Viaje Satori 2014 Arya

For the fifth consecutive year, Viaje Cigars has made its release of the Viaje Satori. The cigar has typically been made available to those retailers that attend the annual IPCPR Trade Show. Viaje is a company that focuses on small batch releases, but also is known to throw in the element of surprise. This year with the Viaje Satori 2014 edition, the surprise was announced just before the trade show as a new vitola was added into the line. The Viaje Satori 2014 Arya introduces a fourth vitola into this annual release. The Arya is a near-Rothschild vitola measuring 4 1/2 x 48. Recently I’ve had an opportunity to smoke the Viaje Satori 2014 Arya. For the most part I have been satisfied with the Satori releases. With the Arya, I found this to be a fine addition into the Viaje portfolio.

As mentioned, Viaje’s model has been built on small batch releases.  Each year the Satori has been brought to IPCPR, it is a “one and done” release.  Since its inception, the Satori has typically been one of the more sought after annual releases by Viaje.

According to Viaje Arya is a term frequently used in Buddhism that translates to “noble”, “not ordinary”, “valuable”, “precious”, or “pure”.

Without further ado, let’s explore the Viaje Satori 2014 Arya and see what this cigar brings to the table.

Blend Profile

The first Satori was released in 2010 with an Oscuro wrapper.  After hearing complaints that the wrapper is too thin and having to fend off questions if the dark Oscuro wrapper was dyed (Viaje President Andre Farkas has said repeatedly this was not the case), the wrapper was changed to a San Andres Maduro in 2011 – and has remained with that wrapper ever since.

Wrapper: San Andreas Maduro
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan

Vitolas Available

As mentioned the Arya is 4 1/2 x 48 Rothschild size cigar.  For completeness we list of all size of the Viaje Satori line.

The Satori had been offered in three sizes since it had been introduced.  These sizes include the Karma (Rounded Robusto), Nirvana (Rounded Toro), and Zen (Box-Pressed perfecto).  This is the first time a new frontmark has been introduced since the Viaje Satori 2012 reversed the rounded vitolas with the box-press vitolas for that year’s release.

The Arya becomes the shortest and thinest vitola released in the Satori line to date.

Arya: 4 1/2 x 48
Karma: 5 x 52
Nirvana: 6 x 50 
Zen (Double Ended Box Press Perfecto): 6 3/4 x 52

Appearance

The San Andres Maduro wrapper of the Viaje Satori 2014 Arya had a rich dark espresso color with a slight touch of colorado red.  I’m not sure if the smaller size had anything to do with the darker appearance, but I did like the rich color.  The wrapper itself had an oily complexion.  There were some visible veins and visible wrapper seams.

The band of the Viaje Satori 2014 Arya is the same on that has been on the cigar since it made its debut in 2010.  It features a gold Buddha surrounded by a white and red sunburst.  To the left and right of the Buddha is a red and gold floral pattern going around the band.  Below the Buddha there is a thick aqua stripe with the text “SATORI” in white.  To the far right are some Japanese letters in white sitting on the aqua stripe.  The band has gold trim along the top and bottom.

Preparation for the Cigar Experience

Prior to lighting my Viaje Satori 2014 Arya, I went with a straight cut.  After clipping the cap, I moved on to the pre-light draw.  The dry draw was vintage Satori as it provided notes of coffee, earth, and some light pepper spice.  Overall, I considered the pre-light draw to be satisfactory on the Arya.  At this point, I was ready to light up this cigar and see what the overall smoking experience would bring to the table.

Flavor Profile

The Viaje Satori 2014 Arya started with some notes of roasted coffee.  There was a pepper spice that seemed closer to a white pepper.  I also picked up some citrus notes in the background.  I did detect pepper on the retro-hale, and it had a slight floral component to it.

As the Arya moved through the first third, some earth notes joined the coffee notes in the forefront. Both the coffee and earth notes alternated during the first third. The pepper notes remained close behind. The citrus notes now transformed to the blackberry note I have often detected on Satori cigars. However the blackberry flavor was more distant. This continued through the second third.

The coffee and earth combination continued in the forefront with the pepper flavors now joining those notes.  The blackberry flavor also increased, lending a little more sweetness, however this still wasn’t an overpowering sweetness.  This is the way the Viaje Satori 2014 Arya came to a close.  The resulting nub was cool in temperature and slightly firm to the touch.

Burn and Draw

Overall the burn delivered nicely for the Viaje Satori 2014 Arya.  There was a slight jaggedness to the burn line, but the burn never got off track and was not in danger of tunneling nor canoeing.  The resulting ash was a dark gray – typical of many Viaje cigars.  The ash remained firm and was not prone to flowering nor flaking.  The ash itself came off in nice firm chunks.  The burn rate and burn temperature were ideal.

Burn of the Viaje Satori 2014 Arya

The draw performed well.  There was a slight resistance and those who read my assessments know I consider that a positive.  I found the Arya a very nice cigar to puff on and derive flavors.

Strength and Body

In terms of both strength and body, I found the Viaje Satori 2014 Arya to be in the same wheelhouse as most of the Satori releases.  The Arya starts out with both medium to full strength and medium to full body.  I did find the last third the Arya picked up for both attributes – and this increase was enough to push this into full strength, full-bodied territory.  While the strength won’t knock you down, it’s still noticeable.

Final Thoughts

I found one big difference with Viaje Satori Arya as opposed to many of the other Satori releases.  This was a cigar that exhibited more of a “gritty profile” – namely, this cigar emphasized more of the coffee and earth notes and less in the way of sweetness.  A lot of this stems from the San Andres wrapper.  I do think with this cigar the wrapper was playing a more prominent role with this cigar than many other cigars made by Viaje.  The Arya isn’t the highest scoring Satori, but it still was a nice addition into the line.  This is probably a cigar I would steer more toward an experienced cigar enthusiast.  As for myself, this is still a cigar I’d pick up a five pack of.

Summary

Burn: Excellent
Draw: Excellent
Complexity: Medium
Strength: Medium to Full (Full last third)
Body: Medium to Full (Full last third)
Finish: Good
Assessment: 3.0 – The Fiver
Score: 89


References


News: Viaje Satori 2014 Launching; Introduces Arya Line Extension (Cigar Preview)
Price: $8.80
Source: Cigars Provided by Manufacturer, Additional purchased
Stogie Geeks Episode: Episode 111
Stogie Feed: Viaje Satori 2014 Arya