Viaje Ships Friends and Family La Cadeau

As has been the case with previous versions of one of its most limited releases, Viaje has quietly shipped the latest version of their Friends & Family series to preferred accounts, alongside the Viaje Holiday Series Christmas Tree.

This year’s release, according to Tim Podwika of PodmanCigars.com, is “a new batch of La Cadeau” and measures 7 x 48, coming in boxes of 15 with an MSRP of $230, the same price as when it was originally released.  He added that it was only sent to “preferred accounts.”

A handful of retailers have publicly announced that they received the cigar, including Podwika, Mark Just of Tower Cigars in Sacramento, Calif. and The Tinder Box in Mesa, Ariz. Podwika said he sold through his two-box allocation very quickly, while The Tinder Box noted on their Facebook page that they had already sold through their supply. Another Viaje retailer said that he did not receive any Friends & Family despite having previously received them.

Since first appearing at the 2011 IPCPR Convention and Trade Show, this is the fourth Viaje Friends & Family release, with the La Cadeau reappearing after being the inaugural release in February and December of 2012. It is also the second Friends & Family release to come out in 2013; in March, the Viaje Friends and Family Le Joueur was sent in small quantities alongside the WLP St. Patrick’s and the second release of the Honey & Hand Grenades.

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, the G-League's Valley Suns, and previously the Arizona Rattlers of the Indoor Football League. I also work in a number of roles for Major League Baseball, 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.