Cigar Review: Tatuaje Frank

Tatuaje Frank

Today’s cigar is another Pete Johnson creation. I realize my blog is one step from a Pete Johnson fan site, but when he comes out with a cigar, I have to get my hands it as soon as possible. It has become an obsession. With this cigar being limited to 666 boxes of 13 I needed some help getting my hands on a few. Thankfully a BOTL from cigarlive.com hooked a brother up!

Each year at Halloween Pete Johnson releases a special blend for the holiday and names it after a movie monster. This year was The Frank for Frankenstein, and next year it will be The Drac for Dracula. I would assume next year will be a belicoso to recreate the fangs.

Cigar: Tatuaje The Frank
Origin: Nicaragua
Size: 7.58 x 49 (Box Press Double Corona)
Wrapper: Broadleaf
Binder: Nicaragua
Filler: Nicaragua
Strength: Medium

As of today I am using a new format for my reviews that will actually break down how I get my score. Let me know if you approve by voting on the poll at the bottom….

Appearance & Construction (20/20): The cigar has a nice slight box press appearance with a lot of veins, but being this cigar is meant as a tribute to Frankenstein it works very well. The cigar features a triple cap that is done to perfection. The wrapper has a silky appearance and an amazing amount of oils. Under close inspection the cigar has absolutely no issues what so ever.

Flavor/Notes (27/30): This is one complex cigar to break down. There are some underlying notes that make it very hard to pin down. The 1st third of smoke started off with a blast of pepper which is expected since Don Pepin Garcia had his hands on producing these. The blast of pepper seems to be his trademark. As we work our way down the first third notes of dark chocolate emerge with what reminds me of an almond extract which created a wow factor. The second third the notes of almond extract remain, but begin to fade. The dominant note is a rich dark chocolate that is so defined and so tasty it is better then any Halloween treat you got as a kid. The final third of the cigar some notes of leather creep in and I hope with some aging this will disappear. As I got near the nub the cigar was at it’s best and I was left with a nice dark chocolate finish.

Burn/Ash/Draw (23/25): The cigar had a really nice burn line that while not straight, it was never really jagged, nor did it need touching up. The ash was tight, white and held for long periods. At one point I had a nice 3.5″ ash. The draw was perfect throughout and if you add it all up it made the cigar a pleasure to smoke.

Overall (24/25): From start to finish this cigar was incredible. My smoking conditions added to it, with there being a fog over the water and an eerie quiet was at my smoke location with the only sound being breaking waves in the distance. This smoke had a lot of hype surrounding it, and very rarely does a cigar meet the hype in my opinion. This cigar however meets and exceeds the hype.

Rating: 94
Price: $13.00

Cigar Review: El Triunfador

El Triunfador

I found out about this Pete Johnson creation on one of the cigar forums I visit. Nicknamed the Ghost Stick, it is of limited production and with me being the Pete Johnson whore that I am, I had to track these down and finding them was not easy. I located them eventually at Silo Cigars where I obtained a 5 pack.

The El Triunfador is a Cuban brand that features a similar label to the original. It is available in 1 size right now, and when other sizes are made they will have their own blends when they become available.

Cigar: El Triunfador
Origin: Nicaragua
Size: 7.5 x 38 (Lancero)
Wrapper: Connecticut Broadleaf Maduro
Binder: Nicaragua
Filler: Nicaragua
Strength: Medium / Full

Pre-Smoke: The cigar is not the type of vitola I like to smoke. In fact this is only the 2nd Lancero I have smoked all year despite it becoming trendy in the cigar world as of late. Many companies are jumping on the bandwagon like Oliva and Carlos Torano in producing this vitola.  Off of today’s cigar the wrapper offered notes of chocolate and the foot was very woody. While the pre-light draw was a nice combination of the two. The cigar was firm to the touch, with a lot of oils and veins. It featured a pigtail triple cap to complete the Cubanesque look.

Smoke: Upon lighting the cigar I was hit with sensory overload. The notes were popping off this stick all over the place. It took a while for me to break them down but the first third offered notes of vanilla, nuts and leather. As we approached the 2nd third the cigar has an exquisite burn line. The notes of vanilla and nuts remained and were joined by cinnamon. As we reached the final third of the cigar notes of chocolate, wood and leather finished the smoke.

Overall: I will admit this was a difficult cigar to break down. The onslaught of flavor at the beginning was insane. I can’t wait to revisit this cigar in a year and see how it has aged because I expect the cigar to be even better with age. It is yet another Pete Johnson masterpiece that continues to keep him the hottest in the business. The finish of the cigar was a nice leathery spice that lasted for quite some time.

Rating: 91
Price: $9.00

Review: La Riqueza

With my blog growing in popularity I want to extend a thank you to all my faithful readers and those who have just come aboard. Without you, the pleasure I take in sharing our love of the leaf would go unnoticed.

As my blog grows, my friends who share a same passion have taken in interest in learning how to identify the various notes different cigars have to offer. My good friend Sonny has a knack for identifying them, and the owner of Barrister cigars whom I too call a friend has shown an interest. While his palate isn’t quite there yet, we decided to do a panelist review of the La Riqueza cigar from Pete Johnson the person behind the Tatuaje.

Pete Johnson identifies the La Riqueza cigar as:

1) The Riches or The Wealth in Spanish.
2) An Old World Medium Bodied Cuban Style Cigar

We used 3 different sizes of a 5 pack I obtained to do this review. While that is not necessarily the standard for doing a review (I like to smoke 2-5 of the same size prior to doing a review) I figured this little panel would offer something different.

Panelist #1: Barry, the voice behind acigarsmoker.com has been smoking for 10+ years and quickly obtained a palate to pick up various notes. As manager of a cigar store in Brooklyn, NY he fined tuned this knack often getting labeled as crazy until his description of cigars started showing up in various magazine as if he wrote them, when he did not.

Panelist #2: Sonny, a retired NYPD Detective who introduced Barry to cigars is an avid cigar smoker for 20+ years. Until recently Sonny was more interested in chewing his cigars and launching them at television sets if the Yankees were losing. Under the tutorial of Barry, Sonny has learned to identify notes and enjoy cigars in a new light.

Panelist #3: Dave, the owner of Barrister cigars who has semi-retired as a lawyer to follow his bliss. He opened Barrister a little over a year ago and his business continues to attract new people every day. While he admits his palate is nowhere near that of Barry & Sonny he eagerly participated in the review.

The Skinny:

Cigar: La Riqueza
Origin: Nicaragua
Sizes:
Panelist #1: No. 4 5×48
Panelist #2: No. 1 6.5×42
Panelist #3: No. 3 5.58×46
Wrapper: Naturally Dark Connecticut Broadleaf
Binder: Nicaragua
Filler: Nicaragua

Pre-Smoke:

Panelist #1: This cigar is slightly box pressed and has a chocolate like color to the wrapper. Like most Pete Johnson cigars it looks like a Cuban. The triple cap and flawless roll make it a pleasing to the eye. The label is a copy of the old La Riqueza Cuban label. The scent of the wrapper is that of chocolate and at the foot there is some slight pepper and wood notes. The pre-light draw reveals notes of wood.

Panelist #2: I was very impressed with the appearance of this cigar, the dark wrapper matched the scent which was chocolate. It felt slightly spongy to me, and on the tongue I got notes of pepper and spice. My pre light draw had notes of chocolate and when I took a second deeper draw some notes of nuts surfaced as well. At the foot, the notes were so light that I could not truly identify them.

Panelist #3: As a novice I know my thoughts will be different then Barry & Sonny. I just hope to play the role of the average cigar smoker who does not have the ability to pick up the notes these guys do. For me the cigar was spongy, and the wrapper reminded me of chocolate and the foot of cinnamon. On the pre-light draw I had notes of pepper.

Smoke:

Panelist #1: On the light I had some quick hits of pepper which remained for the first third of the cigar along with some notes of nuts. Just before the second third began there were some well defined notes of cherry that disappeared almost as quickly as they appeared. As they left some notes of dark bakers chocolate appeared with some nuts. The final third which burned a little hot, had notes of pepper, nuts and some wood. This medium to full bodied smoke despite burning a little hot was a finger burner and stayed lit til I could no longer hold it. The finish was long and nutty.

Panelist #2: On light this cigar quickly established itself as a full bodied smoke, at least until the half way point when it became more of a medium bodied smoke. The draw was nice all the way through and remained lit with a nice burn line. The scent of the smoke reminded me a little of burnt coffee and the finish was that of strong tea. During the course of the smoke I picked up notes of Oak, Tea, and Cedar.

Panelist #3: Here is where my novice ability comes to light. I too was impressed with the draw and burn line of the smoke, but my palate was only able to reveal notes of pepper. The cigar burned hot at the end and became bitter for me. It’s nice start was erased somewhat by the end of my smoke.

Overall:

Panelist #1: Another great Pete Johnson creation. I am quickly becoming a Pete Johnson whore as I love everything he produces. His cigars have reignited my love of the leaf and I have yet to be disappointed.

Panelist #2: This was a good smoke that I would recommend to a steady smoker. Smoking it I enjoyed the smooth qualities and how refreshing it was to smoke

Panelist #3: The smoke was very enjoyable until it began to burn a little hot for me.

Rating: 93/91/88 (91 Avg)
Price: Varied due to size.