Medium to full-bodied cigars are the subject of today’s two reviews. Keep reading to find out if the Viaje C-4 and the Drew Estate Undercrown are good enough to make it onto your wish list.

Viaje C-4

When you think of C-4, the words explosive and power come to mind. Slap the moniker on a cigar, and you know that it wasn't exactly produced to cater to novice smokers. The Viaje C-4 is a stogie that packs a punch. It was released during the summer of 2011, but on a very limited basis. In fact, production was supposedly capped at 3,750 cigars total. I feel lucky enough to have gotten my hand on a C-4, and I loaded up my stomach with a nice sized dinner to handle the cigar’s power. Well, enough with the small talk, as it’s time to see what this baby is all about.

The Viaje C-4 comes in a Gordo format that measures 5 x 56. It’s also the only size that Viaje produced for the line. The cigar is a Nicaraguan puro. In other words, the filler, binder, and wrapper all consist of Nicaraguan tobacco. It’s worth mentioning that the wrapper is of the Nicaraguan Corojo ’99 variety. As I touched on before, the C-4 is a strong stick, but it’s not necessarily considered to be a pure powerhouse, as it is listed as medium to full-bodied.

Viaje presents the C-4 with a single decorative band. The band is as simple as can be. It’s white and black in color and has C-4 stamped in a large font. The cigar’s wrapper is very oily and has a nice dark chocolate color. Only a few minor veins are visible. The cigar feels firm to the touch and appears to have good construction overall. The box-pressed shape seems to have been executed perfectly and gives the cigar an appearance reminiscent of a block of C-4. How appropriate! The pre-light aroma is of chocolate, and the cold taste is the same.

After lighting, the Viaje C-4 exhibits decent burn qualities. The draw is good and there’s plenty of thick smoke. The dark gray ash is solid. Some touch-ups are needed to help the cigar get an even burn, but that’s about it. Overall smoking time exceeds one hour.