In 2011 rumors started flying that Viaje would soon release a box of cigars containing three different blends, all in the lancero vitola. At the time, Andre Farkas, owner of Viaje, indicated he planned to release the trio in a box, or potentially a humidor. It was believed that the Exclusivo and Oro lanceros would be included, as the company has not released the size in either line.
Once Viaje released the Exclusivo Lancero as an Atlantic Cigar Co. exclusive in late 2011. Trifecta seemed on hold. However, in late 2013, Farkas announced on Stogie Geeks that Viaje would be finally releasing the Trifecta in 2014.
The 30-count boxes contain 10 cigars of three different blends: Oro, Platino and Plata, a new Nicaraguan puro rolled at Casa Fernández Miami.
Each of the releases included in the Trifecta box are in a 7 1/2 x 40 lancero vitola, and there were only 200 boxes produced, which translates into only 2,000 Oro and Platas, while Platino had been made as a regular production offering early in the company’s history. According to Farkas, both the Oro and Platino Lanceros included in Trifecta were rolled in February 2011, while the Plata was rolled about six months ago.
With the release of the Trifecta, there are now four different 7 1/2 x 40 Viaje blends.
- Viaje Platino Lancero (7 1/2 x 40) — Regular Production & 200 Boxes of 10 Cigars (200 Total Cigars)
- Viaje Oro Lancero (7 1/2 x 40) — 200 Boxes of 10 Cigars (200 Total Cigars)
- Viaje Plata Lancero (7 1/2 x 40) — 200 Boxes of 10 Cigars (200 Total Cigars)
- Viaje Exclusivo Lancero (7 1/2 x 40) — 150 Boxes of 25 Cigars (3,750 Total Cigars) & 96 Boxes of 25 Cigars (2,400 Total Cigars)
- Cigar Reviewed: Viaje Oro Lancero
- Country of Origin: Honduras
- Factory: Fábrica de Tabacos Raíces Cubanas S. de R.L.
- Wrapper: Nicaraguan Corojo ’99
- Binder: Nicaragua
- Filler: Nicaragua
- Size: 7 1/2 Inches
- Ring Gauge: 40
- Vitola: Lancero
- MSRP: $10.00 (Boxes of 30, $300.00)
- Date Released: April 22, 2014
- Number of Cigars Released: 200 Boxes of 10 Cigars (2,000 Total Cigars)
- Number of Cigars Smoked for Review: 3
The Viaje Oro Lancero appears well-made with a gorgeous dark brown wrapper that has a noticeable red tint to it as well as some tooth when felt. There are some veins present, but they are far from distracting, and it is a bit more spongy than I expected when squeezed. Aroma from the wrapper is a combination of faint nutmeg, leather and coffee with some pepper thrown in, while the cold draw brings a huge barnyard note mixed with generic sweet fruit.
The Oro Lancero starts off the first third with distinct and obvious flavors of coffee beans, earth, leather and creamy oak. There is a wonderful cinnamon note on the retrohale that adds a touch of heat, although it is nowhere to be found on the palate. I am also picking up some fairly strong sweet milk chocolate flavors that combine well with all of the other notes in the profile, and it seems to be building strength as the first third continues. Construction-wise, both the burn and draw are excellent with the close to razor sharp burn being the standout so far. Smoke production is slightly above average and the overall strength hits a point just below medium by the end of the first third.
The cinnamon note disappears during the second third of the Viaje Oro Lancero, but it is slowly replaced with a dominant dark cocoa flavor that combines well with the black pepper that is present and other notes of gritty earth, oak, leather and espresso. The sweetness on the palate has also morphed into more of a honey note, and the smoke production is holding steady at slightly above average. Strength-wise, the Oro hits the medium mark right before the end of the second third, while the burn and remain excellent as well.
The final third of the Viaje Oro Lancero features another shift in the dominant flavor, this time to a bread-granola note that, combined with the cocoa flavor from the second third reminds me strongly chocolate granola. Other notes include a resurgent slight cinnamon, earth, leather, coffee and wood, and there is actually quite a bit of black pepper on the retrohale leading up the end of the smoke. The construction continues to impress until the end of the cigar, but the overall strength does not budge, and ends the cigar at a solid medium when I put it down with about an inch left.
Final Notes
- As has become the norm with Viaje, the Trifecta boxes shipped with two other releases: the Zombie Super Shot and the Exclusivo Corona Gorda.
- The Plata Lancero was actually rolled at the Casa Fernández Miami, which is the first time Farkas has used that factory for any of his releases.
- Regarding the names of the three blends in the Trifecta boxes, oro translates to gold, plata translates to silver and platino translates to platinum.
- Along with the above, both the color trim around the Viaje logo on the bands and the ribbon on foot of each blend correspond with their respective names/metal, with Oro getting a dull bronze-gold color, Plata an extremely reflective silver and Platino more of a matte silver.
- We noticed a slight difference in length amongst the cigars. They all are listed at 7 1/2 x 40.
- The construction overall was excellent, with a burn that hardly needed a touch-up for the entire smoke and an excellent draw with just the right amount of resistance.
- The cigars smoked for this review were purchased by halfwheel.
- The final smoking time for all three samples averaged a relatively quick one hour and 30 minutes.
Complex and well-constructed, the Viaje Oro Lancero features a constantly change sweetness underneath the rest of the profile that really sets the rest of the flavors off. I felt that the Exclusivo and Platino blends did well in a lancero, and the Oro is no different. Construction on all three samples I smoked was excellent, and the flavors were extremely consistent from cigar to cigar.