fu*king fed up with viaje (nothing more than a rant on my part)

[ned]

I still hate viaje and will never buy one. hate the shtick of his brand..

[wkoti]

I agreed with your points Ned, but I at least respect the admittance of their limited release only policies. I'm not a huge Viaje fan, but I've had several very good/great cigars from them. They got bit by the Tatuaje bug, but at least they full committed, unlike Pete the joke Johnson. That dude couldn't make a single regular release that can compete with any of his limited releases. He just doesn't care about quality control with his regular releases, or frankly even with his limited releases. He writes checks his hummer bird ass can't cash. Like the total Fubar with the Monster Series Dracs, and the Little Monster shit storm. Not to mention he releases a single run cigar, every dodo runs out and spend excessive amounts of money and time getting them, and 3 months later, he release another batch or two.

I give most of my money to Illusione and Padron, two of the very few companies who have amazing regular releases, and spectacular limited releases (pricing aside) and they don't forget about the importance of quality with their regular lines while making their custom one time releases. (Oh yeah, and when they say they will release 2,500 boxes at a specified date, the cigars are in the shops ready to be sold on that day. And when they are all sold, that's it, none of that 2nd and 3rd surprise release crap!) I can buy any Padron from the 2000 series to the 85ths and know I'll be smoking something delicious that tastes and smokes like what I've be accustomed to. Same thing with Illusione, I feel they have better or more complex blends, with a wider variety of flavor profiles, but you can smoke any Illusione from the ~68~ to the Singulare and know what you're paying for and know what to expect.

Just my $0.02

[Gee-Man]

Ned, WK I agree with both of you. Viaje and I do not mix.
I tried, errr, forced myself to enjoy an Oro and Platino with negative results. Tats,I've given up on. JMHO

I consider myself a Padron Slut, Illusione whore, Fuente junkie and a Davidoff bitch.Thats where my funds go.  :clap: Once again, JMHO.

[tksamtec]

I guess I would feel differently about them if the current releases for Viaje were as good as their OR's, but they aren't...

I have not bought a box of Viaje since the Atlantic 15th Anni Lanceros came out, and the main reason I bought them was because I love that size... however, I thought the Exclusivo blend went downhill, and doesn't age as well as other Nics.

So, in my experience:

Last years S&B lines were terrible compared to the OR releases...
The latest Exclusivos don't age well, and are not as good as the original releases...
The 2 Friends and Family sticks I managed to get, at $18.50 a stick (WHAT ?!?) were poorly constructed (extremely underfilled but box pressed), and similar to the S&B blend--truly disappointing.

Lately, alot of their stuff tastes all the same to me... at this point, I am done with them and have officially outgrown their profiles and I doubt that I will ever chase them again.  At their prices, give me an LP #9 blend or an Illusione, which are consistently great smokes and are always well rolled.

[wkoti]

The rest of my stock is rounded out with Fuente (Mostly Opus X), Liga Privada (MMmmm Piggies), Dunhill Signed Range (THESE STICKS ROCK).

Few companies make cigars good enough to stock pile (Most of us know who they are), several companies are decent enough to have a few, most companies I wouldn't be paid to smoke.

Smoke what you like, like what you smoke. Some like CAOs, some have taste buds and smoke the good stuff. I've in person seen someone with a 30 cubic foot, filled to the brim with what I consider dog rockets. $5000 humidor, $1000s worth of shit filled it up. :tears:

[randomhero1090]

I'd buy Viaje if it was still good.  It's just not.  Check some of the HW reviews.  Scores consistently lower than some of the early releases. 

And the pricepoint.  Sorry, just not spending that kind of money for an average cigar.

Dunhill Signed Range....always wanted to try.  Such a classy looking stick.

[tksamtec]

[quote author=randomhero1090 link=topic=12450.msg74861#msg74861 date=1344266583]
I'd buy Viaje if it was still good.  It's just not.  Check some of the HW reviews.  Scores consistently lower than some of the early releases. 

And the pricepoint.  Sorry, just not spending that kind of money for an average cigar.

Dunhill Signed Range....always wanted to try.  Such a classy looking stick.
[/quote]

I honestly think the HW guys are being very kind on some the more recent Viaje reviews too... :o

[randomhero1090]

[quote author=tksamtec link=topic=12450.msg74863#msg74863 date=1344267257]
I honestly think the HW guys are being very kind on some the more recent Viaje reviews too... :o
[/quote]

I'd agree.

[wkoti]

[quote author=randomhero1090 link=topic=12450.msg74861#msg74861 date=1344266583]
I'd buy Viaje if it was still good.  It's just not.  Check some of the HW reviews.  Scores consistently lower than some of the early releases. 

And the pricepoint.  Sorry, just not spending that kind of money for an average cigar.

Dunhill Signed Range....always wanted to try.  Such a classy looking stick.
[/quote]

They are getting harder to find, I've smoked through almost every one of them. If you can find them, try to snag some Robustos (Petite Robusto)

Best cigar size period, and it's the perfect balance of flavors. I've had all the vitolas, and if I had the choice, I stock pile every single on I could find!

[tksamtec]

Oh boy !!!  Viaje is releasing a "Collector series" Oro blend cigar that comes in a fancy gold embossed box soon.  So much for the Oro line being discontinued... now its whatever tobacco he could scrape together to make the Oro blend, released in limited edition, so he can set the price tag at $12+ a stick.  Pass...