Video review HERE.
Viaje has announced the return of two Japanese-inspired small batch releases, the Viaje Hamaki and Viaje Hamaki Omakase. Both of these cigars were originally released in 2017 as a part of the Viaje’s White Label Project. This time the two small batch releases return and receive their own packaging.
Hamaki is the Japanese word for cigar. The project was provoked by Viaje founder Andre Farkas’ travels to Japan.
The Hamaki Omakase was provoked by Viaje Cigars’ founder Andre Farkas’ travels to Japan. Omakase is the Japanese tradition of letting a chef choose your order. The word actually means “I will leave it to you” and it fits in with the theme of the cigar (the name Hamaki is the Japanese word for cigar) as the details of the blend have not been released. The cigar itself is a 5 x 52 Robusto produced in Nicaragua. The 2017 release of the Hamaki Omakase also was an undisclosed blend in a 5 x 52 Robusto size.
The Hamaki Omakase comes in 18-count boxes.
The cigar is very nice looking, dark with an oily wrapper. It has a nice feel in the hand. It also has a closed foot.
The test draw was good after cutting the domed cap. The initial flavors at light up were a small amount of dry cedar with minimum amount of brown sugar, a massive amount of unsweetened dark chocolate, leather, and black coffee. The darker notes almost nullify the sweeter ones. Of the darker notes, the leather is the lighter of the three. There seems to also be nutmeg in the mix but it has to develop more to list it as an actual flavor. The cigar is not very sweet. It is very dark, however.
About 10 minutes in the flavors have settled down a little more. They are now a citrus/cedar type flavor light caramel notes, brown sugar, average amount of leather, nutmeg, and heavy unsweetened dark chocolate and black coffee (which is very close to espresso). There is a lot of black pepper at this point. I rated the black pepper at an 8. 
At the first third (33 minutes) there was a little cedar and brown sugar, lots of nutmeg, leather, heavy dark chocolate and black coffee. The caramel notes are rather light to non-existent at this point. The cigar is full bodied. The finish is dark chocolate, black coffee, and some lingering black pepper. The finish is also very dark. The mix is good but the cigar is very dark. I rated the first third at 91.
At the second third (1 hour 4 minutes) the minor amount of sweetness that was there in the first third has decreased. You now have light cedar with the minimum amount of brown sugar, lots of nutmeg, a thread of leather, and lots of dark chocolate and black coffee. The pepper is still pretty good; around a 7+. The cigar is still full bodied. This cigar will appeal to a section of cigar smokers who love very dark noted cigars with minimum sweetness. The finish is unchanged. I rated the second third at 89.
The cigar lasted an impressive 1 hour 26 minutes. A long burn time for a robusto. In the final third the cigar got even darker with the sweetness going away entirely. There is a touch of cedar with no brown sugar, minimum leather, and very high unsweetened dark chocolate and black coffee. The finish was unchanged and the cigar ended at full bodied. This is a very dark cigar; very dark. It started with some minimal sweetness and the mix was pretty good but as it burned it got darker and less sweet. For the final third I rated the cigar at 87.
Overall Score: 89
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