Yesterday I took advantage of the fact that all my clients would be off celebrating. I decided to stay home and light up a good cigar with a tall glass of beer and enjoy the slightly warmer weather. I decided to sit down with this years Monster release from Tatuaje, dubbed the Wolfman. If you didn’t know, Pete Johnson has been releasing a Halloween themed cigar each year for the past few years and it’s called the Monster Series.

Last year, Tatuaje released “The Face” which we reviewed here. Before that you would have seen the Boris, Frank or Drac. Each one is inspired by a horror creature from a story or film. This years Wolfman release is no different, named after the infamous werewolf. The cigars came packed in a limited selection of dress boxes with 13 cigars as well as a slightly larger release of 10-count plain boxes. They were sold out very quickly across the country so I’m glad I was able to snag a few to get a review in.

The Wolfman comes in with a shaggy foot to keep inline with the character of the cigar. Pete wanted to give it a sort of “ugly” unfinished look to match the theme. Other than the shaggy foot, the cigar looks to be of excellent construction. The band on this cigar also has one new thing from the older Monster Series sticks. On the sides of the band you can see “MONSTER” and “HALLOWEEN” written beside the normal Tatuaje name. Normally, there was nothing else on the bands aside from the brand.

Now I know I’m coming in a little late to the game with this review but it did take quite a bit of digging and asking around to get these cigars. Especially up here to Canada where they aren’t sold and very few B&M’s are even willing to ship to. Tony’s local shops also don’t seem to get these in so we were both in a bit of a bind trying to track a few down. Alas, determination leads to success and I got them. So here I am, sitting down and getting ready to light this cigar and write down my thoughts for your reading pleasure.

Cigar: Tatuaje Wolfman – Monster Series 2011
Drink: Trafalgar Ales & Meads – Smoked Oatmeal Stout
Vitola: Box-Pressed Torpedo (7.5 x 52)
Wrapper: Sumatran
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan
Price: MSRP $13
Burn Time: a little under 2 hours

Construction:
• The Tatuaje Wolfman is a nice looking cigar with a chestnut brown wrapper
• The wrapper is slightly rough with some veins running through it but none look to be large or worrisome
• The whole cigar actually feels a little soft when squeezed
• The cap is finished with extreme care and blends into the cigar with ease, the foot is left uncovered and shaggy but still looks to be fairly well packed
• Cap cut cleanly and easily and left me with an easy draw, make sure not to cut too much off this cigar or it will be very open
• As soon as I finished burning past the unfinished foot the draw got super-tight so I needed to cut the cap a bit more and now we’re all happy

Burn:
• Toasting seems fairly easy and even and took a good 30 seconds or so to get the foot glowing, I was expecting a messy toasting with the unfinished foot but it wasn’t messy at all
• Burn got off to a wonky start on one side that needed a quick correction early on
• After that correction, things have been burning a lot smoother with a nice sharp and even line
• Another small correction as I pass the halfway mark, nothing major and didn’t affect the flavors

Smoke & Ash:
• There’s a ton of smoke from each draw as I’ve come to expect from pretty much all of Pete Johnson’s cigar, he really knows how to nail the thick billowy smoke
• The ash from the unfinished foot was super weak and fell off quickly, before I even had a chance to snap a picture
• Seems that suicidal ash is the trend today, lost the first two ash to the floor after about an inch each, sigh…
• The ash seems to be fairly weak and a little bit messy with a light grey color to it
• Considering there is so much smoke on the draw, the isn’t much resting smoke to be found on the cigar and it’s giving off a nice cedar aroma

Tasting Notes:
• The aroma off the wrapper is slightly sweet with a peppery touch
• The foot adds a hefty helping of cedar added to the sweet and spicy notes
• Pre-light draw brought more of the cedar to the mix, quite a nice flavor
• Initial draws after lighting were mixed mostly of cedar and a spicy pepper undertone, no sweetness at this point
• The pepper seems to be staying as a soft undertone but now I’m getting some other more interesting spices in the mix, mainly like a nutmeg or clove type of flavor
• I’m also picking up on some leathery and earthy notes on this cigar, lots of flavors going on here
• The cedar flavors continue to dominate and I think I’m getting some coffee notes in the mix now too but that might be the stout I’m pairing with
• The body of the cigar has been a nice comfortable medium since the start, a good well balanced smoke so far
• The retrohale brings with it a slight peppery bite and smooth cedar finish
• A little past the halfway mark I’m starting to pick up a little bit of that initial sweetness, let’s hope it develops a little more
• The sweetness didn’t really develop any further and faded soon after, but the coffee and cedar really grew together into a nice mix
• All the flavors slowly ramped up near the 2 inches but the body stayed in a nice smooth medium range
• No harsh or bitterness right to the nub, enjoyed every last cedar and coffee filled draw

Final Thoughts:
I think Pete Johnson has another winner in the ever popular Monster Series of cigars from Tatuaje. I wouldn’t go as far as saying it’s his best ever but these are tasty right out of the box and they seem to have some aging potential as well. Other than a couple minor touch-ups the cigar burned fairly well and offered a lot of complexity to the palate that kept me interested the whole way through. And that is sometimes a hard task when the cigar is this length of vitola, I tend to have a short attention span, lol! The Wolfman was quite balanced and smooth through the whole experience and I enjoyed it from start to finish. They are getting harder and harder to come by each year (especially for a Canadian!) so I’m glad I was able to grab a few. If you manage to find some, definitely pick a couple up for a special occasion!

Pairings:
Today’s brew comes from a local brewery called Trafalgar Ales & Meads which is located about 45min from where I live in a place called Oakville, Ontario. I don’t actually see many other brews from these guys but I have picked up this brew a few times. It’s called the Smoked Oatmeal Stout. The first time I saw this I thought it was going to have a heavy smoked flavor like a scotch or something, but that’s not the case at all. It’s actually a fairly light stout but it’s got the most head out of any beer I’ve seen before. I mean if you shake this bottle even a tiny bit, it’s going to explode when you crack it open. And pouring it takes like 30min to let the foam settle, it’s ridiculous but worth it. The flavors you get are chocolate, coffee and a malty deliciousness that mix together so well. The array of flavors also makes for an excellent pairing for nearly any medium to full cigar, it would easily overpower a mild stick though. I think a nice Tawny Port would have gone excellently with the Wolfman or possibly even a strong coffee or black tea.

The L’Esprit de Vérité and the La Vérité cigars are part of what Pete Johnson has coined as his “Vintage” line. Now don’t think “Vintage” as in grungy jeans, think “Vintage” in terms on Wine. Just like a winery offers vintages of it’s wine (ie. the year the grapes were grown), Tatuaje is using the same idea and applying it to their tobacco crops. So what does that mean to you and me? It means that every year will be slightly different. As you can appreciate, different weather will affect how the tobacco leaves grow and therefore will affect their flavors. The same percentage of a blend may not work as well the next year due to these subtle changes.

With that knowledge, it’s also worth knowing that all the tobacco leaves also come from the same farm in Esteli Nicaragua, making each one of these a Nicaraguan Puro. The 2009 vintage cigars were actually rolled in 2008 and aged for a year. Tony also did a review on the Tatuaje L’Esprit de Vérité 2008(http://www.casasfumando.com/?p=698) last year so take a read through his review first then come back here and see how it compares. I am also reviewing the L’Esprit de Vérité vitola which is the Robusto. The other size is a Churchill and is called the La Vérité. The two words stand for “The Truth” and “The Spirit of Truth”.

It’s worth noting that the blend did change from 2008 to 2009 quite a bit. In the 2008 vintage, the cigar contained 100% Habano leaf so it was all from one type of plant. In the 2009 Vintage, there is actually a mix of 4 different leaves. In the La Vérité it’s 45% Habano, 40% Criollo ’98 and 15% Pelo De Oro. In today’s cigar, the L’Esprit de Vérité, we have 50% Habano, 40% Criollo ’98 and 10% Pelo De Oro. The difference isn’t much but it’s worth noting. Now you might raise an eyebrow at the Pelo De Oro tobacco? Thats because it’s pretty rare and the only cigars I’ve had that contained it were the My Father Le Bijou 1922 and the My Father Limited Edition 2010. To tie all that information together, it’s becomes clear when you know that this cigar was made at the My Father Cigars factory in Nicaragua. You’ll also notice the addition of a second band that just says “Tatuaje” and has Pete’s initials on the back side.

So I hope that’s not too much info but I found it pretty interesting to hear the history of this cigar. If I haven’t lost you yet or you just skipped to the last paragraph cause my rambling looked long, let’s just get right into the actual review!

Cigar: Tatuaje L’Esprit de Vérité 2009
Drink: Great Divide Brewing Co. Yeti Imperial Stout
Vitola: Robusto (5 x 55)
Wrapper: Nicaraguan
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan
Price: Currently MSRP is $20
Burn Time: 1.5 hours

Construction:
• A wonderfully constructed cigar that has a perfect diameter from end to end with a wrapper that has almost no veins
• The color of the wrapper is a very warm golden brown color and the texture is slightly rough, like a very soft sand paper
• The top of the cigar is finished with an expertly applied triple cap that blends in extremely well
• The firmness is consistent from end to end with very little spring and the tightly packed foot explains why
• The cap took a little effort to clip off and made a bit of a mess

Burn:
• The toasting of the foot was a slightly slow process but resulted in a perfectly flowing foot
• Through the first inch the L’Esprit de Vérité 2009 is smoking super razor sharp
• Not much I can say here, super sharp through the first half and it’s staying lit with ease, no need for extra draws
• I should also note it’s burning at a nice slow pace and I feel I’m getting more time out of this cigar than I expected based on seeing it’s length
• Not a single issue with burn right to the nub, I wish more cigars were like this

Smoke & Ash:
• The smoke on each draw is just about right, it’s not overly thick and full but it’s not light and airy, a nice middle of the road here
• The resting smoke is very minimal, mostly jsut immediately after taking a draw then within a few seconds it looks like it’s not even lit
• The ash on this cigar looks fantastic from the start, it’s clean and tight with a glowing white color
• The ash continues to impress, it’s stayed strong and clean through 2 inches without a problem
• Ash was consistently about 2 inches so I only had to ash twice through the whole smoke, great construction here

Tasting Notes:
• The wrapper aroma is giving off an almost citrusy cedar smell that is very pleasant and inviting
• From the foot you pick up more cedar with some mild tobacco and a small touch of spice
• The pre-light draw has surprisingly little flavor to it, maybe just a touch of cedar and mild spice
• Initial draws bring more of the aromatic cedar flavors I was picking up with maybe just a slight touch of nuttiness
• The finish on this cigar is extremely smooth with a fantastic creamy cedar flavor
• The cigar has been in the high range of mild so far with a smooth and bite-free retrohale
• I’m picking up some coffee notes peeking around here and there, but nothing solid yet
• The cedar remains prominent through the first half and it’s a very flavorful cedar
• Some other flavors like the mild spice, nuts, coffee and even a bit of earthiness are helping keep the cigar interesting and well balanced
• The coffee notes seem to be shining through just past the half way mark
• As the coffee takes charge I’m still picking up cedar, nuts and some earthiness, and they are all balancing fantastically
• As I approach the last third the cigar has settled comfortably into the medium range and I’m getting a slight bite on the retrohale with a smooth aromatic cedar finish
• The wonderful balance of flavors continued through to the nub with each slowly getting more substantial
• There was almost no harshness or bitterness right to the end so I enjoyed it until my fingers were burning

Final Thoughts:
This was a very enjoyable smoking experience from start to end. The flavors were tasty, consistent and well balanced from start to finish. Although there was nothing that jumped out of this cigar it all molded together to make a great smoke. The construction was fantastic, it burned exceptionally and the price is well placed among limited edition cigars (although this is still high for the average consumer). It also let me enjoy it right to the nub with no issues at all. What probably surprised me the most about this cigar was its easy smoking profile. It had a smooth and relaxingly creamy profile from end to end. This was unexpected for me as I’ve come to know a blast of pepper and spice from a lot of Tatuaje cigars. This is definitely not a bad thing, I really enjoyed what this cigar had to offer and it’s good to see something a little different in the Tatuaje inventory. I’d highly recommend grabbing a few of these before the 2009’s are sold out. I can’t really say anything negative about this cigar, I will definitely be seeking out some more for my humidor.

Pairings:
Today we have one a brew from the Great Divide Brewing Co. and it’s called the Yeti Imperial Stout. The brewery hails from Denver Colorado and I think this is the first beer I’ve had from that state. We actually don’t get any brews from Great Divide up here in Ontario so this is another one I picked up while down in Florida. The stout is very full and thick, it coats your whole palate and the flavors linger long after. From each sip I get a strong malty coffee flavor with some dark chocolate thrown in the mix. It’s really a great stout and I enjoyed it. As for the pairing, I think the brew overpowered the cigar a bit. The cigar has some great flavors but it was not full bodied or overpowering so possibly a dark beer may have played nicer and allowed you to enjoy the flavors the cigar had to offer. I also think a cup of coffee would be a great pairing. Even water would go well with the smooth profile of the Tatuaje L’Esprit de Vérité 2009.

The Good Stuff: La Casita Criolla or “The Creole Cottage” is the first, or one of the very few cigars that are actually constructed from 100% Connecticut Broadleaf. Pete Johnson goes into a bit more detail on the tobacco used for this cigar:

“Okay guys. To clear this up. Not all broadleaf is dark. The wrapper will be but the binders and fillers are made up of broadleaf tobacco also. When Jaime (Garcia) buys broadleaf, he buys in hopes to get good dark juicy wrapper, some medium color wrapper like La Riqueza and good binder but the other leaf that doesn’t make those grades is sorted by size and texture for filler. Again not every leaf will look like the wrapper. It’s all 100% USA Conn. Broadleaf. Jaime also buys all primings of broadleaf. Seco, Viso and Ligero. This is also how we are able to sort the filler to do the blend on the cigar.”

So yes, that’s right. 100% Broadleaf. I know that Broadleaf is expensive, and isn’t the easiest to come by so if anyone was able to create a cigar comprised of nothing but this leaf, it had to come from the My Father factory. The Garcias use more broadleaf than any other cigar manufacturer. And anyone that reads this blog knows that I am sucker for Broadleaf. Let’s hope this cigar doesn’t disappoint. The La Casita Criolla line will come in three different sizes, HCB – 5 1/8 x 42, HCBC – 5 5/8 x 46, and the HCBF – 6 1/2 x 48 and will be sold in the $7 range. That’s right, I was expecting a much higher price tag.

Size: HCBC 5 5/8” x 46  -  Wrapper: Connecticut Broadleaf  -  Binder/Filler: Broadleaf  -  Body: Medium

Prelight: What a vintage looking cigar, from the band down to the wrapper’s appearance. Although quite consistent in color the Casita Criolla sports a very rustic, almost beaten looking appearance. The construction is spot-on and the wrapper is a nice dark brown with lots of smaller darker spots around the ripples in the leaf. There are lots of very small veins throughout the slender body leading up to a nice round triple cap. The cigar is actually very first and puts up a ton of resistance when compressed with no soft spots at all.  The band is interesting and a departure form what we normally expect Pete to come up with. It’s very vintage looking with an almost old days, sewn on looking placement of the “La Casita Criolla” logo. As you rotate the cigar around you can see Pete’s embroidered logo as well as “Tatuaje Cigars Estelí” just before coming to a small sketch of a nice little cottage. Right away I get this crazy pungent smell from the Broadleaf wrapper.  It’s very barnyardesque with some nice chocolate and spice notes. The foot is almost just as stinky as the wrapper of the cigar bearing almost identical aromas.  The cap was easily clipped using my double bladed Palio cutter. The cold draw was a lot smoother than I had originally expected pumping out some inviting spice and coffee notes with just a hint of pepper.

First Smoke: Wow, the Tatuaje La Casita Criolla starts off as what I would call the epitome of smooth. Right away I am greeting with some very nice woodsy, cocoa, espresso notes that tend to transition into a bit of spice after a while. No pepper at all, but a whole ton of sweetness. The draw on this Casita Criolla is super effortless pumping out huge clouds of thick smoke with every little draw. The cigar doesn’t give off much stationary smoke, but the smell is pungent! Be prepared, this probably isn’t something you’d want to smoke around people who aren’t really into cigar smoke (or could work in your favor by keeping them away). The burnline is pretty thick but produces a very nicely compacted, light grey ash. The ash held on for about an inch before giving way.

Halfway There: The dark chocolate and sharp espresso flavors are really taking over this cigar, along with a nice creamy fruit hint here and there mixed in with some subtle spice. The Casita Criolla started out really smooth and has managed to become even more-so into the second third. Even the retrohale on this cigar is creamy and smooth coating with a nice creamed coffee style flavor. I’m really not feeling any nicotine, but this cigar is burning a little quicker than I expected. The burnline is still dead even.

Finish: Into the final third of the Casita Criolla and the spice that has been nothing but an aftertaste has really start to shine through. The cocoa and espresso are still the there in force, with a more creamier, milky flavor starting to creep in with still a dash of sweetness. This cigar took only a little over an hour to finish, requiring no touch-ups or relights. I started to feel a little nicotine at the tail end of the experience, but not really enough to call this cigar anything stronger than medium.

Overview: It may be a little early to call it, but I think Tatuaje’s La Casita Criolla has a VERY good chance in making it’s way towards the top of our “Top 10 Cigars of 2011” list. The flavors are smooth and powerful with only slight changeups where needed to keep me on my toes, the construction on these cigars are perfect, and the price point is actually cheaper then I expected knowing that these are composed 100% of Connecticut Broadleaf.

Pairing: Despite what most people think, Fat Tire was actually New Belgium’s second beer. The first being their award winning Abbey. Since then New Belgium has actually created a stronger, more premium Abbey with limited releases through their “Lips of Faith” collection. They call this their “Grand Cru Abbey Ale” and it’s exactly what I decided to pair this Tatuaje La Casita Criolla with. Abbey is a traditional strong, dark ale perfected by Belgium Trappist Monks, and in my opinion, one of the best brew styles available. With a malty flavor with nice Banana, Caramel, and Lemon hints its hard to believe that he beer boasts a 9.5% ABV. The sweet, creamy style of the beer blended perfectly with the smoothness of this cigar. It really made for a perfect pairing, even if it does leave you a bit loopy afterwards. I think this cigar would go well with any stout, porter, or brown ale as well as Dr. Pepper or sweet tea.

This week’s review is one that Daniel has teased me about. I have been trying to get to this review for weeks now but every time I fire up one of these cigars I decide I much rather kick back, relax, and smoke it instead of writing up a review. Either way, it’s better late than never. I bring you, Tatuaje’s Verocu #5.

The Good Stuff: The Verocu line is basically a spin off of Pete Johnson’s already existent  Havana VI line. Pete wanted to extend the line so he, and master blender Don Pepin ramped up the blend by adding enough Ligero to coin the Verocu as a “Havana VI on steroids”.  The #5 is the newest size in the Havana VI series. This short, stout little cigar is jam packed with more flavor than most cigars three times it’s size. These cigars come in cabinets of 50 and run around $195 for the box.

Size: 4×40  -  Wrapper: Nicaraguan Habano  -  Binder/Filler: Nicaraguan

Prelight: The Verocu #5 is a perfectly constructed little cigar. Judging by some of the other smaller cigars I have had I would assume that smaller vitolas are hard to roll. They just usually seem to have some sort of flaw in one way or another, but these cigars are spot on.  I absolutely love the wrapper on these cigars. The consistent, dark, almost milk chocolate looking wrapper looks almost good enough to eat. The wrapper leads up to Pepin’s famous, Cuban style, round triple cap. On most of these cigars I found it harder to find larger veins. Only a few sticks had more prominent ones. The only thing that would make this cigar look any better would be a band. No idea why Pete decided to keep the bands off these cigars, but I personally would have liked to see them.

The body of the cigar gives off a very sweet, chocolatey aroma where as the foot  tells a very pepper filled tale with notes of tobacco and cocoa. The cap was pretty easy to cut using my double bladed Palio cutter.  The cold draw gives off a very peppery and spicy first impression with little notes of tobacco and a bit of fruit shining through.

First Smoke: The Tatuaje Verocu #5 lit up with extreme ease using my single torch flame. Right away you are greeted with this just, immense pepper flavor. Enough to give you a bit of a tingling sensation on your lips and tongue long after each draw.  After sorting through the strong pepper punch I was introduced to very sweet, tobacco, cocoa, and even berry like undertones. The draw on these Verocu #5’s are badass. Don’t let the size fool you. They pump out a thick cloud of smoke just like the big dogs. Not only is the draw large, but the cigar pushes out a mean trail of woodsy/tobacco scented stationary smoke.  The ash the Verocu leaves behind is a very bright white, with a few greyer spots, very tightly compacted all the way up to the perfectly even burnline.

Halfway There: The Verocu #5 is still kicking out quite a bit of pepper. Not as much as the first third, but it is still a major player in the flavor race.  There is still some spice creeping in with the subtle cocoa and berry flavor but there is also this coming and going of a very slight perfume/floral type after taste. I love it. This tiny cigar is just jam-packed with tons of flavors. I am not really feeling any nicotine off this cigar, and quite frankly I’d be surprised if a cigar of this size gave me more than a slight nicotine kick if any at all. The retrohale is very sharp coating my nasal passage with just tons of pepper at this point and a lingering woodsy coating.

Finish: That floral taste has surprisingly married up with the sweetness of this cigar and have completely dominated the pepper and the spice. The only undertones now are a bit of berry mixed with some dark chocolate. This is one hell of a mash-up. I am still not feeling any nicotine off this little guy either. The burnline has been just spot-on the entire way. I had a tiny bit of unwrapping at the cap of the cigar, but that was more than likely due to the way I clipped the cigar combined with the dryness of my humidors right now. It’s impossible to keep those things above water in the winter here. This has been just an all around smooth smoke. There was very little harshness towards the end, however once I got down within the final inch the head of the cigar really heated up. I took it down as far as I could without burning my fingers off. The heat was nice though as its freezing cold outside. And by freezing, I mean like 45 degrees. Call me what you will but I’m a desert boy used to the warm weather.

Overview: The Verocu #5 is one hell of a cigar and could quite possibly be the best drive-home cigar I have ever had. It’s definitely up there with the Tatuaje Pettit Cazadore, Illusione Epernay Pettit, and the 7-20-4 Dogwalker. The only main difference between the Pettit Cazzie and the Verocu is I personally think the Verocu is quite a bit bolder and hold much more flavor. So it just depends on what you are into. I seriously smoked about half a Cabinet of these bad boys in a matter of a month and I will be buying another one in the near future. This is a must have in ANYONE’s regular rotation. The cigar is nothing short of amazing and the price is much lower than what I would personally pay for one of these.

Pairing: I am still not 100% sure I should be enjoying a drink, but screw it. I have been alcohol free for far too long. Beer really screws up gout so I reached for the wine in  this case. Hopefully I’ll be back on the beer wagon before next week’s review.  The wine in question was a nice little glass of Enchantment Vineyards Chocolate Port. This is a favorite of mine and I love to pair this with more flavorful cigars. The Chocolate, Raspberry, dark grape, and black cherry notes are bold enough to overpower any lighter cigar. In this case, the risk paid off as the wine paired perfectly with the floral and berry notes the Verocu had to offer. Another great pairing would be some dark coffee, or a nice little stout. Brooklyn Brewing makes a badass black chocolate stout that would pair wonderfully with this cigar.

Up for review today we have a special edition release from Pete Johnson of Tatuaje Cigars. If you haven’t been following Pete or Tatuaje, you should know that he has a successful line of both limited and regular release blends and he shows no signs of slowing down. You can review some of the other cigars we’ve reviewed from Tatuaje, such as the recently released Halloween special, “The Face”, the Verocu Red Tubo or the Black Corona Gorda. You can also see more by clicking on “Cigar Reviews” at the top of the page and scrolling down to Tatuaje.

Today’s cigar is a special release as part of Tatuaje’s “Exclusive Series” and was made specially for the 100th Anniversary of Barclay Rex Fine Tobacconists. There’s not much extended information around about this cigar. It has a Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper which was one of the reasons I really wanted to track it down and give it a try. When it arrived it looked very tasty and appealing. Without further adieu let’s jump right in!

Cigar: Tatuaje Exclusive Series – Barclay Rex 100th Anniverary
Drink: Hirsh Brau – Holzar Bier Bavarian
Vitola: Toro (6 x 52)
Wrapper: Connecticut Broadleaf
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan
Price: $10
Burn Time: 2 hours

Construction:
• Very smooth and round chocolate brown wrapper
• The foot is uncut, leaving the extra wrapper to wrap over the foot
• Fairly springy to the touch but even throughout
• The triple cap has a very clean finish
• No major veins but the minor veins offer a nice lighter shade of brown
• Cut was clean but made a bit of a mess
• Draw is perfect, not too open and not too tight

Burn:
• Toasting was fairly easy even without trimming off the excess wrapper on the foot
• Burn has been nice and razor sharp for the first third
• As I hit the halfway mark I’m still getting a razor sharp and slow burn
• No problems all the way to the end

Smoke & Ash:
• A fair bit of resting smoke rises off this cigar in the ashtray
• The cigar also gives a nice mouthful of smoke on each draw
• The ash is a nice light grey color and appears fairly strong and tight although the first one fell gently into the ashtray at about one inch
• Subsequent ashes were about the same length but still kept tight and clean

Tasting Notes:
• The wrapper gives off a mostly barnyard or hay like aroma, but a bit of spice can be detected
• Given that the wrapper extends over the foot it has the same aroma at this point
• Pre-light draw is almost non-existent, very mild tobacco flavor with a bit of peppery spice on the lips
• Initial draws hold a bunch of pepper and cedar with some cloves on the finish, interesting start
• The pepper is continuing to be the dominant flavor through the first third with some added toasted wood
• The retrohale has a peppery bite with a nice cedar finish, so far we’re starting out near the medium range
• The toasted wood is developing a but more with some new coffee flavors as the pepper slowly tapers off
• The coffee is balancing nicely with the toasted wood, at this point the pepper is almost gone but the clove flavor is still around complimented with some nutmeg
• The cloves are building as the coffee develops, very interesting mix, I may need to put some cloves in my coffee grinds next time…
• Body is definitely building up, already at full as I head into the last third but still very smooth
• The cigar finished strong but was still smooth and flavorful to the end

Final Thoughts:
This is yet another great cigar from a blending master. It started out fairly strong and peppery but the change-up around mid-point proved to be very enjoyable. The burn and general construction of this cigar was spot on the whole way through. The price is also fairly accessible although they are yet another limited edition and that may turn away some people from purchasing them. If you are a Broadleaf or Tatuaje fan these are definitely worth a try as they do not disappoint. They finish fairly strong so make sure to have a good beverage and a full stomach before lighting one up.

Pairings:
The beer is completely new to me and I stumbled upon it for the first time in one of the holiday packs at my local store. It’s from a brewery called Hirsh Brau and the packaging claims it to be a “Bavarian Beer from Germany”. The English on the packaging and bottle after that is pretty much non-existant, it’s all German. A little online digging shows that this is a Dunkel (Dark Lager) from Sonthofen, Germany. It has a ton of flavor packed into with nice swing top bottle. Despite being a dark lager it is a fairly light drinking ale with bright flavors. It has a nice bitter finish with some hints of fruit and honey and lots of hoppiness. I don’t think it was the best pairing for this cigar, probably a bit too light. I think a nice dark stout or porter would have paired better. Also, this cigar would go fantastic with a good Scotch or Port as well as a nice strong cup of coffee.

The Verocu Tubos are a limited release but still seem to be easily available at the time that I write this. The Verocu line comes in a Red Tubo and various other sizes that are not limited release. The line was created as an extension to his Havana VI line with some added ligero for a little extra punch. The nice tube this cigar comes in is also cedar lined for a little added flavor.

I’ve had this cigar in my humidor for quite a while. I smoked a couple a while back but decided not to review it since a lot of chatter suggested to have these age. I think this particular stick is coming up on almost a year of age since I purchased it and I have some notes from one of first few I smoked to compare to.

Don’t forget that we are currently running our contest with CheapHumidors.com for a 10-Cigar Caddy. Read the rules and add a comment below to get an extra entry!

Cigar: Tatuaje Verocu Red Tubo
Drink: Quinta de Infantado Tawny Port (Bottled in 2004)
Vitola: Torpedo (6.125 x 52)
Wrapper: Nicaraguan
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan
Price: About $11
Burn Time: 2 Hours

Construction:
• Very smooth and appealing dark chocolate brown wrapper
• A couple medium veins but nothing that looks too worrisome
• Very clean and even diameter
• Fairly firm with a slight spring, same feel throughout
• Excellently applied double cap
• Foot looks fully packed but very clean
• This cigar has two bands, one being the standard Tatuaje band finely written in script and accompanied by their logo. The second band is says “Verocu Tubos”
• Cut was extremely clean and easy
• Draw is perfect, just enough resistance but not too tight
• Bands came off easily with no wrapper damage at all

Burn:
• Toasting was amazingly even and slow
• Cigar is burning nice and slowly but still producing lots of tasty smoke
• The first couple of inches have been razor sharp with just a slight wave
• The wrapper needed a couple touch ups past the half-way mark but nothing major
• The burn was consistently nice and slow with no need for extra draws to stay lit

Smoke & Ash:
• Big mouthful of smoke right from the first draw
• Lots of resting smoke giving off a very nice sweet aroma
• The ash is showing a bright white face with minimal highlights
• The ash is also very tight with almost no flaking and appears very strong
• Awesome ash held on for almost 2 inches, you could actually see it slowly falling off, no mess with this cigar
• The next 2 ashes were a bit shorter but still clean and falling right into the ashtray

Tasting Notes:
• Wrapper has a very nice cocoa and spice aroma
• The foot is bursting with cinnamon and nutmeg and nicely complimented by a faint cocoa aroma
• Pre-light draw has some hay-like flavors and and more spice, maybe a little pepper thrown in there
• Starting off very mild with jut some sweet tobacco flavors, the spice on the aroma seems to be missing so far
• Retrohale has a mild cocoa finish, very tasty
• Starting to pick up some nice creamy coffee notes, almost like a Latte, very interesting
• The nutmeg flavors starting to kick in now and I’m just approaching the first inch, I like how this cigar started off fairly inconspicuous and is slowly adding flavor dimensions
• About 2 inches in I’m starting to get a nice little nutmeg bite on the retrohale
• As I approach the half-way mark the body is definitely starting to ramp up a bit and the cinnamon spice is starting to make an introduction
• The cigar has generally been fairly dry but nothing overpowering, just need a nice pairing to compliment it
• The spices are balancing nicely with the coffee and cocoa, each taking turns being the prominent one, great stuff
• As I approach the last 1.5 inches a little bitterness is starting to creep in and a nice spicy/creamy coffee flavor has taken over
• The bite on the retrohale has consistently developed nice and strong towards the end with a smooth cocoa and nutmeg finish
• The bitterness did not develop any further and I nubbed this cigar with a nice creamy coffee finish

Final Thoughts:
I think the notes above pretty much speak for themselves. This cigar started off fairly slowly but then each flavor made a nice slow introduction. The flavors were always nicely balanced and I never really felt overpowered by this cigar at any point. The Tatuaje Verocu red Tubos is definitely recommended in my books. The price tallies in a bit higher than some other cigars but the quality, flavors, construction, burn and overall enjoyment are worth having a few on hand. The age did this cigar fairly well and the bitterness that used to start earlier in the cigar was only evident near the very end. The flavors were also a lot more prominent that what I can remember. The body did not change much however as this cigar ended at just around full. Try to grab these fairly soon before they disappear!

Pairings:
I recently paired this port with another cigar, so I won’t re-invent the wheel. Here’s my thoughts on it from before:

The bottle I had today was bottled in 2004 by Quinta de Infantado. It has a fairly light red color to it and produces some nice oaky flavors complemented by dark berries, such as black berries and black cherries. It’s not too strong and comes in at an excellent value for the price. It’s definitely a good port to start with if you’re just considering trying it out for the first time or to have on hand to serve without feeling a wallet pinch.

This pairing was excellent. I find that a good Tawny Port can play well with both mild and full cigars and this cigar seemed to span that entire range. A drink too strong may drown out the initial flavors but pair well near the end. Vice-versa, a light drink will go well at the start but lack the palate cleansing qualities as the cigar builds body. Some other pairings here could be coffee, dark soda, a dark porter or stout or even a nice red full-bodied red wine.

Tatuaje Tabacos El Triunfador #1

This cigar just recently started hitting the market, and are quickly flying off cigar retailers shelves nationwide. These sticks came direct from the wonderful people at Bonita Smoke Shop, who are currently stocking the Triunfador as well as many other Tatuaje blends.

The Good Stuff: This is a re-release of Tatuaje’s old blend of El Triunfador. The only main differences are the new blend is released in 6 different sizes: The #1 which is a 6.5 x 42, the #2 which is a 5.5 x 52, the #3 which is a 5.62 x 46, the #4 which is a 4 x 48, the #5 which is a 4.4 x 42, and the #6which is a 7.5 x 38 vs the old blend (which will still be in production) only came in lancero form. And the wrapper, the old Triunfado blend was wrapped in broadleaf, where as in the new Triunfador blend, the cigar is wrapped in Habano.

Size: (#1) 6.5 x 45  –  Wrapper: Ecuadorian Habano  -  Binder/Filler: Nicaraguan  -  Body: Mild/Medium

Tatuaje Tabacos El Triunfador #1

Prelight: Pete Johnson and Don Pepin are no strangers when it comes to excellect craftmanship in thier products, and The Triunfador is a great case study for that. The wrapper is extremly oily, silky smooth, and a very consistent rich brown topped off with the famous, rounded tripple cap. The #1 is a box-pressed cigar, but much like the La Riqueza the edges have quite a bit of roundess to them.  Although this vitola is very thin, the cigar is still very firm with little give when squeezed, not to mention I could find no soft spots what so ever on this stick. The band on the new El Truinfador is a simple, yet elegant red/white/and gold design, again resembling a scaled down version of Pete’s La Riqueza’s Band. The Triunfador gives off quite a bit of aroma, ranging from very sweet tobacco to an almost nutmeg that I can only hope carries through in the actual taste of the cigar. The cold draw produces a very similar taste to the aroma, sweetness, tobacco, and a hint of spice. I had no problems clipping this cigar using my Palio double bladed cutter.

Tatuaje Tabacos El Triunfador #1

First Smoke:Tatuaje’s Tabacos El Triunfador lit up instaneously under my triple flame butane torch. I was expecting to be hit with the burst of pepper that most Tatuaje cigars start out with, but instead I was greeted with an extreme sweetness. The main tastes overall where a mixutre of very sweet tobacco (gotta love that), nutmeg, and a nutty after taste. The Triunfador starts off very smooth, and you can almost tell right of the bat that this is going to be a very mild cigar. I actually smoked this one for the review first thing in the morning. I am not a morning smoker at all, which shows just how mild this cigar really is. The draw was effortless and plentyful, producing a thick, lingering cloud of dark-grey almost brown smoke. The Triunfador doesn’t give off very much stationary smoke at all, but what little smoke that resides is very light scented with sweet tobacco, bits of cocoa, and cedar. The burn line was razor thin, and dead even leaving behind a thick, solid, light grey/white ash. The ash held on for about an inch before tumbling into my ashtray.

Tatuaje Tabacos El Triunfador #1

Halfway There: I’m halfway into this Triunfador, and I am extremly impressed with how sweet, and smooth this cigar is. The sweetness is still present in full force, where as there has been off and on hints of pepper, mixed with lots of nutty aftertastes. There is also quite a bit of woodsy/cedar tastes making face in these complex mashup. The nutty after taste seems to be very prominent once I take a few sips of the water that I paired this cigar with. The burnline is still dead even, and I haven’t needed to touch this cigar up at all. One side note is the speed in which this cigar burns. This was a longer vitola, and it only took me about 25 minutes to get halfway through it. I am not the fastest smoker, but I am far from a slow one so just be prepared, this won’t be an all nighter.

Tatuaje Tabacos El Triunfador #1

Finish: As if the Triunfador didn’t already shine in the first 2 thirds, the last third put it over the top. The sweetness stayed strong from start to finish, the pepper taste had completely vanished after the second third only to be replaced with cedar and nut. The last third really layed down the cedar flavor matching it up with the sweet, sweet tobacco for a perfect pairing. I had absolutely no problems with draw or burn. There was no harshness, and I was honestly very surprised that the cigar did not burn very hot at all towards the nub. I was able to take this one down as far as I could hold it without burning my fingers. Smooth smoke from start to finish with no signs, at all, of any nicotine. All in all this cigar took about an hour to smoke.

Tatuaje Tabacos El Triunfador #1

Overview: Needless to say, I am all about this cigar right now. AWESOME flavor profile, just enough changeup to keep my attention, smooth from start to finish. The El Triunfador is a winner in my book. Pretty much my only gripe about this stick is the fact that it smoke so fast. If it would burn any slower though, I am sure there would be a bit of harshness built up so I am willing to give it a free pass on that one. I honestly think this cigar would appeal to anyone who enjoys smoking. Don’t pass this one up! Price point is about $7 – $9 a stick, and although you’ll tear through them quickly, I think its a great price for the product.

Tatuaje Tabacos El Triunfador #1

On a side note:If you are interested in the Triunfador, a good friend of ours Dan Reeve is actually on an adventure to smoke, and review each vitola in the new line. Head on over to his site ( http://crookedburn.blogspot.com/ ) for full coverage!

As stated before, this is a pre-release stick. I got my hands on a few via various packages from Pete Johnson, creator of Tatuaje Cigars.

The Good Stuff:I wasn’t able to gather much information about this cigar what-so-ever. Pete had made mention that the idea behind it, was to create a cigar from various crops in Nicaragua that will change dependant on the year. I wasn’t satisfied with only that information so I did a bit of digging and stumbled across a review done by Stogie Guys of the L’espirit. Here is some of the vast information they had:

“The idea behind this highly anticipated release borrows heavily from the wine industry. All of the tobacco, habano criollo, will be from the one farm in Esteli-making this a Nicaraguan puro—and each year will produce a different “vintage” to mirror the vintage concept in wines. The tobacco will be fermented but, unlike most cigars, it will be rolled without undergoing further aging in bales.

The L’esprit de La Verite is made from the same tobacco as La Verite and designed to be a sample to give a taste of the final La Verite release. Starting in July, futures will go on sale for La Verite at a 25% discount on the retail price, which is similar to the process used by winemakers.”

Usually I try not to “borrow” information from other review sites, nor ever look at similar reviews until mine is posted, but I didn’t want to leave you guys hanging and the Stogie Guys seemed to have the good. If you haven’t checked thier reviews out I suggest you do so. Probably the most information heavy reviews I have seen out there.

Prelight:The band on the L’esprit de Verite is unlike most bands bring produced by Tatuaje. It’s a crisp maroon band, much larger than the average Tatuaje band. The band has a nicely tucked embossed silver crest surrounding it, accompanied by the familiar Fleur De Lis Tatuaje is known for. The band also boasts very largely the year “2008″. Im not too sure if this is what the finalized band is going to look like but it’s pretty different, as well as interesting. The wrapper on the L’esprit de Verite is a very light complected chocolate brown. The wrapper is incredibly consistent in color with the exception of a small lighter brown portion of the cap. The L’esprit de Verite is a very well crafted cigar sporting no soft spots and just a few tiny veins. The wrapper on the body of the cigar smells very sweet and oaty, where as the foot gives off a very grassy scent mixed with honey and molasses.

First Smoke:The L’esprit de Verite lit up with no problems at all. The first initial flavors were that of spice and pepper. This was yet another cigar that hit me in the face with the quick and strong pepper flavor, then diminished. The flavors then leveled off and very grassy, bran, natural tobacco taste. The draw was effortless, and the smoke was thick and flavorful. The L’esprit de Verite gives off a ton of stationary smoke. I went in the sniff the smoke and was hit with strong pepper. Be careful retro-haling this cigar. The burnline was dead even and razor sharp. The ash left behind was incredible. It left a trail of bright white with no signs of flowering or flaking.

Halfway There:At the halfway point I encountered a very big change up in taste. The pepper and spice were no longer present and the main flavor was of  a smooth, creamy, sweet tobacco. I didn’t expect a cigar with this wrapper to produce as much flavor as this cigar did. The burnline create a slight wave, but nothing that I am too concerned about. The ash still held its ground well into the second half and finally gave way almost 2 inches into the cigar. On interesting note, the top half of the cigar’s ash produced an area that was a very dark grey. I’ve seen this often in criollo wrappers due to the oils, but never as spotty as this. An interesting note on that area though is it had a strange gash through the center of it. The wrapper didn’t portray any type of vein in that particular area, and once I passed it that “gash” is when I noticed the great flavor change up. the following are pictures I took of both sides of the ash. Just to give you an idea.

Finish:Judging by the kick this cigar gave me when I first started it up, I would have had no idea it would have finished so creamy and smooth. The pepper and spice never really came back, but the sweet natural tobacco taste you can expect from Tatuaje cigars only increased towards the end of this smoke. The main flavors outside of tobacco were honey, creamy chocolate, and oats. I felt a slight nicotine kick from this one, but nothing to worry about. It’s definitely @knightrid safe. All in all it took about and hour and a half to smoke down this robusto sized cigar.

Overview:I can’t really form a solid conclusion on this cigar due to it still being in pre-release form. But what I can tell you is that if this sample is any indicator of how amazing the final product will be, then Pete has produced yet another winner. The L’esprit de Verite is a well rounded, extremely well constructed cigar that would not only appeal to the avid cigar smoker, but even a new comer as well.

Tatuaje La Riqueza

 The Good Stuff: Sadly, I wasn’t able to dig up a lot of history or interesting facts on this cigar. Basically it’s exactly what you would expect from a Tatuaje. Produced in mid 2008, La Riqueza is another custom blend rolled by cigar master Jose Don Pepin Garcia at his factory in Nicaragua exclusively for Pete Johnson of Tatuaje cigars. Unlike other cigars produced by Tatuaje, La Riqueza is wrapped in a naturally dark  Connecticut Broadleaf that is actually produced by the Oliva Tobacco Company. Pete Johnson believes that this wrapper is amongst the most flavorful in the world, and it will be interesting to see what a Tauaje cigar tastes like with such a different take than what we are all used to.

Size: No. 2  — 5 1/2 x 52  – Wrapper :Connecticut Broadleaf  -  Binder/Filler: Nicaraguan  -  Body: Medium

Tatuaje La Riqueza

 Prelight:La Riqueza is a nice, thick, what I would call semi-boxpress. The body of the cigar is just a bit too rounded to actually label the Riqueza a normal boxpress in my book (technically it is a boxpress). The wrapper is a very rich and consistent dark brown with scattered lighter brown blemishes.  There are tons of little glimmery specs on the wrapper that just add to the overall oily appeal of this cigar. There are little to no veins visible, nor are there any soft spots or signs of misconstruction. La Riqueza carries the rounded triple cap that Pepin is known for. La Riqueza gives off a massive amount of aroma that can big picked up the second it comes out of its cellophane. The wrapper gives off a chocolatey walnut aroma where as the foot of the cigar boast a massive amount of chocolate and espresso with slight floral scents. The cold draw matches that of the aroma to a tee. Very chocolatey with hints of coffee, spice, and walnut.

Tatuaje La Riqueza

First Smoke: La Riqueza started out with a sharp blast of pepper that faded away almost instantaneously and seemed to only stick around long enough to tease, and tickle the tip of my tongue. The cigar has a very bold and complex flavor. It starts off very floral with burned wood mixed in, but then finishes very cleanly with an earthy/coffee/chocolate taste followed up with a nutty aftertaste. This is an extremely pleasant cigar. I’m usually not a big fan of medium bodied cigars, but La Riqueza packed enough flavor to keep me entertained for hours on end. The draw is a bit tight, but produces the expected amount of this greyish-brown smoke. La Riqueza gives off a bit more stationary smoke than the average cigar, but makes up for it by giving off a very floral and cedar aroma that wouldn’t bother any people sitting nearby. The burnline is razor thin and burning pretty consistent for the most part. There are a few small, innocent waves opening up to a well-packed medium grey ash. The cigar held a little over an inch and a half before the ash gave in.

Tatuaje La Riqueza

 Halfway There: I can’t get over how flavorful this cigar is. I’m assuming most of the blend is similar in containment to what you would expect from Tatuaje and the only main difference is the wrapper. In retrospect, it makes me appreciate the cigar that much more. It may be a bit too early to say this but this is an incredible tasting cigar. Halfway in and the flavors are still holding true. At this point I was able to pull a bit more spice out of the mixture, it almost tastes like nutmeg, but I can’t quite put my finger on it. The floral, chocolate, and nut flavors are all very present, where as the coffee has dissipated quite a bit since the first portion of this cigar. There is also a bit of fruit thrown in there. I hate to say this for fear of getting flamed. but this is the closest thing to an infused cigar I have ever had that wasn’t actually an infused cigar. It has a lot to do with the massive amount of flavor this cigar produces I’m sure. The burn line is continuing to develop without any flaws and the ash seems to only be getting stronger as the cigar progresses. 

Tatuaje La Riqueza

 Finish: La Riqueza finished just as smooth as it began with absolutely no signs of harshness at all. Towards the end of the cigar the coffee and chocolate flavors began to fade out and the floral and spice flavors took center stage. I still can’t quite place the exact taste but I picked up a bit of nutmeg and jasmine in there that’s for sure. I never once had any burn issues with this cigar, nor did I ever have to worry about the ash falling off prematurely. In it’s entirety La Riqueza took about an hour and a half to smoke. It probably would have lasted two hours but I just couldn’t put it down.

Tatuaje La Riqueza

 Overview: Honestly, this was hands down, one of the best cigars I have ever had. I’m not quite sure that it crests my top 5, but it is definitely up there. The only bad thing I can think of is the fact that I CANNOT get them locally. So if there is anyone out there with a few on hand, lets trade!

As far as value goes, these sticks are priced around the 7 – 8 dollar range which I personally think is a great price tag for such a great cigar.

I WILL have these again, if I can get my hands on them. And I honestly think anyone else out there should give La Riqueza a try if you can find them.

Tatuaje La Riqueza

 This Tatuaje La Riqueza was paired with an Avery Brewing “The Reverend” Belgium Style Quadruple Ale

Tatuaje La Riqueza

Tatuaje Cabaiguan

I’ve been interested in these smokes for quite some time, unfortunately Tatuaje is one of the few brands that my local B&M shops do not carry. Luckily, The Great Torpedo from stogiereview.com sent a few with a handful of other sticks earlier this week. Big thanks Jerry!

Now onto The Good Stuff: Tatuaje is a brand created by Pete Johnson. Pete Johnson is a very experienced tatoo artist hence the name Tatuaje (“Tatoo” in spanish). Tatuaje is actually one of the many brands that Don Pepin has his hand in right now. In fact, Cabaiguan is actually named after Don Pepin’s hometown in Cuba. Tatuaje is currently under fire by Altadis for his use of the le fleur de lis symbol on his cigar. I won’t go into that though.

The Cabaiguan Guapo is a limited edition cigar with very similar characteristics as the normal Cabaiguan with the exception of the wrapper. The standard Cabaiguan carries a Shade Grown Wrapper where as the Guapo carries a Sun Grown Wrapper.

Size: 5 5/8 x 54  -  Wrapper: Sun Grown Equador Connecticut  -  Filler/Binder: Nicaraguan  -  Origin: Nicaragua

Tatuaje Cabaiguan Guapo

Prelight: Tatuaje’s Cabaiguan Guapo is a hefty looking cigar. It’s very heavy and tightly packed compared to most cigars similar in size. The Guapo sports a very deep, rounded cap, with a small, tied nub at the end of it. I could only describe this as looking similar to the top of a chinese kids head, you know, in movies and video games. There are no softspots at all, this cigar is like a brick. The wrapper itself is quite a bit darker than the normal Connecticut that I’m used to, and it seems pretty hard, and fragile with tons of oil. I’ll have to handle this one with care. The wrapper omits almost no smell at all, the only real scent I could pull off was very light scents of cocoa. The foot was similar in absence of smell but i did give off a very hay-link aroma. It just wasn’t very powerful. There were quite a few veins, but nothing that will hinder the smoke of this cigar. The cold draw produced very earthy tastes, the cocoa didn’t come through on the the cold draw. The band, like most Tatuaje’s remains very simple and straight forward. It sports and Old English style “C” with the word “Cabaiguan” underneath accompanied by the words “CUBA” and “MIAMI” on either sides. The back carries the simple Tatuaje logo, and the Guapo has with it a small lacing of silver metallic on the edges of the band. This is something the standard Cuabaiguans do not have.

Tatuaje Cabaiguan Guapo

First Smoke: The draw was a bit tedious to get going at first, but once I did it was non-stop. The guapo started off with a punch of pepper that only lasted to first couple of draws, then soon faded into a more soft, complex mixture of grass, leather, and what tastes like white meat. The draw itself was pretty massive, and smelled very similar to burnt grass with hints of oil. I don’t think this would be too annoying to your company. The smoke itself is very hefty, slightly brown, and lingers like there is no tomorrow. The Guapo produces mass amounts of stationary smoke, more so than most other cigars I have had. The burn line was pretty consistent once I got the entire foot going. I had a bit of trouble at the beginning but I evened itself a few puffs in. I got well over an inch and a half of ash before it dropped.

Tatuaje Cabaiguan Guapo

Halfway There: outside of the vanquishing pepper, the Cabaiguan Guapo’s taste is remaining pretty consistent. I would best describe the taste as burning corn husk with hints of passion fruit. This is a very smooth and creamy cigar, and I don’t feel any nicotine in it at all. Honestly the Cabaiguan is turning out to be an incredible smoke. Perfect for that relaxing day. It’s great to be able to give my palate a rest. The burn began to get a bit wavy a little more than halfway though, but not enough to need any touching up of any sort.

Tatuaje Cabaiguan Guapo

Finish: The pepper left and never came back. There were more hints of fruit towards the nub of this cigar. The fruit best resembled passion fruit or pomegranate, a bit citrusy, and very sweet. There were also subtle hints of vanilla and honesy towards the very end. The wavy burn line corrected itself almost right away and I didn’t encounter another burn issue again. The draw was just loose enough to produce massive amounts of smoke and flavor, but tight enough to smooth the experience out all the way though, and not get hot towards the nub. The band came off with ease.

Tatuaje Cabaiguan Guapo

Overview: I feel ashamed that I let this cigar fly under my radar for as long as I did. This was one of the most enjoyable smokes that I have had recently. The flavors were just complex enough to keep me on my toes, but not slammed in there to overload my taste buds. The strength was very mild and smooth, with a great massive draw. Smoking time was about an hour and a half. I would, and will get more of these cigars. They are limited edition but according to Pete J. he is doing everything in his power to get the line back out on the market.

Tatuaje Cabaiguan Guapo

This Taguaje Cabaiguan Guapo was paired with North Coast Brewing’s Brother Thelonious Belgian Style Abbey Ale.

Brother Thelonious Belgian Style Abbey Ale