Cigar Review: Viaje TNT 2012
18 Jul 2012
Viaje, the undisputed king of releasing tons of different cigars in difficult-to-find quantities, released four different cigars recently. I’ve already given my opinion of the Summerfest and Roman Candle, and the remaining releases are the C4 and the TNT.
Today I take a look at the TNT, a toro (6.25 x 54) with a fuse-like pigtail cap that comes in large boxes of 75 that look like a crate of dynamite. Last year only 50 crates of 75 were produced (3,750 total cigars) but Viaje tells me this year they expanded that to 125 crates of 75 cigars each (9,375 total). If you can find one, will cost you just over $10 per cigar.
The TNT is notable for it’s long, fuse-like pigtail cap and closed foot. The wrapper (Nicaraguan corojo ’99) features a bit of tooth and not many oils. It surrounds Nicaraguan binder and filler, and is made at the Raices Cubanas factory in Honduras.
Once the closed foot burned off (I even pulled it off to avoid the flaky ash it produced for the first few draws), I found a medium- to full-bodied smoke. It featured a unique, crunchy, toasty flavor that (after some serious cigar memory searching) reminds me of the Tesa Gran Cru.
Also apparent are earth, spice, and bittersweet chocolate. It only changes a bit from start to finish, but it’s interesting and well-balanced, with a long, clean finish.
I smoked four TNTs for this review, and I wish I had picked up a few more. It’s not the spicy, powerful bomb the name implies, but I enjoyed every minute of the 90-minute smoke, which has good construction that produces abundant, voluminous smoke.
This may be my favorite Viaje cigar, and it’s certainly my favorite of the many explosive-themed Viajes (TNT, MoAB, C4, Firecracker, WMD, etc…). Well-constructed and flavorful with balance and a unique edge, it earns four and a half stogies out of five.
[To read more StogieGuys.com cigar reviews, please click here.]
photo credit: Stogie Guys