Price: $16

Size: 7×48 Box Press

Wrapper: Unknown

Filler: Unknown

Binder: Uknown

Smoking Time: 90 minutes

Initial Impression: The Friends and Family is a really beautiful cigar. Viaje has a lot of attractive releases and very neat packaging so this should be no surprise. I was browsing a nearby B&M that has a lot of Viaje releases. Initially I was looking for the Dark Meat and then I saw the Christmas Release with its neat packaging. Then I got to the F&F and I fell in love with the rich milk chocolate brown toothy wrapper. It is slightly mottled in color throughout and the wrapper is firm and oily but has a very nice amount of give. The presentation was beautiful and the white background with silver lettering really made it stand out. I immediately forgot about the previous sticks I was looking at and purchased 3 of these to review.

First Third: The cold draw was quite loose and I was thinking to myself that I was going to be disappointed. Not the case. After lighting up I can safely say that the draw was perfectly matched by the thickness of the smoke. The smoke was a light white smoke and it was actually enhanced by the loose draw. I usually like a thick smoke too but the F&F’s smoke was just perfect. I was hit with a nice spice at the front along with a great woody profile and a little sweetness. Chocolate notes with a pepper finish came after a half inch. The ash was a little flaky and came off at about the inch mark.

Second Third: The cigar was good to begin with but this is where it really hit its stride. First of all I tasted a flavor I never have in a cigar before, two in fact: fruit cake and pomegranate. Call me crazy but there was a nice fruity flavor at the beginning of the midsection and it was about 4 puffs in that it came to me that it was pomegranate. Just slight bitterness but with the accompanying sweet of the fruit of the underworld. Several puffs later and it combined with a light bready sweetness and all I could think of was fruitcake. It was awesome. This “sweet spot” if you’ll excuse the pun lasted for quite some time given the 7″ size of the vitola and was greatly enjoyable and complex while still remaining light and airy in the smoke. Despite the lighter nature of the smoke it is definitely medium to slightly full and I began to feel it around the end of this third.

Final Third: The fruit profile faded to the background and now a sweet caramel starts on the front, goes to a more complex wood profile, and finishes with a light macadamia nut. One of the most astounding things to me in this third is that the cigar hasn’t gotten hot once despite how thoroughly I’ve been puffing away. In my bliss of other cigars I’ve sometimes been over-zealous and gotten a nasty burnt flavor or a tar build-up. I know that I’ve been smoking this cigar too fast and it was keeping pace and stayed great. I nubbed this stick and I almost never do that. Never once did I have to relight or touch up the F&F. That is impressive because a lot of high-quality sticks still need some baby-sitting. It is doubly impressive because even reliable cigars get owned by the Colorado triple threat: cold, dryness, and wind.

Conclusion: The Viaje Friends and Family catapulted in to my top 5 cigars today and I understand thoroughly why this was a limited release of an already limited release company. The draw was perfect for the flavors and smoke despite my usual preference for something tighter and thicker, and the flavors were delightfully complex and never got boring. Even the smoke had an enjoyable aroma. I felt like I actually smelled good afterward! If you get a chance to get this smoke, get a bunch. They won’t let you down and I’m headed back to the B&M for more. Finally for those of you who don’t know I grade by a plus or minus .25 scale. The fact that I am giving this cigar the score below means that it is as close to a perfect score as I am willing to give.

I give this cigar a 4.9 out of 5

P.S. Pairing – This one is actually hard and one of the reasons I didn’t give this cigar a perfect score honestly. Bourbon is out because it is too sweet. Scotch is out as the peat would not compliment well. Vodka would not enhance any of the flavors, and Whiskey might pair well except the fruit tones wouldn’t match in the midsection and would likely be lost all together as the smoke was so light. Even a lighter floral beer like a Saison wouldn’t match up to this unique cigar. Given the subtlety of the flavors, the fruit tones, and the lightness of the smoke, I’m going to say that a semi-sweet white wine would actually pair best oddly. I had a small glass of Cupcake with my second one and it was great. Although I didn’t have one on hand I’d say that a lighter side Amber Ale would also probably be nice.