Cigar Review: Tatuaje RC 184

Tatuaje RC 184

Today’s review is a guest review by a friend we refer to by many nicknames. His first nickname is toastie because of the 5 minutes or more he takes to toast a cigar using cedar strips as he rotates the cigar over the flame. But recently he has been nicknamed Tiger Woo due to the fact he can pass as a Tiger Wood with some Asian decent. To see what I mean click to see his picture.

On to the review:

Cigar: Tatuaje RC 184
Origin: Little Havana Miami, Fl
Size: 7.25 x 57
Wrapper: Nicaragua Criollo ’99
Binder: Nicaragua
Filler: Nicaragua

Appearance & Construction (19/20): This Diadema vitola was beautifully executed. The wrapper was velvety and devoid of any toothiness while showing negligible veins. My only aesthetic qualm was with the foil wrap which covered the upper half of the cigar, giving it an appearance reminiscent of a hot dog rather than a fine cigar. This choice of package was puzzling, though eye-catching.

Flavor & Notes (24/30): After removing the foil, I was able to appraise the sweet, cedar-driven aromatics of the wrapper. Upon cutting, pre-light, the taste was an enticing medley of molasses and peppery spice, with a leafy sweetness that echoed the wrapper scent. Upon lighting, subtle notes of soy and edamame were prevalent on the palate, accompanied by a slight creaminess and mellow spiciness. Soon, hints of mocha and a black coffee bitterness shone through. Getting into the body of the smoke, I found an increase in acidity along with a notably creamier profile once ashed. Here, the stogie’s character was defined by classic notes of tobacco and cafe au lait, which remained constant through the end of the smoke. It was at this point that I became disillusioned in the cigar. I had expected an in-your-face, robustly flavored smoke, worthy of its price. Instead I found it to be a very subtle, yet complex cigar. While I found no off-flavors, the smoke lacked the expected richness of palate, aroma, and smoke.

Burn/Ash/Draw (24/25): While the cigar had a facile draw and burned well–despite a slight boating which was easily corrected by rotating– it lacked the profile to warrant its price. The medium gray ash with blots of white was indicative of its subtly creamy character and elegant complexity.

Overall (21/25): Overall, it was a good smoke. But, for the price, good is not nearly enough; there are a great many other smokes, even other Tatuajes, that are more economically priced and provide a similar if not better smoking experience.

Rating: 88
Price: 23.95 (Manhattan, NY Price)

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

Review: Tatuaje Black

My car has been without air condition for a while now. I keep procrastinating spending the $1100 or so to fix it. Most of my driving is highway driving so with the windows down it isn’t all that bad. It only gets unbearable when my business partner is on the phone and he can’t hear so he rolls up his window. But with the exception for one week this hasn’t been a bad summer. So much for global warming. I haven’t heard stories this summer about scores of people in the Midwest dropping from the heat like in past summers. So I have to ask, is the summer over? Or am I jumping the gun?

It was a beautiful morning at the beach not a cloud in the sky, no haze over the water, and a cool breeze keeping the temperature in the low 70s. I felt like I died and went to heaven. My cigar of choice this morning is pictured on the left. A cigar with a lot of buzz that is produced in limited numbers. For those local to me Havana Dreams in Rego Park NY recently got in 3 “jars” of them.

The Skinny:

Cigar: Tatuaje Black
Origin: Nicaragua
Size: Corona 5 5/8 x 46
Wrapper: Nicaragua Corojo 99
Binder: Nicaragua
Filler: Nicaragua

Pre-Smoke: When the Beach Boys wrote “I wish they all could be California Girls” they obviously did not know what New York girls by way of Moscow had to offer. With thongs passing the left of me and thongs passing to the right of me, even on this cool August morning I tried to study my cigar. In terms of appearance this cigar is not all that good looking. The roll is a tad sloppy, with some veins showing on the wrapper. Some of the stems inside the veins look like they they want to burst through the leaf. Despite this the cigar has some nice oils to it, and was firm to the touch. The wrapper offered notes of cherry and wood, while at the foot I got some nutty notes which is also what I got from the draw. I used my hippotech idiot proof cutter and began to light this baby up.

Smoke: At first light there is a major blast of pepper which remains but subsides slightly as you work into the first third. Notes of wood begin to emerge as cotton ball like clouds begin to fill the blue sky. As we enter the second third of this wonderful smoke the pepper becomes a canvas on which wood and earth blend upon. As the beach begins to fill in front of me the final third of my smoke the pepper emerges back to the top with subtle notes of nuts and coffee to finish out the smoke. The cigar burned like a dream, however when I got down to past the label the cigar burned a littler hotter then most cigars.

Overall: Smoking this stick was like being on a mini-vacation. It left me cool, calm, and thoroughly relaxed. The notes of coffee and pepper remained with me for the better part of an hour after my smoke which was paired with water. To read a cool story of what Pete Johnson was going for with the Tatuaje read this article.

Rating: 91
Price: $15.00

Tomorrow’s Review: Cubao by Ortego Y Espinoza

Review: Tatuaje Exclusivo Lado Occidental

Having just returned from Portsmouth for a little 4 day getaway I had a package waiting for me from a member of cigarlive.com. Over at cigarlive.com it is a membership of people who love cigars. It’s a nice little community where some customs are observed. Two of them are cigar passes, and cigar  bombs. A cigar pass is where you sign up with 10-15 people or more and you pass a box of cigars around with random product or all the same cigars. You take a cigar or two you want, and replace it with a cigar of equal or more value and mail it to the next person. I just signed up for that, and should get my box in a couple of weeks. Another custom is cigar bombs. Well, that is what I had waiting for me when I got home. It was a cigar bomb consisting of 3 tatuaje cigars and 3 illusione cigars. Cigars I have desperately wanted to try…

So Sunday evening not wanting to end my little vacation mindset I headed down to the beach and lit up this baby which arrived a little damaged from the wonderful handling at our postal service. The tear in the wrapper was at the mid way point of the cigar along a vein but thankfully it did not affect this smoke one bit…

The Skinny:

Cigar: Tatuaje Exclusivo Lado Occidental
Origin: Nicaragua
Size: Verocu No. 1 6.25 x 52
Wrapper: Nicaragua (Cafe Rosado Oscuro)
Binder: Nicaragua
Filler: Nicaragua (Ligero)

Pre-Light: This is one gorgeous cigar; the color of the wrapper was an amazing reddish brown. It looked like a Cuban right down to its triple cap. The roll was flawless, and other then some  excessive veinage at the foot of the cigar, I really could find no fault with it. The smell of the  wrapper was an amazing black cherry, while the foot had a nice mix of cedar and spice. The pre-light draw was a little loose, and because of that I began to second guess the type of cut I used. I had used a straight cut when I should of gone with a hole punch. On the pre-light draw the cigar has notes of spice.

Smoke: All I can say is wow. I smoked this baby all the way til burned my fingers with no issues  what so ever. It has a nice straight burn line, never once needing to be touched up even with the  damage occurred in shipping. The initial hit was a little bit harsh, perhaps because in my mind I  was expecting a medium body cigar which it eventually became. However the first third was fuller  bodied with an overload of a leathery spice. As I approached the 2nd third of this cigar I was  teased with a little bit of licorice which became abundant in this section of the cigar. It was so  incredibly defined that it just wowed me. Introduced with the licorice was black cherry which  remained til the final third when some leathery spiced crept back in but remained in the background.

Overall: This was a well aged cigar. It was almost a sin to smoke it. One of the finest smokes I  have ever had. The dominant flavors of black cherry and licorice were so defined I was giddy with  delight right down to the nub. Other notes were cedar, leather and spices all of which mostly  stayed in the background. If I could go back in time this is one cigar I would want to smoke again and again.

My Local Price: A Cigar Bomb (Retail: $11.00)
Tinderbox: Tatuaje Cigars
Rating: 95 (Out of 100)