Back during the earlier days of Viaje nearly a decade ago, the company was gaining a reputation for its seasonal themed releases. Some of the more popular themes included: Holiday Blend (Christmas), TNT (Fourth of July), and Candela (St. Patrick’s Day). While interviewing Viaje Cigar founder Andre Farkas for their IPCPR media coverage, the crew at Stogie Review remarked to Farkas that he didn’t have a release for Thanksgiving. That set the wheels in motion for a project released under VIaje’s White Label Project (WLP) line known as the Viaje Stuffed Turkey. The following year, the cigar was rebranded the Viaje Stuffed Turkey White Meat and a Maduro counterpart known as Viaje Stuffed Turkey Dark Meat was added. Since then, with a couple of exceptions, the Viaje Stuffed Turkey line has been an annual tradition from Viaje. In 2017, Stuffed Turkey took a different twist when it was released in box-pressed offerings known as the Viaje Stuffed Turkey White Meat Edición Limitada and Viaje Stuffed Turkey Dark Meat Edicíon Limitada. Today we take a closer look at the White Meat offering from that line.

From 2011 to 2013, the Viaje Stuffed Turkey releases were put under the company’s White Label Project (WLP) offering. WLP is a mechanism that Viaje uses for experimental blends, mashups, and cigars made in error. Typically the WLP cigars are packaged in bundles with plain white and black banding. That would change in 2014 when Stuffed Turkey would “graduate” into its own line – complete with his own packaging.

It is also worth noting that Viaje has expanded its Thanksgiving offerings – including the release of Thanksgiiving Leftovers (White Meat and Dark Meat), Farmer Bill Hatchet, Zombie Farmer Bill Hatchet, and this year’s Farmhand Andre.

For now, we turn our attention back to the Viaje Stuffed Turkey White Meat Edición Limitada 2017. While all Viaje releases are small batch, the Edicíon Limitada ones are the releases designated as more limited ones. Without further ado,  let’s break down the Viaje Stuffed Turkey White Meat Edicíon Limitada 2017 and see what this cigar brings to the table.

SPECIFICATIONS

Blend and Origin

We do know that the Viaje Stuffed Turkey White Meat Edicíon Limitada 2017 is a Nicaraguan puro. It features tobaccos from the Aganorsa farms. The cigar is highlighted by a Criollo wrapper. Specific country of origin and factory has not officially been disclosed. Viaje has been known to make Aganorsa blends in both Nicaragua and Honduras.

Wrapper: Criollo Aganorsa
Binder: Nicaragua Aganorsa
Filler: Nicaragua Aganorsa
Country of Origin: Not Disclosed
Factory: Not Disclosed

Vitolas Offered

The Viaje Stuffed Turkey White Meat and Dark Meat Edicíon Limitada releases are offered in one size – a 5 x 58 box-pressed Gordo. This is the first year the Stuffed Turkey releases have been box-pressed. The 5 x 58 size is consistent with all of the Stuffed Turkey releases since 2014.

Both the Stuffed Turkey White Meat and Dark Meat Edicíon Limitada releases are presented in 25-count boxes.

Appearance

The Criollo wrapper of the Viaje Stuffed Turkey White Meat Edicíon Limitada 2017 had a caramel color to it. There was a light sheen of oil on the surface. There were some visible wrapper seams, but there wasn’t much in the way of visible veins. The box-press of the cigar itself was in a Cuban trunk-press style.

There are two bands on the Viaje Stuffed Turkey. The primary features an image of a plump turkey. The turkey sits on an orange background covering the upper 3/4 of the band. To the left and right of the turkey are gold images of forks and knives. A gold stripe separates the upper 3/4 from the lower 1/4 of the band. The lower part of the band has a black background with images of cooked turkeys on the left and right side. The center of the lower 1/4 band has a maroon nameplate-like design sitting on the black background. On that “nameplate” is the text “VIAJE” and “STUFFED TURKEY” in white font.

The secondary band is located just below the primary band. This band features the text “Edicíon Limitada” in red color on a silver background. There are two thin red pinstripes above and below the text. There are thicker red pinstripes across the top and bottom of the band.

PERFORMANCE

Pre-Light Draw

As usual, a straight cut was used to remove the cap of the Viaje Stuffed Turkey White Meat Edicíon Limitada 2017. After the cap was removed, it was on to the pre-light draw phase. The dry draw delivered a mix of earth, lemon-citrus and a slight amount of assorted spices. Overall there was enough to this pre-light draw to be satisfying. At this point, it was time to light up the Viaje Stuffed Turkey White Meat Edicíon Limitada 2017 and move on to the smoking phase.

Tasting Notes

The Viaje Stuffed Turkey White Meat Edicíon Limitada 2017 started out with a mix of natural tobacco, lemon-citrus, white pepper, and earth notes. Early on the natural tobacco and lemon notes moved into the forefront. There was an inherent bitterness that was present with the natural tobacco while the lemon notes had sweetness. Both the natural tobacco and lemon notes alternated in intensity during the first half. While at times the lemon sweetness offset some of the bitterness, it didn’t seem to be enough. Meanwhile, the earth and white pepper settled in the background with an additional layer of white pepper on the retro-hale.

The natural tobacco and lemon continued to alternate in intensity as the White Meat Edicíon Limitada 2017 moved into the second half. The background flavors didn’t change up much – although there was a slight increase in the earth notes, and there also was a slight increase in the pepper notes.

The last third saw the natural tobacco gain an edge over the lemon notes which pretty much became a secondary note.  The bitterness associated with the natural tobacco flavor remained, Meanwhile, the pepper notes were also a close secondary note as well. This is the way the Viaje Stuffed Turkey White Meat Edicíon Limitada 2017 came to a close. The resulting nub was soft to the touch and cool in temperature.

Burn

The burn to the Viaje Stuffed Turkey White Meat Edicíon Limitada 2017 had a slight curvature to it, but for the most part, maintained a straight burn path. The resulting ash wasn’t overly firm and it was prone to some minor flaking. As for the burn rate and burn temperature both were ideal.

Draw

As for the draw of the Viaje Stuffed Turkey White Meat Edicíon Limitada 2017, it was on the open side. It didn’t prove to be a problem in terms of combustion, but it still was more open than I prefer. At the same time, this was a cigar very easy to derive flavor from.

Strength and Body

In terms of strength and body, the Viaje Stuffed Turkey White Meat Edicíon Limitada 2017 started out in the medium range. There was a slight increase in the intensity level around the midway point and by the second half the White Meat Edicíon Limitada 2017 had crossed into medium to full territory. In terms of strength versus body, both were relatively close to each other. There were times the strength had a slight edge and other times where the body had a slight edge.

OVERALL ASSESSMENT

Final Thoughts

When it has come to the White Meat version of the Viaje Stuffed Turkey releases, I have been underwhelmed. I had really hoped the box-pressed version of this blend would change that assessment – unfortunately this did not prove to be the case. While bitter notes aren’t necessarily a bad thing with a cigar, I found the bitterness at times of the Viaje Stuffed Turkey White Meat Edicíon Limitada 2017 to be more than I prefer. In fact, in some ways, I found this version to be lacking when compared to previous versions. The profile of the White Meat Edicíon Limitada 2017 is one that I would steer a more seasoned cigar enthusiast first, but in this case I’d try a sample first. Since these haven’t been released in two years, they are probably going to be hard to find – but it’s not a cigar I would advise hunting down either.

Summary

Key Flavors: Natural Tobacco, Lemon-Citrus, Earth, Pepper
Burn: Very Good
Draw: Very Good
Complexity: Medium Minus
Strength: Medium (1st Half), Medium to Full (2nd Half)
Body: Medium (1st Half), Medium to Full (2nd Half)
Finish: Very Good

Rating

Value: Try a Sample
Score: 85

References

News: Viaje Stuffed Turkey Edicion Limitada 2017 Coming This Month
Price: $10.00
Source: Purchased
Brand Reference: Viaje