Tag Archives: tatuaje

by Craig Vanderslice | August 10, 2022 · 5:00 pm

Dissident Bloc and Tatuaje Havana VI Verocú Blue Cigars

I started dipping in to the PCA show samples, and and one that caught my eye was the Dissident Bloc. This isn’t a new cigar, but it was one I hadn’t tried before. I spoke with Cyn and Josh Coburn, the new owners of the brand a the Oveja Negra booth. They seem to have a passion for the brand. I smoked the corona gorda size, 5 5/8″ x 46, one of my favorite sizes after toro. The cigar has an Ecuadorian Maduro wrapper, whatever that is, Ecuador (again, could be anything) binder and Nicaraguan and Dominican fillers. This cigar was my cup of tea. It had dark, rich espresso flavors, and I quite enjoyed it. I wish it had been larger, because it left me wanting more. I like most of the cigars made at Oveja Negra, and this one is no different.

My video interview with Tatuaje Cigars Pete Johnson has quickly jumped into the top five viewed videos on Youtube! The numbers are relative, I don’t consider myself a “Youtuber”, it just a place to put videos to me. Anyway, I smoked the new Tatuaje Havana VI Verocú Blue in the No. 1 size, which is a 6¼” x 52 Toro. This cigar has a shade grown Nicaraguan wrapper, and is fully composed of tobaccos grown by the Garcia family. The Verocu is one I usually grab when I stop at Holt’s in Philly, I like them. This one is more on the creamy side, with coffee and cocoa. It performed well and is one I will revisit. It was a very nice cigar.

That’s all for today, until the next time,

CigarCraig

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Tagged as Bloc, cigar, cigars, Dissident, Havana VI, tatuaje, Verocu

by Craig Vanderslice | July 13, 2022 · 12:10 pm

PCA 2022: Pete Johnson of Tatuaje Cigars

I returned from the PCA show in Las Vegas with something unexpected, a positive Covid test. This is disruptive in so many ways, I’ll be missing this weekend’s PA Barnsmoker just up the road from me. Symptoms are pretty much cold-like for now, so I’m not overly concerned, I have a lot going in my favor as far as immunity goes. I have to take the rest of the week off work, which isn’t the way I wanted to use that PTO, but stuff happenes. Anyway, it’ll give me some time to share with you some PCA (Premium Cigar Association) content! In all the years I’ve been doing this, I haven’t gotten the chance to do a video interview with Pete Johnson of Tatuaje Cigars. I wasn’t going to let the opportunity pass again, so I made it happen. Here’s my longest video of the series, and I say this in homage to Jerry Cruz, a pioneer in video coverage, check out 14 minutes with Pete Johnson.

I’m super excited to try the new cigars Pete mentions, especially the Tuxtlas and Verocu Blue. He gave me a cigar that has the wrong band on it because of supply chain problems, I wonder if I should save it because it’ll be a collectors item someday? I’ll probably smoke it, but I’ll be waiting for a while before I smoke anything I really want to think about until this funk clears. Until the next time,

CigarCraig

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by Craig Vanderslice | August 25, 2021 · 9:46 pm

Tatuaje T110 Limited Edition Broadleaf and Sumatra and a Southern Draw Lady Killer

I wasn’t even going to write about the Southern Draw Lady Killer, but I had a special request, so I figured what the heck. I had stopped in to Cigar Mojo on Sunday to buy some cigars I didn’t need. I had been looking for some Illusione CG:4 White Horse for the Diner en Blanc because of the whole white thing, I like to smoke something with “white” in the name of the cigar, and they had gotten some in, so I felt obligated to go buy some for next year. Now I have to remember I have them next year! Anyway, as I was checking out I spied the last two Southern Draw Lady Killers by the register and picked them up. This is Limited Cigar Association exclusive, in a Lonsdale format, with an Ecuador oscuro wrapper. I’m not one to hunt down stuff like this, but this is a cigar I was interested in trying, I like Southern Draw cigars and I had been itching to smoke something new from them. The Lady Killer is 6½” x 46, which is a great size. The wrapper is dark and oily and it was a beautiful cigar. This was a powerhouse, reminded me a bit of the Jacobs Ladder, with less sweetness. I avoid a lot of the LCA stuff because of the silly branding, but I trust Robert Holt to keep things on brand and classy with his Southern Draw releases. This was a great smoke.

When I stopped by Son’s Cigars a few weeks back I picked up one each of the Tatuaje T110 Limited Edition in the Broadleaf and Sumatra wrappers. To be honest, I only got one of each because they are only 4¾” x 52 and I so infrequently smoke cigars that short. I’m fortunate, I suppose, to have the time that a cigar that short just isn’t satisfying. Sure, I could smoke another cigar, but that gives me some flavor problems at that point. Anyway, I smoked the Broadleaf first. I have really enjoyed the Tatuaje Broadleaf cigars I’ve smoked in the past, and this was no different. This was a full flavored cigar with rich, espresso flavors, and actually burned longer than I expected. The burn time on this short robusto was comparable to a toro. It was an unexpected surprise.

The T11o LE Sumatra is the same size as the Broadleaf, also made a at the My Father factory in Esteli, with an Ecuador Sumatra wrapper over Nicaragua binder and fillers. The story on this size is that it was originally a shop exclusive for a store in Hawaii back in 2009, I believe, so these are reissues. If I recall, the original blend went on to be the Fausto. Makes sense, I love the Fausto! This cigar had a nice sweetness that I love in a Sumatra wrapped cigar, and was equally as full bodied as the Broadleaf. Oddly, the smoking time on this was was more appropriate to the size of the cigar. I had planned well, I got home a little late, then cut the lawn and got off to a later start with the cigar than normal. This was a different, but equally as good cigar as the Broadleaf.

That’s all for tonight, until the next time,

CigarCraig

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Tagged as cigar, cigars, Lady Killer, Southern Draw, T110, tatuaje

by Craig Vanderslice | February 10, 2021 · 8:45 pm

Tatuaje The Michael Monster Series Cigar

Tonight I was on the Round Panel on the Kaplowitz Media network of podcasts again, which was a free-form discussion of sorts. Give it a listen, my sole contribution seemed to be neighborhood dogs (or wildlife of some sort) bleeding in. My dogs were quiet, I promise. I enjoy the panel, taking part in it is something I enjoy, I’ll try to contribute more. I have I guest spot coming up next week on the Smokin Tabacco podcast. Look for that on Wednesday, February 17. I enjoyed a fairly old La Gloria Cubana Artesanos de Tabaqueros 750, which was outstanding. I have to see if there are any more of the three packs at one of the local shops. Anyway, last night I smoked another cigar that I bought from Scotty’s Cigars, a Tatuaje The Michael Monster Series.

Tatuaje The Michael was the 2017 release in the Monster Series, and is a 6½” x 52, most of the Monster cigars are Churchill or Double Coronas. I have only smoked a few of the series, The Krueger and the Wolfman, I think, and a few of the smaller varieties. I don’t chase stuff like this or collect, but I’ll pick them up here and there when the opportunity arises. Such an opportunity arose, and I picked up the Michael on a whim. This has an Ecuador Habano wrapper, and Nicaraguan binder and wrapper and is made at the My Father Factory in Esteli. This cigar was a bit of a surprise to me compared with other cigars in the Tatuaje range. It seemed more creamy and floral than I expected, with some spice, but not the heavy Nicaraguan spice I would expect. I enjoyed it completely, it was well balanced and sophisticated, definitely medium bodied and quite tasty. Certainly well worth smoking and I’m glad for the opportunity, although it’s not something I’d yearn to have a box of in my humidor, which is probably a good thing, given it’s scarcity.

That’s all for today, until the next time,

CigarCraig

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by Craig Vanderslice | August 18, 2019 · 9:10 am

Southern Draw 300 Hands and Tatuaje Mexican Experiment and ME II Cigars

Wednesday evening I finally got around to trying the Southern Draw 300 Hands Connecticut in the Piramides size. This is a 6 1/8″ x 52 figurado, a classic size, with a US grown Connecticut shade wrapper, a Peruvian binder and Dominican and Nicaraguan fillers. Like all Southern Draw cigars it’s made at the AJ Fernandez Factory in Nicaragua. The wrapper is on the darker side for a Connecticut shade, and I found the flavor to be less grassy than most cigars in that genre. It smoked very well and was a very enjoyable cigar, well priced, with proceeds going to help less fortunate people in Nicaragua.

Thursday I stopped into the Downingtown CigarCigars shop to see Kevin, the manager there, looking for some “white” cigars for this coming Thursday’s Diner en Blanc. While I didn’t really find anything there, I did pick up some new cigars to try, including the Tatuaje Mexican Experiment and ME II in the Churchill sizes. I got a few others that will come up later as I get around to smoking them, and there was a E.P. Carillo event there which I hung around for the start of. Ali is the new EPC rep, and I’ve known here for quite a few years. I enjoyed a Seleccion Oscuro robusto there while talking with Kevin, which is one of my favorites in the EPC line. You know what I found really interesting about the Tatuaje Mexican Experiment and ME II? They are priced at $10 (in no cigar tax PA) for any size. The box pressed 6½” x 48 Churchill seemed like the logical choice to me, so I picked up one in each blend. I started with the Mexican Experiment, of course, it would be insane to smoke the II first. There’s not much blend information about the to cigars, they have a Mexican San Andrés wrapper over Nicaraguan binder and fillers, and are made at the My Father factory in Nicaragua. Honestly, I’d have to smoke these side by side to really be able to say what the difference is, perhaps the ME II was a bit more spicy than the Mexican Experiment. Both cigar were solidly in my wheelhouse, loaded with lush, heavy tobacco flavors with dark chocolate and espresso. I smoked these fresh from the store, for the most part, I should probably grab a few more to leave in the humidor for a year to see how they age, I suspect they would be spectacular, or more so, having spent some time resting. I got my start smoking Mexican cigars back in the 90s, my father-in-law turned me on to Te-Amos and I found the maduros to be to my liking and I smoked a bunch of them. My first box buy was a box of toros, and I used to buy the Te-Amo segundos by the bundle. At the time Mexican cigars were not exactly considered the cream of the crop, I guess I was ahead of the curve! There is a difference between a blend and a puro, and all Mexican tobacco might be overwhelming, I get that. Certainly these two Tatuaje cigars are great for my palate, and I really enjoyed the Churchill size. The other three sizes offered (Robusto (5” x 54),Toro (5 ¾” x 50) and Belicoso (5” x 52)) are actually pretty close together, made it hard to make a selection.