Origin : Nicaragua Format : Conde 109 Size : 7 x 50 Wrapper : Nicaragua Filler : Nicaragua Binder : Nicaragua Hand-Made Price : ~$10 each
Federal Cigar, at the beginning of the year celebrated its 90th anniversary by releasing an exclusive Tatuaje cigar informally called the Tatuaje 109. These were produced in two versions with different wrappers with the same base verocu blend, one with a Connecticut broadleaf wrapper, and the other with a Rosado leaf wrapper. Here, I am reviewing the Rosado leaf version, and will soon also do a review of the reserva version in the Connecticut broadleaf wrapper.
Origin : Nicaragua Format : Double Corona Size : 7 5/8″ x 49 Wrapper : Sungrown Broadleaf Filler : Nicaraguan Binder : Nicaraguan Hand-Made Price : $8 each
I read on a discussion board somewhere that someone was saying hurry up and smoke The Frank because it has peaked and is in the decline. I thought, OK let’s smoke one and see how they are doing. I still have the better half of my box left (you can read my initial review of The Frank here). I’m glad I picked the box I did because my Franks are certainly not in a decline. They are smoking wonderfully. True they have lost a bit of their oomph, and a little bit of the spice they had when they were newborns but these dark double coronas still have plenty to offer me. They still start off with a blast of pepper but perhaps not the full on punch in the palate that it once was. It also still has plenty of the “sun grown twang” that I love from sun grown broadleaf wrappers. The black pepper and spices are much more subtle now and the coffee and cocoa flavors are more prevelant and I was occasionally getting an nutty, almost almond like flavor from it from time to time.
Origin : Nicaragua Format : Petite Cazadores Size : 4 x 40 Wrapper : Connecticut Broadleaf Filler : Nicaraguan Binder : Nicaraguan Hand-Made Price : $4 each
Everything I love about a Tatuaje packed into a 30 minute smoke. This little guy has classic Tatuaje flavor. Plenty of the Nicaraguan earth and toasted tobacco, great black coffee notes, and just enough black pepper for some spice. The construction is impeccable and the format is just perfect for when I want a Tatuaje but perhaps don’t have a whole hour to hour and a half to spend with one. I will be buying a cabinet of these.
Origin : Nicaragua Format : Torpedo Size : 6 1/8 x 52 Wrapper : Nicaragua Filler : Nicaragua Binder : Nicaragua Hand-Made Price : ~$10-11 each
Many thanks to Austin from the 7th Street Reserve for taking these excellent pictures for my series of reviews.
Pete Johnson is the genius cigar producer behind the Tatuaje brand. Towards the end of 2009, he released a new cigar, the Tatuaje Verocu Tubo. For those of you who do not know, the Verocu is an addition to the Havana IV, with the Verocu Tubo as the fourth of the line.
Origin : Nicaragua Format : Churchill Size : 7 x 49 Wrapper : Ecuadorian Sumatra Rosada Filler : Nicaragua Binder : Nicaragua Hand-Made Price : ~$12 each
Many thanks to Austin from the 7th Street Reserve for taking these excellent pictures for my series of reviews.
The man behind the Tatuaje brand, Pete Johnson, has established a yearly tradition with his cigars: on each Halloween, a new blend is released, named after a classic monster from the film industry. In 2008, the Frank was released. Last year, it was time for the Drac and the Boris to burn their way into the cigar lovers’ hearts.
Since all of these Halloween blends are limited editions and very hard to find, I managed to get my hands on a Boris only, missing the Drac. Only 1000 boxes of 10 Boris each were produced.
For this review, I smoked an aged Boris – and I have to say, it was worth the wait: aging conferred a unique flavor to the cigar, ramping up the Boris from “good”, as other have rated it, to a rather great level – in my books. Let’s get started and see in detail how this Halloween monster fares.
Origin : Nicaragua Format : Perfecto Size : 6 x 54 Wrapper : Nicaragua Filler : Nicaraguan Binder : Nicaraguan Hand-Made Price : $10+ each
This is one heck of popular cigar… and it’s not even released yet. The Tatuaje Anarchy is a special Limited Edition cigar that is a collaboration between Pete Johnson, Pepin Garcia and the Abe “Ming” Dababneh at Smoke Inn in the Palm Beach area. It features an all new blend and is one of the most interesting looking cigars I have seen in a long time.
The foot is slightly tapered and the cap looks like a cinnamon bun (it’s a flattened pigtail that can be unraveled – see picture below). Holding it upright, it resembles a baseball bat and sports one of the coolest bands I’ve come across.
The cigar is a rusty dark brown and is firm to the touch. It seems to be exuding oils which always bodes well in the flavor department.
After light, the aroma of the smoke is very strong and makes you dizzy upon inhale. The first half inch is very spicy and peppery, reminding you this is a Pepin/Pete cigar. It immediately backs off on the spice and delivers a nice pleasant leathery, woody flavor with a hint of citrus and licorice on the finish.
There is also a dominant aura of earthiness o the palate that lingers past the halfway point.
The last half has a bit of bittersweet chocolate and leather with a hint of pepper. Very nice!
I’d like to thank the folks at Smoke Inn Cigars for the chance to try such a unique and tasty cigar!
Origin : Nicaragua Format : Perfecto Size : 9 x 55 Wrapper : Nicaraguan Habano Filler : Nicaragua Binder : Nicaragua Hand-Made Price : ~$12 each
Many thanks to Austin from the 7th Street Reserve for taking these excellent pictures for my series of reviews.
One dilemma I always find myself pondering is whether there is any rationale in saving special cigars for special days or occasions. Sure, the common sense argues in the favor of this, but in the end, you can always change an ordinary day into an exceptional one, exactly by doing something special yourself – like, for example, smoking a Tatuaje RC 233.
The RC233 is handcrafted with first-generation Nicaraguan seed tobacco. The RC in the name stands for “Retro Cuban”, while 233 represents the length in millimeters. The production of this blend is limited.
I know I haven’t written a review for some time now, but I have read your e-mails and listened to the comments from those I have spoken with. 2010 has been a hectic year leaving me precious little time for some of the things I enjoy most; so to all the readers, web-sites, magazines, and news letters I write for, I apologize. That being said, on to the good stuff.
The topic of this review is the Tatuaje – Private Reserve Black Tubo. You may notice that as the background for the photos I used my chopper (another of those things I haven’t had much time for). I did this as a tribute to Pete Johnson, owner of Tatuaje, because the first time we met I had been out on it and Pete and I spent some time talking about our shared enjoyment of riding. Pete said the inspiration for the Black Tubo came from a trip he took to, “an island famous for its cigars”, which one can only assume is Cuba. While there he was given an un-banded, very rustic looking cigar by a man who had it in his shirt pocket. He later learned that among many of the local cigar lovers is a tradition of rolling their own blends for themselves to suit their personal taste, hence Private Reserve in the name of this cigar. Pete never forgot how much he enjoyed that cigar and the Black Tubo is his tribute to it.
