Now there isn’t a whole lot of info out there about the ELO #3 so I’ll do my best here. If anyone has any more accurate or additional info, feel free to add it in the comments and I’ll be glad to append it to the review! From what I found while researching, this cigar comes exclusively from New Havana Cigars and is an “encore” release of a popular cigar they had previously sold in 2008.

It seems the cigars were sold at record speeds as do many of the limited releases from Tatuaje and especially from New Havana Cigars. As with many cigars from Pete Johnson of Tatuaje, this is a Nicaraguan puro and is rolled at the My Father Cigars factory in Esteli, Nicaragua. At the moment only New Havana Cigars is selling the ELO series from what I understand but it is possible that the retailers could expand, depending on demand and supply of course.

Now this next part is pure speculation but there may be some truth here. Apparently, the ELO series, which runs with numbers 1 thru 5, are overruns of some other popular Tatuaje cigars. And just to clarify, an overrun is not a 2nd, it’s basically just extra stock without any imperfections. From some reading, it seems this ELO #3 is the counterpart to the Tatuaje Verocu #2. Reading that and looking at some pictures of the Verocu 2 seems to be pretty accurate, but who knows.

So remember, a lot of this info is just stuff I found randomly and not from any official sources, so I’m not sure how accurate it is. Feel free to share any more info on his cigar if you have it, I’d love to learn more about it! Now I won’t do any more speculation or yapping, let’s just get straight to the review!

Cigar: Tatuaje ELO #3 2011
Drink: Muskoka Brewery Winter Beard Double Chocolate Cranberry Stout
Vitola: Robusto (5.5 x 54)
Wrapper: Nicaraguan
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan
Price: $6.50
Burn Time: 1.5 hours

Construction:
• The Tatuaje ELO #3 2011 has a pretty rough and beefy wrapper on it
• Despite having quite a few decent sized veins the oily sheen of this cigar definitely makes it attractive to look at
• The triple cap topping off this cigar is very smooth and well applied, so I can’t complain there
• Now the foot of the cigar looks like it has it’s fair share of filler leaves in there, very packed
• Surprisingly though, there is a nice give and spring to this cigar when squeezed
• The more I look at these veins the more they worry me, I’m hoping they don’t cause any burn issues here…
• The cut with my double bladed guillotine cutter made a huge mess and little pieces of tobacco leaves went everywhere
• The pre-light draw seems a bit tight but we’ll see how it goes
• The draw actually turned out to be ok, it is a bit tight but it’s not affecting the experience so far

Burn:
• The toasting was slow and steady and although there were some problematic spots it all lit up fairly evenly in the end
• The burn through the first inch of so has been razor sharp and super slow, so far so good!
• The burn continues to be stellar and slow through the whole first half, I’m actually very surprised because I saw a few good sized veins
• I had one little peninsula form in the last third of the cigar but it actually corrected itself, all in all this was a superbly burning cigar!

Smoke & Ash:
• The smoke coming from this cigar is plentiful but it seems a little thin, not a bad thing just something to note
• The resting smoke is fairly minimal but it does give off a nice woodsy aroma
• The ash on this ELO #3 2011 is a very nice whitish color with accents of black striping here and there
• The ash lasted easily past an inch with a strong and clean looking structure before I tapped it off into the ashtray
• Loving the strong and clean ash on this cigar, another easy passing of the 1 inch mark on the second ash

Tasting Notes:
• The wrapper of this cigar has surprisingly little aroma, maybe just a touch of woodsiness to it
• The foot is similarly lacking in aroma but I did detect a touch of floral notes in there, kind of surprised cause I’m used to getting a lot of spice from Tatuaje cigars
• The woodsy and floral flavors are still there on the pre-light draw but now I’m definitely picking up the trademark Tatuaje peppery spice that I’m used to, tingling my lips and tongue
• The first few draws had a very charred taste, might have been due to the extended toasting but I’m glad they went away fairly quickly
• The next array of flavors seems to be a musty woodsy type of flavor with a side order of mild spices and just a dash of leather
• The retrohale on the Tatuaje ELO #3 2011 has just a small bite and a smooth creamy cedar finish
• The body is resting at a comfortable mild-medium right now
• Now I’m not sure if it’s partly the beer here but I’m getting a nice thick rich flavor on this cigar, like a dark chocolate or roasted espresso, really enjoying it
• The flavors continue to get richer as the cigar burns, the spice has mostly disappeared and I’m left with a nice woodsiness backed by those delicious espresso and dark chocolate
• The body started to kick up into the full category in the last third but it still maintained a smooth creamy finish and lots of rich flavors
• The strength of this cigar seemed to sneak up a bit on me at the end, I got a little bit of a nicotine kick but not much. Might be due to smoking this earlier in the day and having only a small lunch
• The flavors diminished a bit as I hit the nub but they didn’t get harsh, just sort of washed out, still enjoyed it up until my fingers were burning

Final Thoughts:
Now this was a darn tasty smoke. I’ve had a bit of an up and down experience with Tatuaje lately but I always come back because when Pete Johnson does it right, he does it really right! The perfect burn, the awesome ash and the great array of rich flavors made for a superb smoking experience. The slow burn also gave me plenty of time to enjoy the cigar without the need to babysit it. I have to say that this blend definitely carried some similarities to the Verocu line, especially the Verocu Tubo since I smoked it not too long ago. So maybe there is some truth to that info… If you can track down a few of these I would definitely recommend you give them a try.

Pairings:
Today’s pairing is definitely an interesting one. It comes from a brewery about an hour North of me in what we call “Cottage Country”. It’s from Muskoka brewery and it is called their Winter Beard which is a Double Chocolate Cranberry Stout. Now I took a bit of a risk here since I actually haven’t even tried this brew before today and I’m glad to say it worked out rather well. I was a bit scared that the cranberry flavor would be overpowering but it’s actually barely discernible at all. You can get a touch of sweetness but it’s not a super fruity flavor at all. Even the double chocolate is fairly balanced. Once thing to note is that this is probably one of the thickest beers I’ve ever drank. It poured out like well aged port but it surprisingly had very little head (foam) to it. I found the richness of the beer to be a perfect match for the richness of the cigar, they both played to each others strengths and made for a great overall experience.

The post Tatuaje ELO #3 2011 appeared first on Cigar Reviews | Beer Pairings | Casas Fumando.

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.

The post Tatuaje Verocu #5 appeared first on Cigar Reviews | Beer Pairings | Casas Fumando.

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 post Tatuaje Barclay Rex 100th Anniversary appeared first on Cigar Reviews | Beer Pairings | Casas Fumando.

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.

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