Tatuaje The Frank Redux 1

By Tony Casas | October 31, 2021

Happy Halloween! I hope you and yours are enjoying a fun and safe trick or treat evening. Coming in at the buzzer I started my day out back with a Tatuaje The Frank Redux 1 paired with a Bottle Logic Study Break Imperial Stout.

The Good Stuff:

Tatuaje fans rejoice! One of the most popular blends Pete Johnson ever created has made it’s triumphant return. The Tatuaje Frank, the first set in the popular Monster series released an eerie 13 years ago in a VERY limited production run of only 666 boxes. Each year thereafter a new “Monster” was released:

• 2008 – The Frank
• 2009 – The Drac
• 2010 – The Face
• 2011 – The Wolfman
• 2012 – The Mummy
• 2013 – The JV13
• 2014 – The Jekyll
• 2015 – The Hyde
• 2016 – Krueger
• 2017 – The Michael
• 2018 – The Bride
• 2019 – Chuck and Tiff

The Tatuaje The Frank Redux 1 is essentially the same cigar as the first release with only minor tweaks. Likely due to crop variations. The Frank Redux 1 is offered in the same 7 5/9 x 49 format utilizing the same blend on paper: Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper over a dual Nicaraguan binder (Jalapa and Esteli) and all Nicaraguan fillers (also from Jalapa and Esteli). This time there was a total of 5,000 boxes of 13 released. Each cigar runs $13. Big thanks to Jason for the hookup!

• Size: 7 5/9 x 49
• Wrapper: Connecticut Broadleaf
• Binder: Dual Nicaraguan
• Filler: Nicaraguan
• Body: Medium/Full
• Strength: Medium/Full
• Price: $13
• Pairing: Bottle Logic Study Break (Imperial Stout 10% ABV)

Prelight:

The Tatuaje Frank Redux 1 carries a deep, dark brown wrapper covered in splotches of almost-black areas and lighter orangish areas. It’s definitely a bit monster-looking. The wrapper itself carries quite a few medium-grade veins along with a ton of gritty tooth and lots of oils. The wrapper is very thick and very hard while the cigar itself is huge and heavy as hell. It’s very tightly compacted. The cigar carries a few notable characteristics as it carries a very soft box-press format and the wrapper is folded over the foot concealing the fillers while it’s finished off with a round, double-wrapped cap. The Frank Redux is then polished off with the same dark green and black Tatuaje band we found on the original Frank release.

The wrapper on the Tatuaje Frank Redux 1 gives off lots of spice and nut aromas while the foot of the cigar is more natural-tobacco focused with lots of pepper scents. The cap was a bit tough to cut through. The cold draw on the Tatuaje Frank Redux 1 releases a ton of spice and black pepper over some sweet natural tobacco flavors.

First Third:

The Tatuaje Frank Redux 1 starts out with a good amount of black pepper which quickly faded allowing the profile to transition to something more chocolate-forward with deep cocoa, cinnamon, espresso, and gingerbread over light walnut. Maybe I’m already feeling the holiday spirit, but this tastes a little like Christmas. I am getting a nice tart berry that creeps in every now and then while the spice from the wrapper leaves my lips tingling a bit. The draw is perfect. Each little puff kicks out a huge cloud of thick, white smoke which really takes a long time to dissipate while the cigar releases very minor amounts of stationary smoke while it rests in my ashtray. The burn line is razor thin and dead even leaving behind a trail of tightly compacted light gray ash which held on for about 3/4 of a inch before falling into my ashtray.

Second Third:

Into the second third of the Tatuaje The Frank Redux 1 and the flavors are still pouring in. The cocoa and walnut lead the charge backed by cinnamon, espresso, oak, and a whole mess of natural tobacco flavors. The tart berry is still creeping in and out of the experience. The retrohale really brings out the spice and pepper I experienced at the beginning of the first third. I close out the second third with no nicotine kick yet.

Finish:

Into the final third of the Tatuaje The Frank Redux 1 and this is where the cigar really shines. The body has continuously ramped up from the start of the cigar until now. The flavor profile is now heavily focused around the spice and dark chocolate over milder espresso notes, walnut, cinnamon and natural tobacco. It took me about 2 and a half hours to take this down to the nub and I loved every second of it. I experienced no harshness, nor any extended heat. The cigar never once needed any attention from my torch as I burned flawlessly the entire time. I close out the cigar with a pretty decent nicotine kick that wasn’t necessarily due to the strength of the cigar, but the length of the experience instead.

Overview:

While the original Frank is so far in my rear view mirror that I can’t remember much of that experience outside of my written words, I do remember how special of a cigar that was. The Frank Redux 1 delivered the same experience. It’s just an all around fantastic cigar. The flavor profile is incredible and really marries up well with my I personally look for in a cigar. The blend is complex, yet balanced, the price is perfect, and the fact that it’s much easier to find this time around is just awesome. I’ve always been a huge fan of the monster series and I for one am more than happy with it’s resurrection.

Pairing:

Bottle Logic’s Study Break is a Snickers inspired candy bar stout brewed with lactose, caramel malts, cacao nibs and peanuts. Coming in at 10% ABV the beer tastes much like it’s described as it leads with a ton of bold peanut over milk chocolate, roasted malt, a light saltiness and vanilla with a very heavy mouthfeel before finishing with even more peanut, toffee and chocolate. Outside of the obvious Halloween connection, I decided to pair this cigar with the Tatuaje Frank Redux 1 as it shared similar flavors in the chocolate and nut while the cigar added some more spice-forward flavors to the overall pairing experience.