Viaje Holiday Blend 2010
- Thread starter Farani
- Start date
I love Viajes, but this really sucks.
This is summerfest al over again...new sizes, more additions to the line. Financially this is great for Viaje, but it makes it difficult for customers who now need to shell out more cash. Why not keep it just one size...Even produce another robusto with similar blend, maybe different wrapper to keep it fresh.
Kinda sucks, IMHO.
This is summerfest al over again...new sizes, more additions to the line. Financially this is great for Viaje, but it makes it difficult for customers who now need to shell out more cash. Why not keep it just one size...Even produce another robusto with similar blend, maybe different wrapper to keep it fresh.
Kinda sucks, IMHO.
Clint, you don't need to shell out more cash. You can just avoid buying them altogether!
I am in the same boat as you, that a different blend should have been used to keep the release fresh. I felt the same way about the reissue of the S&B.
At least PJ changes it up with his releases. Knows what profiles work, and how to tweak them to differentiate the release from ones past.
BrooksW
BoM June '09
There was no way that the new S&B was the same blend as the OR...At least not to my tastes...
~brooks
I agree with that statement. I assumed it was the same blend. Much more of a mellow stick. I was ready to be put on my rear when I fired it up.
I also have never experienced such a change in profile with a simple change in size so in my mind I've ruled out the blend, but there is no information available on the issue.
last years holiday blend was close to putting me on my rear heh. I hope to try the petite robusto.
Dan
Since my background is marketing, I do get that the LE's are a great, easy way to attract attention and generate sales...I get it.
But when your LE's outnumber your regular production by such a wide margin, it can sometimes alienate your customers....Especially when many of us are hurting for cash in a bad economy; let alone the Holiday expenses.
Pete has many reg production sticks that are very good. Andre's regular production is widely regarded as marginal.
IMHO, spend more time improving your regular production, and you will have a regular cash flow from a loyal following.
And again....I very much enjoy Viaje...Not trying to slam Andre.
Thomas M
Boutique Addict
I am also quite fond of Viaje. I think you may be missing something Clint. Viaje IS a small batch company that happens to have a couple "regular lines", not the other way around. Of course the small releases are going to outnumber regular production. Small batch is their thing. They are not about regular production. You are wanting something the company doesnt offer. As far as their regular lines are concerned, I think they are over shadowed by all the talk about their other releases. If you havent tried the regular stuff lately do yourself a favor. Just my thoughts. Cheers
Having been a fan of Viaje myself, I see Andre's game plan a tad more optimistically. I see him treating his LE line, a lot of which I enjoy, as a pseudo "regular" release...in that they're going to be done annually. That's a novel approach IMO, and I kinda dig it. Perhaps that's b/c this is one release I don't feel I need to run out and buy (Holiday Blend 2010)....for the simple fact I still have some of last years, and any time I have a reason to NOT buy more cigars, I certainly don't find that as a bad thing I suppose..LOL.
BUT........you better make them as good as the years past, otherwise you run the risk of losing those who've been fans of the OR release. Pete tried it w/ the Black & Verocu blends and it didn't work out then IMO either....so assume it may be difficult to replicate what was once a highly regarded blend w/ a different crop of tobacco. Like some feel about the Skull & Bones 1 & 2 for instance.
I appreciate your thoughts...
I do get that Viaje is a small batch, carried by a handful of retailers. So they DO have a regular production line. I have tried every stick in these lines at least three times over...Not NEARLY as good as the LE's.
So I am not wanting something the company doesn't offer...I am wanting them to put as much emphasis and therefore quality into the lesser priced, reg production as they do the LE's. This way I can buy as many boxes as I want of something good in the reg line, not worrying that it's just a limited run, never to be found again.
My point is that between the LE and the reg production, there is no balance in quality in any given year. .....Pete has it down, and with the quality I have seen, I am confident that Viaje could do it as well.
So true....thanks for reminding me further of my disease...:sadstare::help::sadstare:
njstone
BoM January 2010
Couldn't agree more, Clint. Though I'd have said it more harshly myself. In fact I will: I think Viaje is in danger of becoming the biggest posers in the boutique cigar industry.
They need to have more than 3 regular lines to compete with the 10 LEs, and the LEs need to be consistant (at least the same freakin' blend) from year to year if he's going to call them "annuals." There is no reason, for example, that the two 50/50s can't be regular releases (though that may have something to do with the fact that the 50/50 Black is my favorite Viaje so far).
Spoken like a true lover-scorned Nate....LOL!
I don't think the 50/50's are considered LE's, in the annual release sense...the Reds maybe, but didn't think that was the case w/ the Black...but I'm not certain of that. Are both 50/50s not available/HTF??
Another note.....I find it funny when thinking back to the "Most Disappointing Cigars" thread, that there's at least as many, if not more, Tats listed there...yet Viajes being thrown out all of the sudden as having "quality concerns". They've done one re-release folks...the Skull & Bones....ONE! That's it. Perhaps b/c it's on the heals of Satori cigar that was underwhelming, but man....at least give em' ample time to fukk up a couple more before you start heading down that path. Pete's certainly had his share of LE eff ups, but everyone gives him the benefit of the doubt (and rightfully so) b/c he's made some absolutely amazing sticks.
Anyway....I'll be curious to read how the 2010 HB's turn out.
njstone
BoM January 2010
Thanks Kyle
Actually, though, Viaje has released the Exclusivo 3 times: Jar robustos, the DES, and the other robusto (I think those last two were at the same time, though). Though opinions vary, many felt that the two subsequent versions didn't measure up to the first (I've not had a DES so I can't comment). Although yes, Tatuaje had a bad year last year with the Drac and Tubos, and some didn't "get" the La Verite 2008, Tatuaje still has a MUCH more proven track record in the cigar world. Part of that reputation comes from the fact that their regular lines are stellar.
Also, the way Pete does LEs is vary different to me than how Viaje does it. Pete's reasons are two-fold--he wants to help out local shops and he loves to experiment with his blends. His LEs allow him to help out the B&M industry while bankrolling his hobby (addiction/compulsion?) of re-blending. Pete's LEs are not cash-cows ... between the costs of the Pepin factory and the fact that the runs are so small, there just isn't that much profit. IMVHO, Pete doesn't make a big deal out of his small batch stuff. He says things like "it's just for fun" and "they give people a chance to try blends that I like but know will never see a full production."
Viaje, on the other hand, clearly took the LE concept and made it into a complete business model. Though they are seeing some short-term success, I think the fad will wear off and in the end it will not be a successful model unless he can continually put out good and consistent product.
On a personal note, I've had a bug in my britches about Viaje ever since their first LE, I'll admit it. I heard "The private personal blend of (the founder), released for the first time to the public, in cool collector's jars" and thought Pete should file a lawsuit, lol. You can't be more of a copycat that that.
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Totally spaced the Exclusivo Nate...my bad. Never got a jar of the OR, or bought the New robusto, but did get some DES, so I shouldve remembered. The DES was damn good IMO, excellent even, but of the few jar releases I smoked, those are even better. They were tremendous cigars though, so the DES didn't exactly take a step down (or much of one), at least for me.
As for the Fad wearing off...who knows? I even feel it personally. I feel like I just want to smoke the shit I got, and leave the rest alone. As raspol reminded me above however, easier said than done..LOL!
As for the Fad wearing off...who knows? I even feel it personally. I feel like I just want to smoke the shit I got, and leave the rest alone. As raspol reminded me above however, easier said than done..LOL!
Tobacco is an agricultural product and is affected by the weather and other environmental factors. The only way to produce a consistent product is to stockpile crops from different harvests and blend for consistency. Think of large scale operations like Fuente that have a lot of resources to do exactly that.
If you make a limited edition cigar (like Tatuaje Verite or a Viaje S&B) with a small, finite amount of tobacco, it is basically a snapshot of the harvest.
I like the fact that LE cigars are an expression of a particular crop or blend. I see this all the time in the wine world. There is always vintage variation in the best wines of the world. Always. And the blends are often different from year to year to highlight or compensate for strengths or shortcomings of a vintage.
I sort of look at cigars like wines - some will get better with age, some taste good now and will taste good (but different) later on, and some are best consumed right away. Buy the producer, not the vintage (there is a better chance that you'll like it). And remember, the product will never be perfect 100% of the time due to factors often out of the producer's control (shipping, storage conditions, retailer handling, etc.)
If you make a limited edition cigar (like Tatuaje Verite or a Viaje S&B) with a small, finite amount of tobacco, it is basically a snapshot of the harvest.
I like the fact that LE cigars are an expression of a particular crop or blend. I see this all the time in the wine world. There is always vintage variation in the best wines of the world. Always. And the blends are often different from year to year to highlight or compensate for strengths or shortcomings of a vintage.
I sort of look at cigars like wines - some will get better with age, some taste good now and will taste good (but different) later on, and some are best consumed right away. Buy the producer, not the vintage (there is a better chance that you'll like it). And remember, the product will never be perfect 100% of the time due to factors often out of the producer's control (shipping, storage conditions, retailer handling, etc.)
njstone
BoM January 2010
But it is my understanding that most of the Viaje LEs are NOT limited because of tobacco issues, but simply by marketing choice. Most of the LEs these days are thus. There are exceptions--La Verite, LP#9 Flying Pig, probably Opus & Anejo, and perhaps the S&B as well, I don't know. But the productions of sticks like the T110 and 50/50 Black and Exclusivo could be significantly higher should the manufacturers so choose ... Tobac. Trop. and Oliva have a ton of leaf.
And although crop-to-crop things will differ, most good cigar makers seem to be able to make their lines pretty consistent year after year. Though of course you'll always have some variation and errors with hand-made products.
And although crop-to-crop things will differ, most good cigar makers seem to be able to make their lines pretty consistent year after year. Though of course you'll always have some variation and errors with hand-made products.