Origin : Nicaragua
Format : Churchill
Size : 7.0″ x 49
Wrapper : Sumatra Ecuador Rosado
Filler : Nicaraguan
Binder : Nicaraguan
Hand-Made
Price : $12 each

By now most every avid cigar smoker knows about Tatuaje Cigars and the Monster Series of cigar release by Tatuaje every October around Halloween. The Monster Series Started in 2008 with the release of #1 The Frank, a box pressed Double Corona in a blood spattered coffin. In 2009 #2 The Drac, a dark torpedo in a shiny black coffin was released to an absolute frenzy of fans trying to get ahold of the very limited cigar. 2009 also marked the first edition of the Monster “Out-of-Costume” Series of cigars. This first edition is a Churchill called Boris, named after the actor Boris Karloff who made Frankenstein’s Monster famous in his portrayal of the role in the classic 1931 film Frankenstein. It is a very clever marketing scheme that I think is a lot of fun.

Read the full review of Tatuaje Boris (The Frank out of Costume)…

Origin : Miami, FL
Format : Torpedo
Size : 6 3/4 x 52
Wrapper : Nicaraguan Habano Maduro
Filler : Nicaragua
Binder : Nicaragua
Hand-Made
Price : ~$13 each

Pete Johnson, brand owner of Tatuaje, has been releasing annual special edition cigars around Halloween he calls the Monster Series. One of this year’s releases, and the subject of this review, is the Drac-2009. Before I go any further, let me address some major issues which have surrounded this cigar. The Dracs were shipped in painted and lacquered, coffin shaped boxes which have been at the root of the primary complaint. There have been numerous complaints about a terrible odor emanating from the box and even some about that odor and even a flavor having been imparted to the cigars themselves. The Drac is a Halloween themed cigar which of course, had to be released by 31 October, but according to Pete Johnson the box maker in Nicaragua wasn’t able to complete the boxes until shortly before the release date. This resulted in the boxes not having time to air out before they were packed, wrapped in cellophane, and ultimately shipped. When opened by B&Ms or individual buyers at their final destination, the trapped odor from the paint and lacquer has poured out. The second complaint about these cigars is that many of the wrappers were damaged when the boxes were opened and the cigars were still “wet.”

Read the full review of Tatuaje the Drac…

Origin : Miami, FL
Format : Torpedo
Size : 7 x 49
Wrapper : Nicaragua
Filler : Nicaragua
Binder : Nicaragua
Hand-Made
Price : ~$11-13 each

This cigar is the fourth in the Cojonu series and was released earlier this year. They are rolled at DPG’s El Rey de Los Habanos factory in Miami, FL.

Read the full review of Tatuaje Cojonu 2009…

Origin : USA
Format : Corona
Size : 5 1/8” x 42
2006 Wrapper : Aged Nicaraguan Corojo Ligero (Cojonu Wrapper)
2009 Wrapper : Nicaraguan Sun Grown Broadleaf
Filler : Nicaraguan
Binder : Nicaraguan
Hand-Made
Price : $10+

2009 has seen an exciting expansion to the Tatuaje brand with lots of new cigars including some new additions to the Reserva line of the Brown Label Tatuajes. Pete Johnson’s seemingly ever broadening use of the sun grown broadleaf wrapper found its way onto two new Tatuaje Reserva cigars. The Reserva Regios and the Reserva Noellas. The new Reserva Noellas are particularly intriguing to me because this is not the first time there has been a Reserva Noella.

Read the full review of Showdown: Tatuaje Reserva Noellas – 2006 vs 2009…

Origin : USA
Format : Robusto
Size : 5.5″ x 50
Wrapper : Sun Grown Broadleaf
Filler : Nicaraguan
Binder : Nicaraguan
Hand-Made
Price : $9 each

This year hasn’t been as prolific with the new cigars like last year was, but 2009 has brought a few new things from my favorite brand of cigars, Tatuaje. This year there are two new additions to the Tatuaje Reserva line of cigars. Two of my favorite Tatuaje Brown Label vitolas now have a Reserva version, the Noellas and the Regios. The Regios will always hold a special place in my heart as it was the first Tatuaje I had ever smoked, and it was the first vitola in the brand that I purchased an entire box of. So when I heard that the Regios was being used for a new Reserva I was predictably excited.

Read the full review of Tatuaje Reserva Regios…

Origin : Nicaragua
Format : Corona
Size : 5 1/8” x 42
Ring : 42
Wrapper : Nicaragua
Filler : Nicaragua
Binder : Nicaragua
Hand-Made
Price : ~$8 each

This is another special release from Pete Johnson and Tatuaje cigars. The first Noella Reserva was released in 2006 . . . this is the 2009 version. I have yet to enjoy the original release, but if it’s anything like this little firecracker, it will be quite the treat!

As I understand the blend, it is the same as the standard Noella. However, the wrapper is a specially selected ligero that has been aged longer than the regular version. I have seen mixed numbers concerning the production of this release, but it appears that somewhere around 5,000 were produced.

Read the full review of Tatuaje Noella Reserva 2009…

Origin : Nicaragua
Format : Robusto
Size : 5.0″ x 50
Wrapper : Ecuadorian Sumatran / Nicaraguan Habano
Filler : Nicaraguan
Binder : Nicaraguan
Hand-Made
Price : $5 each

Ambos Mundos, which means both worlds is the newest line of cigars from Pete Johnson and Tatuaje. Made, like all of Pete’s cigars, by Pepin Garcia this line of cigars is an economy cigar whose release is aptly timed given current economic conditions. Pete had this to say about it:

“My original idea for the Tatuaje brand was for it to be not as expensive as it turned out to be,” said Johnson, “but having it made in Miami kind of set that expensive precedent, so I made this cigar partly due to the economy and partly because this is where I originally wanted the cigar to be priced.”

Read the full review of Ambos Mundos by Tatuaje…

Origin : Nicaragua
Format : Lancero
Size : 7.5″ x 38
Ring : 38
Wrapper : Connecticut Broadleaf
Filler : Nicaragua
Binder : Nicaragua
Hand-Made
Price : ~$10 each

This is another creation from Pete Johnson of Tatuaje cigars. “El Triunfador” means “The Winner” in Spanish and is a line that, as I understand it, is being introduced in limited quantities to preserve the trademark. Let me just say that, as far as I’m concerned, this cigar lives up to its name.

Read the full review of El Triunfador…