The name Hamlet conjures up thoughts of William Shakespeare, the grand English poet, playwright, and actor. One of his famous works was the play The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, which we have shortened to just “Hamlet”. The play is the longest written by Shakespeare, coming in with a whopping 30,557 words and is considered among the most powerful and influential works of world literature.
When it comes to the Rocky Patel “Hamlet”, it has nothing to do with the Shakespearian play of the same name but rather a tribute to one of the most famous Cuban cigar rollers, Hamlet Paredes who was introduced to Rocky by Robert Fox, the owner of J.J. Fox of London.
As the story goes, Paredes wanted to leave Cuba and move to the United States, and Rocky offered him a job at his Burn Cigar Lounge in Naples, FL. The two worked on a new Rocky Patel blend that came to be known as the Tabaquero by Hamlet Paredes in 2015.
Since it’s first introduction, the Rocky Patel Hamlet has been expressed in three additional blends; the 2017 Hamlet 25th Year, the 2018 Liberation by Hamlet, and now the Hamlet 2020 which is the subject of today’s review.
The blend for the Hamlet 2020 is described by the company as:
- Wrapper – Ecuadorian Habano
- Binder – Honduran
- Filler – Honduran and Nicaraguan
The Hamlet 2020 is expressed in three vitolas and comes packaged in 20-count boxes:
- Robusto (5 1/2 x 50) – MSRP $10.50
- Toro (6 1/2 x 52) – MSRP $11.50
- Sixty (6 x 60) – MSRP $12.50
For this review, I sampled two of the Rocky Patel Hamlet 2020 Toros that I purchased from Maxis Cigar Lounge in Franklin Square, NY as part of the Stogie Press 2020 Mission to KEEP THE LIGHTS ON.
Pre-Light Examination
The Rocky Patel Hamlet 2020 has a veiny and bumpy, medium brown wrapper, that is smooth to the touch. Though the foot looks like it is well packed, there are a few soft spots along the barrel midway. A double cap finishes the presentation.
Two bands adorn the Rocky Patel Hamlet 2020. The primary band uses a red, white, and brass motif with the “Hamlet” logo proudly centered. Both sides of the band declare “Master of Tobacco”. A secondary band is placed just below the primary and denotes this as the “2020” variant.
Running the Hamlet 2020 along the nose, I picked up a faint baking spice note along the barrel and earthy barnyard notes off the foot.
Using my double blade Lotus cutter, I sliced the cap straight across the shoulder and proceeded to take some cold draw puffs that I would describe as rather open with a mild, at best, restriction. The cold draw notes included a touch of earth with a growing cinnamon spice.
My double flame torch did the trick to get the journey started as I warmed the foot and drew in the first full volume of floral and earthy smoke. Follow along as I burn the Hamlet 2020 to ash.
Cigar Review Notes
- First light was rather floral and earthy
- Chocolate enters but it is very nuanced
- A light grey solid ash forms on top of a medium char line
- Ash fell after a decent burn, revealing a centered but flat burn cone
- Smoke volume is full
- Spice starts to evolve on both the palate and retro-hale along with a sweet oak aroma
- Hint of cream moving into the second third
- Aroma shifts to a maple syrup
- Slight wave in burn
- A sweet raisin nuance enters moving through the second third
- Peppery spice is the dominant flavor
- Coffee and chocolate nuances tease the palate deep in the second third
- Minerally/Chemical notes find their way in the final third
- Strength is Medium
- Total Smoking Time was 1 hour and 50 minutes
Overall, the Rocky Patel Hamlet 2020 started off as a pleasant cigar that had quite a bit of nuanced flavors and aroma, sadly they all tended to hide behind the core of peppery spice through most of the burn. Where this lost some serious points was in the final third, where a chemical like note entered the profile and turned my palate off. The burn was decent, with just a mild wave and never needing a touch up. The ash held decently before dropping in solid chunks. If you like a mostly spicy smoke and are not looking for intense flavor development you might want to try one. I rate this an 87.
Point Deductions: (-1) Wavy Burn; (-1) Flat Burn Cone; (-2) Minerally Chemical in final third; (-1) Soft spots along the barrel; (-1) Open Cold Draw; (-1) Might Try One
