(First part of this was written in November of 2015, the revisit is current)

Ever since getting to talk to Hamlet Paredes at IPCPR last summer I have been anticipating his new line Tabaquero hitting the market. I pre-ordered a five pack of coronas from an online vendor and received them last week. After letting them settle for a bit I had one Saturday night following my son’s wedding. It did not disappoint.
If you are unfamiliar with Hamlet Paredes, he worked at the Partagas factory in Havana for 20 years, becoming the master roller. He defected to the US in 2014 and went to work for Rocky Patel in Florida. His Partagas custom cigars always had a unique flavor and were much sought after and his own line I hoped would be just as good.
When I got to talk to Hamlet at the 2015 IPCPR in New Orleans he was very excited to be promoting his cigar for the American market.
CI describes the cigar this way: “Tabaquero comes draped in a San Andres wrapper concealing binders from Brazil and Mexico, and Nicaraguan long-filler. Medium-bodied, and containing Cuban-esque richness, flavors abound including spice, cocoa, coffee, pepper, earth, and subtle cream.
These are very dark wrapped cigars with good smooth construction. Firm, but not too, to the touch, with nice aromas of well-aged tobacco from the wrapper and the foot. Cut very cleanly with a Palio, and the pre-light draw was easy without being loose and had light hints of various flavors including tobacco and spice.”
My initial draw was a bit strong, but it mellowed quickly to a nice blend of tobacco and spices with undertones of cocoa and earth. The ash was nice and firm.
At about the half-way point a distinctive undertone of pepper starts to build.
The excellent construction of this cigar allowed for the smoke to stay cool and pleasant, which allowed a creaminess to develop.
It finished clean with no harshness in the after flavor and the cigar burned razor sharp with no touch-ups required.
The Tabaquero produced more smoke that you might expect from a corona. It smoked very much like a Habano and was easy to enjoy down to the nub.
I cannot in good faith compare these to Hamlet’s creation with Cuban tobacco; however, given the wide variety of leaves he had to choose from, he did an excellent job with the blend, binder and wrapper to create a most enjoyable cigar. I am definitely looking forward to smoking more of these in different sizes to see how well the filler competes with the wrapper, as a corona’s flavor is generally dominated by the wrapper.
Construction – 5
Burn – 5
Quality of flavors – 5
Overall impression – 5
5/5 Stellar cigar from one of the best in the business. Joe Bob says check it out.

Revisit

Smoking another outstanding Tabaquero Corona by Hamlet Paredes today. Love these cigars!
Beautiful smooth dark wrapper, very fragrant wrapper and foot, firm but not hard bunching, perfect pre-light draw.

Clipped and lighted perfectly and immediately produced ample flavorful smoke. Cocoa and leather notes with some pepper in the back of the throat and the nose.

A slight run was easily corrected and the cigar burned evenly thereafter. Woody notes picked up at 1/3 adding to the other flavors. This is a full bodied cigar with complex flavors that develop nicely as the cigar progresses.
I might be a bit biased as I always enjoyed Hamlet’s Cuban blends whenever I could obtain them.
Backed the cigar with a Sierra Nevada Otra Vez, which complemented the flavors of the cigar to perfection.
Second third was more flavorful as the tasting notes picked up and some cinnamon emerged; one of my favorite flavor profiles. A slight run was easily corrected and the even, flat burn continued. Hints of nutmeg emerged as I approached the final third.
One slight tear, which was my fault from removing the bands a bit too quickly, but it had no impact on the quality of the smoke. Cigar did not get warm until well into the final third, causing me to slow down, which was no easy task with a cigar this flavorful. It cooled back down as I slowed my smoking.
Excellent cigar that impressed me from light to nub. Get your hands on some of these stellar cigars. 5/5, Joe Bob says definitely check it out!
And huge kudos to Rocky Patel for picking Hamlet up to add to his already excellent line.