released a few to 5 undisclosed retailers this year.”

Appropriately named the Viaje Full Moon Edición Limitada 2015, the new cigar is the same 5 x 58 robusto gordo as the previous releases, but was only shipped to five retailers, and was packaged in a black on black box. As in previous years, retailers received a limited number of full boxes, but multiple Full Moon bundles, with the regular version wrapped in orange paper and the Edición Limitada wrapped in silver paper.

Although total number released is not known, the MSRP for the Edición Limitada was $14.75, with boxes of 24 retailing for $354. Both versions of the 2015 Full Moon were rolled at Raíces Cubanas in Honduras.

There have now been four different releases in the Full Moon line.

Viaje Full Moon vitolas

  • Viaje Full Moon 2013 (5 x 58) — 400 Bundles of 24 Cigars (9,600 Total Cigars) — $11.42 (Bundles of 24, $274)
  • Viaje Full Moon 2014 (5 x 58) — n/a — $11.42 (Bundles of 24, $274)
  • Viaje Full Moon 2015 (5 x 58) — 300 Bundles of 24 Cigars (7,200 Total Cigars) — $11.42 (Bundles of 24, $274)
  • Viaje Full Moon Edición Limitada 2015 (5 x 58) — n/a — $14.75 (Bundles of 24, $354)

Viaje Full Moon Edicion Limitada 2015 1

  • Cigar Reviewed: Viaje Full Moon Edición Limitada 2015
  • Country of Origin: Honduras
  • Factory: Fábrica de Tabacos Raíces Cubanas S. de R.L.
  • Wrapper: Mexican San Andrés
  • Binder: Nicaragua
  • Filler: Nicaragua
  • Length: 5 Inches
  • Ring Gauge: 58
  • Vitola: Robusto Gordo
  • MSRP: $14.75 (Bundles of 24, $354)
  • Release Date: Oct. 15, 2015
  • Number of Cigars Released: n/a
  • Number of Cigars Smoked For Review: 3

Visually, the Viaje Full Moon Edición Limitada 2015 is noticeably different than its predecessors, with a mottled dark espresso brown wrapper that is quite toothy to the touch and a covered foot. There are plenty of veins present, but none of them are overly distracting, and the cigar has a great amount of give when squeezed. Aroma from the wrapper is a combination of strong manure, barnyard, hay, sweet cedar and leather while the cold draw brings flavors of sweet oak, hay, dank earth, leather, dark fruit and a touch of black pepper.

Starting out, the Viaje Full Moon Edición Limitada 2015 has a dominant gritty earth note, interspersed with leather, grass, oak, raisons and black licorice. There is some indeterminate sweetness on the finish, as well as some slight black pepper on the retrohale, both of which seem to be increasing as the first third burns down. Smoke production is massive off of the foot and while the draw is excellent so far, the burn is a bit wavy out of the gate, albeit not bad enough that i have to touch it up more than once. Strength-wise, the Viaje starts off close to medium, and while it increases, it fails to make it to a solid medium by the time the first third ends.

Viaje Full Moon Edicion Limitada 2015 2

The dominant flavor remains a gritty earth note during the second third of the Viaje and while the raison sweetness from the first third has increased, it is not even close to strong enough to make much of a dent in the overall profile. Other flavors of creamy oak, leather, hay, yeast and slight espresso bean bitterness flit in and out, and there is a touch of saltiness on my lips. Smoke production is still well above average, and while the draw remains excellent, but burn has gotten a bit out of hand, forcing me to touch it up a couple of times. The strength has not budged much, and it fails to hit the medium mark by the end of the second third.

Viaje Full Moon Edicion Limitada 2015 3

As has been the case for the entire cigar before now, the final third features the same gritty earth as the dominant flavor, along with other notes of grass, leather, bitter dark cocoa, oak and black licorice. The raison sweetness from the previous two thirds is still present, but noticeably reduced from its high point around the halfway point, as is the black pepper on the retrohale. Construction-wise, the draw is as good as ever, and the burn has evened up nicely, while the smoke production is still coming off of the foot like a house on fire. The overall strength increases enough to reach a solid medium by the end of the final third, but goes no further before I put the nub down with less than an inch to go.

Viaje Full Moon Edicion Limitada 2015 4

Final Notes

  • As with previous versions, both of the 2015 incarnations of Full Moon featured two bands that incorporated a half a pumpkin design, with one reading Viaje and the other reading Full Moon. When laid down together, the two bands together reveal a panoramic scene.
  • The smoke production is enormous, coming off of the foot in dense billows that get overwhelming after a while. I suggest you smoke this one outside if possible.
  • Both versions of the Full Moon 2015 were shipped to retailers with the Skull and Bones M?stery 2015.
  • The silver and red Edición Limitada band on this version of Full Moon is nothing new to Viaje, having been used on 2011’s V.O.R. DT and V.P.R. DT, 2012’s Satori, 2013’s Skull and Bones Big Ivan as well as 2014’s Skull and Bones Cloudmaker.
  • The cigars smoked for this review were purchased by halfwheel.
  • The final smoking time for all three samples averaged just under two hours.
  • STOGIES World Class Cigars was selected for the Full Moon Edición Limitada 2015 (713.783.5100).
86 Overall Score

After finding the original blend of the Full Moon to be fairly monotonous, I was really looking forward to seeing how a San Andrés wrapper changed up the blend for this release. While there was a touch of added raisin sweetness, unfortunately the profile of the cigar remained very linear, changing very little from third to third. I prefer the new blend to the old one and I can recommend you try it to compare the two as there are some obvious differences, but neither of them excite me all that much.

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Brooks Whittington

I have been smoking cigars for over eight years. A documentary wedding photographer by trade, I spent seven years as a photojournalist for the Dallas Morning News and the Fort Worth Star Telegram. I started the cigar blog SmokingStogie in 2008 after realizing that there was a need for a cigar blog with better photographs and more in-depth information about each release. SmokingStogie quickly became one of the more influential cigar blogs on the internet, known for reviewing preproduction, prerelease, rare, extremely hard-to-find and expensive cigars. I am a co-founder of halfwheel and now serve as an editor for halfwheel.