About a month ago, Viaje’s Facebook page started posting various updates that were all in the same vein.

Terms like “BE WARNED!” and “Widespread destruction is now being reported across the U.S.” Along with the updates was a red skull and crossbones on black, a play on the original Skull and Bones release last year, the logo of which was white and black.

It turns out that as expected, the newest Viaje release was a variation of the Original Skull and Bones blend. This the third incarnation of the blend and for the first time, there are two different vitolas released at the same time.

As with most of the recent Viaje releases, both sizes are quite limited in numbers, with only 250 boxes of 25 of the WMD, and only 50 Cases of 100 of the MOAB. Most Viaje retailers received between five-10 boxes of the WMD and at least one case of the MOAB.

Thanks to Saddam Hussein, we all know that “WMD” means, but you may not have known that there is a town called “Moab” in Utah and is it is also the historical name for a mountainous strip of land in Jordan running along the eastern shore of the Dead Sea.

And, although most people think that MOAB stands for “mother of all bomb,” the name actually stands for “Massive Ordnance Air Blast.” Interestingly, the bomb this cigar takes its namesake from is over 30 feet long and uses 18,700 lb (8.5 tons) of high explosives. Lastly, the first release of the Viaje Skull and Bones was dubbed the Daisy Cutter, which is actually the nickname for another bomb which was developed and produced before the MOAB)

Viaje Skull & Bones MOAB 2.png

Viaje Skull & Bones MOAB 3.png

And here is what the box of MOAB looks like:

Viaje Skull & Bones MOAB 4.png

Viaje Skull & Bones MOAB 5.png

Note: The following shows the various Viaje Skull and Bones vitolas. Some of these cigars may have been released after this post was originally published. This picture is not in the correct order. We are working to get an updated picture. The list was last updated on Feb. 7, 2024.

  1. Viaje Skull and Bones Daisy Cutter (4 x 54) — May 2010 — 150 Boxes of 25 Cigars (3,750 Total Cigars)
  2. Viaje Skull and Bones “?” (5 x 54) — October 2010 — 150 Boxes of 25 Cigars (3,750 Total Cigars)
  3. Viaje Skull and Bones MOAB (4 1/4 x 54) — March 2011 — 100 Boxes of 50 Cigars (5,000 Total Cigars)
  4. Viaje Skull and Bones WMD (3 3/4 x 54) — March 2011 — 250 Boxes of 25 Cigars (6,250 Total Cigars)
  5. Viaje Skull and Bones Fat Man (4 1/4 x 56) — August 2011 — 125 Boxes of 25 Cigars (3,125 Total Cigars)
  6. Viaje Skull and Bones Little Boy (4 1/4 x 52) — August 2011 — 125 Boxes of 25 Cigars (3,750 Total Cigars)
  7. Viaje Skull and Bones “?” Box-Pressed (4 1/2 x 54) — October 2011 — 125 Boxes of 25 Cigars (3,125 Total Cigars)
  8. Viaje Skull and Bones “?” (4 1/2 x 54) — October 2011 — 250 Boxes of 25 Cigars (6,250 Total Cigars)
  9. Viaje Skull and Bones WMD (2012) (3 3/4 x 54) — March 2012 —300 Boxes of 25 Cigars (7,500 Total Cigars)
  10. Viaje Skull and Bones MOAB (4 1/2 x 52) — March 2012— 300 Boxes of 25 Cigars (7,500 Total Cigars)
  11. Viaje Skull and Bones FOAB (4 1/2 x 56) — March 2012— 300 Boxes of 25 Cigars (7,500 Total Cigars)
  12. Viaje Skull and Bones M?stery (4 1/2 x 54) — October 2012 — Undisclosed
  13. Viaje Skull and Bones M?stery BP (4 1/2 x 54) — October 2012 — Undisclosed
  14. Viaje Skull and Bones M?stery Vintage (4 1/2 x 54) — October 2012 — Undisclosed
  15. Viaje Skull and Bones Fat Man (4 1/4 x 52) — February 2013 — Undisclosed
  16. Viaje Skull and Bones Little Boy (4 1/4 x 56) — February 2013 — Undisclosed
  17. Viaje Skull and Bones Big Ivan (5 x 60) — February 2013 — Undisclosed
  18. Viaje Skull and Bones M?stery (2013) (4 3/4 x 52) — October 2013 — 200 Boxes of 25 Cigars (5,000 Total Cigars)
  19. Viaje Skull and Bones WMD (2014) (3 3/4 x 54) — February 2014 — 300 Boxes of 25 Cigars (7,500 Total Cigars)
  20. Viaje Skull and Bones FOAB (2014) (4 1/2 x 56) — May 2014 — 300 Boxes of 25 Cigars (7,500 Total Cigars)
  21. Viaje Skull and Bones MOAB (2014) (4 1/2 x 52) — May 2014 — 300 Boxes of 25 Cigars (7,500 Total Cigars)
  22. Viaje Skull and Bones Cloudmaker (5 x 60) — May 2014 — Undisclosed
  23. Viaje Skull and Bones M?stery (2014) (4 3/4 x 54) — October 2014 — Undisclosed
  24. Viaje Skull and Bones Ten Ton Tess Collector’s Edition (6 x 54) — July 2015 — 1,000 Jars of 19 Cigars (19,000 Total Cigars)
  25. Viaje Skull and Bones Ten Ton Tess Gold Collector’s Edition (6 x 54) — July 2015 — 100 Jars of 19 Cigars (1,900 Total Cigars)
  26. Viaje Skull and Bones M?stery (4 1/2 x 58) — October 2015 — 300 Boxes of 25 Cigars (7,500 Total Cigars)
  27. Viaje Skull and Bones Red Little Boy (4 1/4 x 52) — February 2016 — Undisclosed
  28. Viaje Skull and Bones Red Fat Man (4 1/4 x 56) — February 2016 — Undisclosed
  29. Viaje Skull and Bones Red Big Ivan (5 x 60) — February 2016 — Undisclosed
  30. Viaje Skull and Bones Daisy Cutter Edición Limitada (4 x 54) — February 2017 — Undisclosed
  31. Viaje Skull and Bones Green The Hulk 56 (5 1/4 x 56) — June 2017 — 50 Bundles of 25 Cigars (1,250 Cigars)
  32. Viaje Skull and Bones Green The Hulk 58 (5 1/4 x 58) — June 2017 — 50 Bundles of 25 Cigars (1,250 Cigars)
  33. Viaje Skull and Bones WMD (2017) (3 3/4 x 54) — June 2017 — Undisclosed*
  34. Viaje Skull and Bones M?stery (4 1/2 x 58) — October 2018 — Undisclosed
  35. Viaje Skull and Bones FOAB (2019) (4 1/2 x 56) — March 2019 — Undisclosed*
  36. Viaje Skull and Bones MOAB (2019) (4 1/4 x 54) — March 2019 — Undisclosed*
  37. Viaje Skull and Bones Cloudmaker (2019) (5 x 60) — March 2019 — Undisclosed*
  38. Viaje Skull and Bones Red Little Boy (2019) (4 1/4 x 52) — September 2019 — Undisclosed
  39. Viaje Skull and Bones Red Fat Man (2019) (4 1/4 x 56) — September 2019 — Undisclosed
  40. Viaje Skull and Bones Red Big Ivan (2019) (5 x 60) — September 2019 — Undisclosed
  41. Viaje Skull and Bones Johnny Blaze (6 x 56) — December 2019 — Undisclosed
  42. Viaje Skull and Bones Ghost Rider (6 x 56) — December 2019 — Undisclosed
  43. Viaje Skull and Bones Mephisto (6 1/2 x 56) — December 2019 — Undisclosed
  44. Viaje Skull and Bones The Hulk (2020) (5 1/4 x 60) — April 2020 — Undisclosed
  45. Viaje Skull and Bones Bruce Banner (5 1/4 x 56) — April 2020 — Undisclosed
  46. Viaje Skull and Bones Daisy Cutter (2020) (4 x 50) —August 2020 — Undisclosed
  47. Viaje Skull and Bones WMD (2020) (3 3/4 x 52) — August 2020 — Undisclosed
  48. Viaje Skull and Bones M?stery (6 1/4 x 56) — October 2020 — Undisclosed
  49. Viaje Skull and Bones Frank Castle (6 1/4 x 54) — April 2021 — Undisclosed
  50. Viaje Skull and Bones The Punisher (6 1/4 x 54) — April 2021 — Undisclosed
  51. Viaje Skull and Bones FOAB (2022) (4 1/2 x 56) — February 2022 — Undisclosed
  52. Viaje Skull and Bones MOAB (2022) (4 1/4 x 54) — February 2022 — Undisclosed
  53. Viaje Skull and Bones Cloudmaker (2022) (5 x 60) — February 2022 — Undisclosed
  54. Viaje Skull and Bones M?stery (2022) (5 x 56) — October 2022 — Undisclosed
  55. Viaje Skull and Bones Red Little Boy (2023) (4 1/4 x 52) — April 2023 — Undisclosed
  56. Viaje Skull and Bones Red Fat Man (2023) (4 1/4 x 56) — April 2023 — Undisclosed
  57. Viaje Skull and Bones Red Big Ivan (2023) (5 x 60) — April 2023 — Undisclosed
  58. Viaje Skull and Bones Tsar Bomba Camo Blue (6 x 56) — December 2023 — Undisclosed*
  59. Viaje Skull and Bones Tsar Bomba Camo Gray (6 x 56) — December 2023 — Undisclosed*
  60. Viaje Skull and Bones Tsar Bomba Camo Red (6 x 56) — December 2023 — Undisclosed*

*Not pictured.

89 Overall Score

I went into smoking these cigars hoping it would be a better experience than the Skull and Bones “?"—which to me was an almost comically awful release—and I must say, I was not disappointed. While not as complex as the the Daisy Cutter, both the MOAB and the WMD both are quite a bit stronger, especially in the last third. The major problem I have with this newest Skull and Bones release is the price, which for me is about four dollars too high for the size. The flavors are good, and I think they will only get better with age, but honestly, I think I will be waiting for the Tower 45th Exclusivo to buy a box.

Viaje Skull & Bones MOAB 6.png

  • Cigar Reviewed: Viaje Skull and Bones MOAB
  • Country of Origin: Honduras
  • Factory: Fabrica de Tabacos Raíces Cubanas S. de R.L.
  • Wrapper: Nicaraguan Sun Grown Criollo
  • Binder: Nicaragua
  • Filler: Nicaragua
  • Size: 4 1/4 Inches
  • Ring Gauge: 54
  • Vitola: Petit Pirámides
  • MSRP: $9.36 (Boxes of 100, $936.00)
  • Date Released: March 2011
  • Total Number of Cigars Released: 50 Cases of 100 Cigars (5,000 Total Cigars)
  • Number of Cigars Smoked for Review: 3

The cigar itself is a very interesting vitola, more like a cross between a NUb and a torpedo than anything else, similar to the NUb 454T. The wrapper is a dark brown with quite a bit of oil present, and smells like a combination of espresso, dark chocolate, hay and wood. It is a bit spongy when squeezed, but not overly so. The cold draw includes dark and bitter chocolate, leather, wood and pepper.

The first third has some spice and black pepper to start, but they exist in harmony with flavors of oak, leather, espresso and just a little bit of cinnamon on the retrohale. It is a very woody profile to start, and I quite enjoyed it.

Viaje Skull & Bones MOAB 7.png

The second third has stronger cinnamon notes present than the first third, but the spice and pepper are down. The profile is still wood overall and there is a rich tobacco note as well. I could tell the cigar was getting stronger by this point, but it was still on the medium side.

Viaje Skull & Bones MOAB 8.png

The final third really took off, strength-wise. It flew out of the gate, hitting me right between the eyes. It went from medium to full in about 10 puffs and really took me by surprise. Unfortunately, the strength, while a nice surprise, overwhelmed just about any nuances that the last third may have had, and all I could taste was the same woody profile with some espresso and leather.

Viaje Skull & Bones MOAB 9.png

Final Notes

  • While I understand the need to differentiate the releases with the Red Skull and Bones logo, instead of the original white on black, and you would think that the Red would look pretty kick ass, it honestly just looks a bit tacky to me.
  • I really do not like either vitola and the price for each is almost, but not quite, as outrageous as the Exclusivo Short.
  • I smoked both vitolas for this review, and honestly, I found very little difference between them in terms of flavor, which is not exactly surprising, since they are the same blend, and basically the same size, but interestingly, the MOAB seemed a bit stronger to me.
  • There was quite a bit of smoke in each cigar I reviewed, and it was white and spicy.
  • The draw was just a bit loose on each of the MOABs and WMDs I smoked, and the burn was uneven, but both were not bad enough to be anything more than somewhat annoying.
  • The final smoking time was exactly one hour.
89 Overall Score

I went into smoking these cigars hoping it would be a better experience than the Skull and Bones “?"—which to me was an almost comically awful release—and I must say, I was not disappointed. While not as complex as the the Daisy Cutter, both the MOAB and the WMD both are quite a bit stronger, especially in the last third. The major problem I have with this newest Skull and Bones release is the price, which for me is about four dollars too high for the size. The flavors are good, and I think they will only get better with age, but honestly, I think I will be waiting for the Tower 45th Exclusivo to buy a box.

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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.