Viaje cigars

Devan, I'm curious about your question as well as other cigars that seem to be a hot commodity on this board. At my local shop, I'm the only person who has smoked a Viaje, let alone heard about it. Yet if you logged onto this website as a brand-new cigar smoker, you'd think it was one of the most highly sought after cigars on the market- but in Florence, Birmingham, Huntsville, and Nashville, I have rarely heard any BOTL at B&Ms mention it at all.

There are several other cigars that it seems everyone will jump on the bandwagon with here and it makes me curious as to why. Perhaps it's due to the fact that because of the generosity of the friends we have on here, some have been bombed back and forth with this stick until everyone has tried it and generally enjoyed it. Perhaps this is a case where we may not want to admit it, but our palate for cigars can often be heavily influenced psychologically through the praise of BOTL/SOTLs we sometimes hold in high regard.

In any instance, I thoroughly enjoyed the two I smoked earlier this year and would like it if my local shop carried the line. However...like many other cigars, it's hard to add it to my lineup when I have my standard faves as well as so many other new blends I've yet to try that I have to make time for as well.

I say all that to say this: I don't have anything negative to say about the line, but I sometimes think brands can be fallen in love with or written off based on the consensus of the inmates and how many hundred times you see it appear in the WTB thread.

That's just my and i'm getting so sick of hearing how good Gurkhas are, too! If Tom doesn't stop with his love-affair with Kaisad, I'm gonna swear he's working for them!

[akumushi]

Originally Posted by auburnfan1980

Devan, I'm curious about your question as well as other cigars that seem to be a hot commodity on this board. At my local shop, I'm the only person who has smoked a Viaje, let alone heard about it. Yet if you logged onto this website as a brand-new cigar smoker, you'd think it was one of the most highly sought after cigars on the market- but in Florence, Birmingham, Huntsville, and Nashville, I have rarely heard any BOTL at B&Ms mention it at all.

There are several other cigars that it seems everyone will jump on the bandwagon with here and it makes me curious as to why. Perhaps it's due to the fact that because of the generosity of the friends we have on here, some have been bombed back and forth with this stick until everyone has tried it and generally enjoyed it. Perhaps this is a case where we may not want to admit it, but our palate for cigars can often be heavily influenced psychologically through the praise of BOTL/SOTLs we sometimes hold in high regard.

In any instance, I thoroughly enjoyed the two I smoked earlier this year and would like it if my local shop carried the line. However...like many other cigars, it's hard to add it to my lineup when I have my standard faves as well as so many other new blends I've yet to try that I have to make time for as well.

I say all that to say this: I don't have anything negative to say about the line, but I sometimes think brands can be fallen in love with or written off based on the consensus of the inmates and how many hundred times you see it appear in the WTB thread.

That's just my and i'm getting so sick of hearing how good Gurkhas are, too! If Tom doesn't stop with his love-affair with Kaisad, I'm gonna swear he's working for them!

If you log onto a specialty forum of any kind you're not going to find the average, run of the mill consumer, you're going to find the die-hard fans, enthusiasts and connaisseurs, who are going to have a very different take on what is good vs. the average Joe off the street. Perhaps there is a little bit of the hype going on here when something new and good comes out, but in the end if the product sucked I think there would be enough of us that would come out and say, I had it and it sucked. Take any type of product with a vast array of selections like cigars, wine or beer and there are going to be the mass produced popular items that take the lion's share of the market, and then there will be any number of small scale, boutique producers that are lauded and sought after by those in the know.

Originally Posted by akumushi

If you log onto a specialty forum of any kind you're not going to find the average, run of the mill consumer, you're going to find the die-hard fans, enthusiasts and connaisseurs, who are going to have a very different take on what is good vs. the average Joe off the street. Perhaps there is a little bit of the hype going on here when something new and good comes out, but in the end if the product sucked I think there would be enough of us that would come out and say, I had it and it sucked. Take any type of product with a vast array of selections like cigars, wine or beer and there are going to be the mass produced popular items that take the lion's share of the market, and then there will be any number of small scale, boutique producers that are lauded and sought after by those in the know.

I don't know, Clayton...I ain't no connoisseur, I'm just an average run of the mill consumer from Alabammer who think the finer things in life are buffets and a good bowel movement afterwards. We ain't got much appreciation fer things of this nature in general....I just like them ceegars!

[shilala]

Sofaman and I smoked an OR Viaje a good while back, or at least I was under the impression it was original release. We both agreed they sucked. The fervor surrounding Viaje is a mystery to me, but it's like a wise man once said; "Smoke what you like, like what you smoke."

[rizzle]

Originally Posted by auburnfan1980

I don't know, Clayton...I ain't no connoisseur, I'm just an average run of the mill Auburn fan from Alabammer who think the finer things in life are buffets and a good bowel movement afterwards. We ain't got much appreciation fer things of this nature in general....I just like them ceegars!

Fixed that for ya.

[shilala]

Originally Posted by auburnfan1980

Perhaps this is a case where we may not want to admit it, but our palate for cigars can often be heavily influenced psychologically through the praise of BOTL/SOTLs we sometimes hold in high regard...

That's just my and i'm getting so sick of hearing how good Gurkhas are, too! If Tom doesn't stop with his love-affair with Kaisad, I'm gonna swear he's working for them!

I think that first statement is absolutely true, to a point. It's a "first impression" phenomena. I know that personally, even packaging and/or a cigar band makes a big impression on me when I'm looking for something new. An esteemed BOTL's word is definitely going to put me in the right mind to try a new smoke, from a favorable, slightly swayed standpoint. If nothing else, I'll give a cigar a lot more time to develop before I chuck it, just out of respect for my brother's opinion.
Ultimately, a cigar has to stand on it's own two feet. That's why I left the
Gurkha comment in there. All the bling in the world isn't going to save Gurkha, but they have their niche. That niche might be fancy packaging on a lousy cigar sold to guys who haven't had the good fortune to be exposed to something they like better, but it works for Gurkha. Plus their cigars are damned near free on cbid. Plus Bobby likes them, so at least we know one guy smokes them.

[Chainsaw13]

Originally Posted by shilala

I think that first statement is absolutely true, to a point. It's a "first impression" phenomena. I know that personally, even packaging and/or a cigar band makes a big impression on me when I'm looking for something new. An esteemed BOTL's word is definitely going to put me in the right mind to try a new smoke, from a favorable, slightly swayed standpoint. If nothing else, I'll give a cigar a lot more time to develop before I chuck it, just out of respect for my brother's opinion.
Ultimately, a cigar has to stand on it's own two feet. That's why I left the
Gurkha comment in there. All the bling in the world isn't going to save Gurkha, but they have their niche. That niche might be fancy packaging on a lousy cigar sold to guys who haven't had the good fortune to be exposed to something they like better, but it works for Gurkha. Plus their cigars are damned near free on cbid. Plus Bobby likes them, so at least we know one guy smokes them.

Couldn't have said it better.