Cigar Review: Propaganda by Viva Republica

• Vitola: Five and a Half Truth
• 5.5” x 54 ring gauge 
• Price $8.99
• Purchased at Burns Tobacconist

Background

This review has been a long time in coming. I picked up the cigar for review in late November, but ended up putting off the initially scheduled review for one reason (trust me, it was a good one at the time)…then it got rescheduled and rescheduled and rescheduled again until finally I had 4 cigars left in my “review humidor” and I decided it was waaaaay past time to get into this one. As a side benefit, it’s definitely had time to acclimate and rest from its travels from the Dominican Republic to Miami to Chattanooga to my house.

In the category of “it’s not really stealing if you give credit where it’s due” I took the “background information” for this cigar from Will Cooper’s news story last summer. Viva Republica was founded by Jason Holly in 2012. He has partnered with Guillermo Leon and La Aurora to produce his cigars and he is now doing some work for them as well. Miami Cigar and Company distributes the cigars in the U.S. The Propaganda blend is made up of fillers from the Dominican Republic, Nicaragua, and Pennsylvania; an Ecuadorian Sumatra binder; and a Brazilian “Magico Cubano” wrapper. There are 3 sizes available and this is my first time smoking this blend.

Prelight

I’m still not sure what to make of the packaging and artistic direction of the Viva Republica brands. They are slathered with imagery of revolution and oppression, like raised fists and Guy Fawkes masks, but then they get tongue-in-cheek with stuff like the “Liga Nations” proclamation listing all the countries who contributed tobacco to this blend right on the band. Whatever the intentions of the artwork, it is interesting and provocative. The wrapper leaf on this cigar was a dark chocolate brown with a good reddish hue to it. It had a little bit of darker mottling on it and a leathery, oily feel to it. Holding it to my nose, I got notes of ripe earth as well as a touch of cedar and some hay. The foot was less distinct, but had a earthy aspect with a hint of coffee.

Once I clipped the head, I tested the draw. It allowed a free flow of air and tasted of hay with touches of cocoa powder, coffee and pepper spice mixed in.

Flavor

The multi-national blend of tobaccos did indeed render up a very complex beginning to this cigar. I got a hint of Dominican hay and bread, a touch of metallic twang from the Sumatra, some sweetness from the Pennsylvania and Brazilian leaves, and some coffee and loads of pepper spice from the Nicaraguan. I found it to be medium-to-full in body right from the start and it had plenty of red pepper on the nose, too. Midway through the first third, I realized, “Hey, I’m really enjoying this cigar!” Although it was on the full side of medium-to-full by this time, it wasn’t harsh or overly strong. I really enjoyed the balance of the flavors as well, which is something I found lacking in a couple of really full, really strong cigars that I recently smoked (and who shall remain nameless!).

In the second third, I got a smoother chocolatey note, more coffee, and hints of cedar. The pepper spice and hay notes receded a bit.

As I got into the last third I picked up a creamy aspect that hadn’t gotten before, which went quite well with the semi-sweet chocolate and coffee notes that were still in there. The body continued on that medium-to-full track.

Construction

Aside from a few touch ups to the burn line there were no issues of note on construction.

Value

Although this is billed as a “boutique” brand, it’s made alongside the vast production at La Aurora, which helps to keep the price down. The result is a moderately-priced cigar with a very good smoking experience, so it is excellent value.

Conclusions

I found the Propaganda to be the best of the Viva Republic so far. It delivered on being complex and pleasing from beginning to end, never letting me down in terms of flavor. It may be a bit too much for newer smokers, but experienced leaf enthusiasts will likely enjoy this blend and appreciate all that the different countries of origin bring to the party.

By-The-Numbers

Prelight: 2/2
Construction: 2/2
Flavor: 4.5/5
Value: 1/1
Total: 9.5/10