Viaje Roots

Viaje does not own its own factory, instead relying on other factories to make its cigars. It has worked with factories in at least four countries, though I most associate the brand with two factories, which are somewhat related: AGANORSA’s factory in Estelí, Nicaragua and Raíces Cubanas in Honduras. AGANORSA is one of Nicaragua’s largest growers of tobacco and prior to the 2012 revitilization of AGANORSA’s own factory, Raíces Cubanas was probably the factory most famous for using AGANORSA’s tobacco.

Despite the strong connection between Viaje and those factories, it’s not where the brand started.

As we documented in 2015, Viaje started at Joya de Nicaragua.

In 2013, Andre Farkas, Viaje’s founder, told Kiss My Ash radio why the relationship both started and ended:

When I first started, I was with Joya de Nicaragua, I talked to those guys and they were very, very welcoming to me, they made my first cigar. Then, when Drew Estate came in and started handling their distribution, I felt like I was in the way. They were super nice to me and told me that due to my relationship with (Joya de Nicaragua) I could stay, but I felt like I was in the way of what they were trying to do, so I decided to leave.

The end came in 2008, though it wouldn’t be the last time the two entities worked together.

Earlier this year, Viaje announced Roots, the sixth cigar for its Craft Series. As the name implies, the company looked to its roots and created a cigar at Joya de Nicaragua. That cigar is a 6 x 52 toro that uses an Ecuadorian habano wrapper over tobacco from Brazil, Nicaragua and the U.S.

Craft Series debuted in 2018, a line inspired by the then-burgeoning craft beer world. The artwork seems to borrow from the design of Masschusetts-based Trillium Brewing Co.’s cans. The cigars have been either 6 x 52 or 6 x 54 toros that use similar packaging, most notably, a large piece of silver foil covering most of the cigar a la the Bolívar Gold Medal.

While the vitolas and packaging are similar, the blends do not appear to be the same.

• Cigar Reviewed: Viaje Roots
• Country of Origin: Nicaragua
• Factory: Fábrica de Tabacos Joya de Nicaragua S.A.
• Wrapper: Ecuador (Habano)
• Binder: Nicaragua
• Filler: Brazil, Nicaragua & U.S.A.
• Length: 6 Inches
• Ring Gauge: 52
• Shape: Round
• MSRP: $11 (Box of 10, $110)
• Release Date: Aug. 12, 2024
• Number of Cigars Released: Undisclosed
• Number of Cigars Smoked For Review: 3

Buried underneath the foil is a wrapper that has a ton of texture, especially to the touch. There’s a pretty average umber-colored wrapper, with the notable parts being the veins and oil, both more plentiful than the standard cigar. The aromas from the wrappers are quite different. The first cigar has lots of acorns with some muted brownie sweetness, the second cigar is a bit lifeless with just some acidic tangerine scents, and the third cigar is much fuller and smells like a stick of butter with some dry earth and barnyard. All three cigars have a full aroma from the foot. The first reminds me of the sweet smell that emerges when tobacco is curing with oak and vanilla behind it, the second is similar though closer to medium-full. The third cigar smells like its wrapper an is quite different from the other two. Cold draws are also a bit all over the place. The first cigar is medium-plus with a funky raisin flavor over some granola and cocoa. The second cigar reminds me of root beer candy with oregano and white pepper, also around medium-plus. The third cigar is medium-full with cocoa, some potato chips, grilled zucchini and some floral flavors under all that.

While the first cigar is led more by a sweet praline note over some woodiness and grapes, the other two cigars have first puffs that are dominated by woodiness. In the first cigar, the woodiness is accented by toasty and charred notes, while the second cigar adds a chocolate syrup. Despite all their differences, the first puffs begin medium-full. That first puff is a real harbinger of what’s to come. The first Roots has charred potato chips over some sugary sweetness, white pepper and some woodiness. Woodiness leads the other two cigars, again diverting from there with one cigar toastier and the third cigar sweeter. During the finish, a sharpness seems to bring the three experiences closer together. It’s not that it leads to a massive uptick in pepper; rather, it seems to amplify the toastiness in each cigar. There are some dark roast coffee flavors, charred toast and a subtle sweetness. Retrohales are also similar, with the woodiness sitting atop some milk-like creaminess, a restrained red pepper and some roasted flavors. During one of the cigars, I find myself thinking of how those flavors interact with the subtle sweetness, producing an experience that reminds me of what I think of as the classic Cuban Hoyo de Monterrey profile. The finish sees the woodiness get stronger with more interesting fir-like notes adding themselves to the typically campfire-like profile, there’s also some graham cracker sweetness and an uptick in saltiness. Flavor is full, body is full, and strength is medium-full. While the first and third cigars are doing fine from a construction standpoint, the second cigar seems like it would rather go out than stay lit. While I’m able to prevent it from going out, it’s only through quicker smoking and multiple touch-ups from my lighter.

At its best, the Viaje Roots has flavors that have juicy textures, both more detailed and richer than what I typically taste in a cigar. Unfortunately, the persistent combustion issues are destroying that quality. There’s nuttiness, creaminess, honey sweetness and dark roast coffee flavors, but as the relights happen, the flavors taste toastier and sharper. Eventually, charred flavors and black pepper reach a point where both are present on each and every puff. Retrohales have more interesting flavors but the exact same problems. The nuttiness has more detail—at times sweet like peanut butter, other times more of a walnut flavor—then there’s pistachio, oregano and mineral flavors, but there’s also charred sensations and pepper. Admittedly, those flavors are more obvious during the finish as the burnt flavors weaken quicker than the other flavors. Strength picks up and it’s now full in flavor, full in body and full in strength. Combustion issues, plural, are now present on each and every cigar—the cigars just don’t want to stay burning properly. There is a bit of difference: the second cigar is unable to stay lit for 10 minutes before I need to use a lighter, the other two cigars will burn fine for around that length of time, but then I find myself ending the lighter.

I can’t say the linear increase in nicotine is a change—it’s been increasing from the start—but the strength has increased yet again and is noticeably different than the middle portion. Given the burn issues, it’s no surprise that the final third is the least enjoyable section. The burn issues have taken their toll: charred flavors accent nearly every flavor of each puff, adding bitterness and removing detail. Woodiness remains the strongest flavor, perhaps the result of the combustion issues, or maybe that’s how it was supposed to be. The best cigar is the third one, which has some puffs with an oily profile with nuttiness and creaminess, almost challenging the earthiness. As I found in the second third, the roasted flavors get weaker during the finish, and it allows for some sweetness to emerge including both honey and citrus. Retrohaling has changed as a very vibrant white pepper leads some sugary sweetness, creaminess and lemon. Unfortunately, the finish of the retrohale is an exception to the general rule of the roasted flavors dissipating during the finish. For whatever reason, this is the one time—I guess three times, as it happens each cigar—when the bitterness gets stronger during the finish. Flavor and body both remain full, while strength is now very aggressive. Combustion continues to be an issue for each cigar, with the second cigar continuing to be the worst example.

Final Notes

• I slid the band up to the position where a main band is typically found. There’s some visually unsettling about seeing it positioned elsewhere.
• While companies like Perdomo make a big deal about not raising prices—but then regularly do—there’s no company that has been more immune to price increases than Viaje. Typically, if Viaje sold a cigar for $10.50 in 2015, it will be priced at $10.50 in 2024. Given Viaje’s unique model doesn’t involve regular production cigars, the brand’s pricing isn’t talked about as much, but as someone who spends a lot of time thinking about cigar prices, Viaje is a complete outlier in the business.
• I found that the cigars lit up really quickly. Once the flame made contact with the foot, there was tons of smoke in a way that I don’t normally see from a cigar.
• The foil is tucked underneath the band. If you’d like to remove the foil but keep the band around the cigar, you should slide the band down and then remove the foil.
• While the weights and feel of the cigars didn’t suggest any of them were underfilled, something was off with the way the second cigar burned. Given how it performed, the most obvious answer is that it was underfilled. It had tunneling issues, it felt like it was going to go out, there was a weird ash formation, and the half-inch of cigar above the burn line felt much mushier than I typically notice with cigars.
• Cigars for this review were purchased by halfwheel.

• Roots is listed as a 6 x 52 toro, the above are the weights and dimensions I found when measuring the three cigars smoked for this review.
• While the first and third cigars were both smoked in just under two and a half hours, the second cigar took nearly three hours to smoke.