Viaje - Hamaki, box-pressed torpedo

 Viaje - Hamaki, box-pressed torpedo

The initial nose on this gave me apple sauce and strong fertilizer. From the scent and the soft box-press I'm guessing there's a fair amount of aging on this. My initial cut was too shallow to get a proper draw so I went in another 1/4 inch and it opened right up.

Early flavor in the first third exhibits leather, cedar, pepper which opens up to light ginger. This was a gift from a friend who has an adventurous palate who had been aging this stick since 2019. I met Nick on a virtual-herf and immediately thought of what Seth McFarlane might look like if he survived a camping trip in the woods. 

It's a real gift to share a cigar with someone and have it hit their palate perfectly. The wrapper on this is thin, possibly cameroon or claro and I'm concerned the cracking will effect the burn. My neighbor decided to stretch for his run and complain about crypto right next to me and the wind is starting to push out a little bitterness. Time to move camp for the next couple thirds.

Viaje - Hamaki

Okay, I've settled in near the palm tree and I'm noticing some heat piling up in the ash. I am considering cutting a little deeper into the core to enhance the airflow.

Boom, right where the wrapper had been cracking, the ash dropped, a huge amount of heat and vapor escaped, and the flavor picked up a giant note of WASABI! I'm letting the burn even out and the temperature settle for a moment while the sun sets over the canal and a crane pokes around in the mud.

I haven't eaten in a bit and dinnertime is approaching. I'm craving salmon steaks with miso. Not sure if that's triggered by this cigar. Picking it back up I'm getting shades of leather, cold brew coffee, and just a touch of that wasabi which is more like white pepper now.

Nick has pointed out to me that I retro an entire cigar before and it's true, as much as I comfortably can, I will; that's how I experience most of the flavor a cigar offers. For some it's on the tongue or more about mouthfeel. I love to roll smoke over my sinus and taste with my nose. 

This particular cigar has a very smooth retro even with all the spice it offers. I'm at the hard-part-for-me, not rushing it. I set it down to let the temperature drop once again and let the flavor smooth out a bit. I can tell I'm rushing and that's not what the master-roller intended when they blended this stick.

Fortunately, I get hit by a giant attack of sneezes. This happens to me sometimes when I smoke a cigar. It's not dependent on the type of stick although that can be a factor. Sometimes my nose needs to clear out and I sneeze. This was about a seven or eight sneeze bout so I categorize that as an attack.

A good thing about a solid round of sneezing; typically the palate is super clear and ready for action. Once I regained my composure I picked up this Hamaki for the final third.

Marina del Rey Canal

The flavor has transitioned slightly to include a sweetness, almost like a soy/hoisin element. There's still a bit of heat piling up so I go in one more time after the cut. Man, that really opens up the draw and mellows the flavor out to a creamy, sweet and spicy combo that I wish would never end.

I had draw issues on this, definitely of my own doing. It makes me wonder if I missed the intended flavor profile or if I caught it but slightly overheated. Either way, I really enjoyed what I had and am definitely adding this to my list of sticks to try again, over and over, like whenever they are near.

Viaje continues to impress me. I've tried three of their sticks so far. They've ranged from subtle and nuanced to dynamic and spicy. More research to do on these, one at a time of course.

Thanks for reading! Stick with me!