Matt's Favs 4:41 pm
If you haven’t seen this video yet you should check it out. It is a cool little video with Pete Johnson as he explains the what’s and why’s of Tatuaje Cigars. It is nice and short and to the point. A very well done and watchable video.
Tatuaje owner and creator Pete Johnson
Enjoy!
Cigar Reviews and CigarsDirect.com and Matt's Favs and Pepin Garcia and Tatuaje Churchill, Cigar Review, Cigars Direct, Cigars Online, CigarsDirect.com, Nicaragua, Pete Johnson, Tatuaje 4:52 pm
Country: USA
Wrapper: Nicaraguan Corojo
Filler: Nicaraguan
Size: Churchill 7.0″ x 47 ring
The Tatuaje Reserva SW just may be my favorite cigar bar none. When asked to make a list it always lands in the number one spot, but in my mind the lines on these sorts of things are a little less clear. The point is, I love this cigar and make a point to enjoy one on a regular basis. When I first struck up my blog’s relationship with my friends over at CigarsDirect.com I told them my favorite cigar was the Tatuaje Reserva SW. They asked for a list of my favorites so as is typically the case, the Reserva SW ended up in the number one slot. As a very generous thank you for the Reviews I’d be writing for them, they sent me a few of these gems to enjoy. I have posted a review of the SW in the past but honestly I didn’t give it the full attention to detail it deserved so as I went to grab one of the SWs that CigarsDirect.com sent me I knew it was time to revisit this stellar cigar here on the blog.
The Tatuaje Reserva SW is part of the Selección de Cazador line of Tatuajes, which is also commonly referred to as the Brown Label or Tatuaje Cabinet, and even sometimes as Tatuaje Miami. The Reserva extension of this line is a collection of super premium cigars. It is available in three vitolas. The robusto sized 5×50 Reserva J21, the “A” sized 9.25×47 Reserva A Uno, and the Churchill sized 7×47 Reserva SW. The SW is a not so subtle reference to Sir Winston Churchill who was particularly fond of the vitola that now bears his name. Of course like all Tatuajes, the SW is made in the traditional Cuban style with a triple cap by the master blender and cigar maker Don Pepin Garcia. The Reserva takes it’s Cubanesque styling a step further with the “Reserva” name and the black and gold Reserva band that very closely resembles the “Reserva” band used by some Cuban brands’ super premium line extensions. Pete Johnson is a huge fan of Cuban cigars and the Cuban cigar industry so a lot of what Tatuaje does is fashioned after the Cuban brands. The Reserva Line of Tatuajes tend to be a milder blend then the rest of the Brown label line but I find that they tend to be a bit more complex as a result.
Before getting down to business, I took a moment to admire the leathery brown wrapper. It had a slight oily sheen and a few thin but prominent veins running across it, giving it a slightly rustic look. The triple cap on the head clipped perfectly with my trusty Palio. A pre-light puff reveals a perfect draw and delivers a hint of black pepper to the toungue. I used my brand new ST Dupont X-tend lighter to put the cigar to flame. The Reserva SW starts off like most Tatuajes with Pepin Garcia’s trademark peppery start. It only takes a few good draws for this one to settle down. Noticeably mellower than the standard Brown Label Tats, for most of the 1st half it is a very smooth and creamy smoke. It has a very woody core with undertones of coffee and cream. The creaminess of the smoke has an almost buttery feel to it. The smoke is thick and slow to dissipate. Once you pass the halfway mark, the cigar begins to pick up a bit. It gets a bit more robust but never threatens to become what you’d call full bodied. The flavors got more earthy and leathery, less creamy, and the finish seemed to hang on longer but it never lost its smoothness. As I tried to nub it down to my fingers there was a return of the black pepper I experienced at the start of the smoke. It was there for about the last smokable inch of the cigar and may be attributable to tar buildup near the head. Construction was impeccable and the burn perfect. The ash was firm but a bit papery on the edges.
The Reserva SW is far and away my favorite Churchill and when pushed to name a number one overall favorite cigar, this one still manages to grab that title for me. With only one anomalous exception among the many I’ve smoked, I have never been anything short of wowed by this cigar. It is 2 hours of pure smoking pleasure. It’s smoothness couple with its impressive complexity suits my palate to a “T”.
Get yours at CigarsDirect.com: Tatuaje Reserva SW
Cigar Reviews and Matt's Favs Cigar Review, Cuba, Fonseca, Lonsdale 9:33 pm
Country: Cuba
Box Date: September 2003
Size: Cazadores 63/8x44 ring
Fonseca is an under appreciated brand in my opinion. You don’t find too many people talking about it and there are plenty who haven’t even heard of it. I have found it to be a sort of hidden gem. Milder than most Cuban cigars it is still full of refined, complex flavors and they are a joy to smoke. The hallmark of the Fonseca is the white tissue paper wrapper that graces every stick in the marca, and the bold portrait of Francisco E. Fonseca that adorns each box.
The Cazadores is one of my most favorite vitolas. The No.1 sports a beautiful creamy brown wrapper covered in very fine veins and a handsome triple cap. The cap clipped off nicely and revealed the tell tale Cuban dimple underneath. This cigar starts off like a champ. Right off the bat it delivers smooth flavors of nuts and cream with a subtle saltiness. It is absolutely sublime. It produces thick clouds of creamy white smoke and rich almost nutty aroma. The finish lingers pleasantly with a salty spiciness that is unlike any other cigar I’ve smoked. As the smoke progresses the flavors begin to change. The predominate flavor is coffee and cream with a faint sweetness and occasional floral undertones. The construction on these cigars is flawless. With more than half the box smoked, I have never had a single issue of any kind with these cigars. The burn is razor sharp and the ash is perfectly formed and holds firm. I smoke these to the nub and almost burned my fingers as I finished this one up. It pained me more than the heat to put this cigar down.
Matt's Favs and My Stuff 8:24 am
I am the proud owner of yet another box of Tatuajes. I recently started a great new job and got a little sign-on bonus with it. I decided that I earned myself a little reward for landing such a good gig so I took a bit of that bonus money and got me a box of the elusive Tatuaje Havana Cazadores. This particular vitola is reported to be Pete Johnson’s personal favorite and are considered by many to be the best in the regular brown label line (non Reserva or Cojonu). They tend to be darn hard to find too. These beauties measure in at 6 3/8′ x 43 ring. They are a sight to behold as you can see below (click each picture for an enlarged view).
You can read my review of the Havana Cazadores here.
Cigar Reviews and Matt's Favs Belicoso, Cigar Review, Cuba, Partagas 9:40 pm
Country: Cuba
Box Code: ??
It’s been a while since I’ve had a cigar so I’m coming out gang-busters tonight. A very special cigar that was given to me by a good friend and fine BOTL. The Partagas Serie P No.2 was introduced in 2005 along with its cousin the Serie D No.4 Reserva. Partagas is one of the most famous and best selling Cuban marcas and is also know for having the widest range of lines and vitolas with a little bit of something for everyone. Partagas has cigars ranging from the mild to the full bodied powerhouse, but every one of them is reputed to have what is commonly referred to as “Partagas Spice”, a flavor profile that is the signature of the brand.
The PSP No.2 is a beautiful cigar with a smooth chocolate wrapper and a sublime earthy aroma. The first puff was a blast of harshness but it almost immediately changed to a smooth earthiness wrapped in classic Partagas spice. One thing that jumped out at me about this particular Partagas was that there was a creaminess to it I never experienced in other vitolas I’ve smoked with the exception of the much smaller Partagas Short. As the smoke progressed the Partagas Spice faded into the background and notes of caramel and nuts intermingled with its Cuban earthiness. It’s an amazingly complex smoke that demands your full attention. The cigar started to pickup again towards the end. It was all spice and earth the rest of the way. I rank this among one of the best Cuban cigars I have ever had the pleasure to smoke. The burn was good and the ash held firm but was a little papery on the edges. What a great cigar to have after an extended break from smoking.
Cigar Reviews and Matt's Favs and Pepin Garcia and Tatuaje Cigar Review, Nicaragua, Perfecto, Pete Johnson, Tatuaje 9:59 pm
Country: USA
Wrapper: Nicaraguan Corojo
Filler: Nicaraguan
Size: Figuardo 7.25″x57 ring
Picked up a box of these recently. I posted pictures in a previous post. Tatuajes are hands down my favorite cigars so when I ran across these hard to find beauties I had to pull the trigger on them. The presentation on these is very cool. Pete Johnson loves cigars and has a lot of respect and love for the history of Cuban cigars, and as a tribute he designed the packaging and presentation of this cigar in a “Retro Cuban” style hearkening back to the old style foil-wrapped Cuban perfecto cigars. In fact the RC in the name stands for Retro Cuban. The 184 is the cigars length in millimeters.
The aroma of these cigars is just amazing. I find it hard to describe but it is the richest most decadent aroma I have ever smelled from a cigar. This hefty monster has some weight to it and it feels good in your hand. It’s packed full of tobacco, firm with no soft spots. It lit easily which was surprising to me. I usually find perfectos a bit tough to get going. It started off surprisingly mellow lacking the trade mark pepper that is so common in cigars made by Pepin Garcia. The flavors of this complex cigar are rich and pronounced. It started off with lots of spice and leather. Once the draw opened up a bit the cigar picked up and it developed earthy notes with cocoa and nuts. The draw was perfect and I was surprised again, this time by the burn. It managed to stay straight better than most other perfectos I’ve smoked. The ash was firm and held on forever. As I neared the end of this two plus hour smoke it picked up in intensity and got a little peppery and leathery. The flavors were bold and full but it didn’t have the same punch, or buzz factor that a lot of the other Tatuajes have. That isn’t a bad thing seeing how large the cigar is. If it was as strong as a Cojonu or a Noella it would be hard to finish it I think. The RC184 has earned itself a spot very near the top of my list of all time favorites. It’s complex, delicious and a joy to smoke.
Matt's Favs and My Stuff 10:44 pm
Feeding An Obsession – Part Duex
My favorite cigars for about the past year or so have been Pete Johnson’s Tatuajes. They are made by Pepin Garcia in his El Rey de los Habanos Factory in Miami, Florida. Even outside of the Tatuajes, I am something of a sucker for just about any cigar Pepin makes. I further indulged my obsession with these smoke with my most recent purchase. I found some Tatuaje RC184 and RC233 perfectos. The RC184 measures an impressive 7.25″x57 ring and the even more impressive RC233 is a whopping 9.125″x55 ring. Both are foil wrapped perfectos sporting a distinctive 3 colored band that sets them apart from the rest of the “brown label” or “cabinet” line of Tatuajes. This presentation is meant to be a sort of Retro Cuban style and the “RC” even stands for “Retro Cuban”.
Here is a picture of my purchase. A box of 10 RC184′s and three RC233′s.
Matt's Favs and My Stuff 12:37 pm
If you couldn’t tell from the cigars I’ve been posting about lately I have a bit of an obsession with the cigars made by Don Jose “Pepin” Garcia. The man is a cigar making savant and I have enjoyed a good number of his products above and beyond just what I have posted about here. From the Tatuajes, to the DPG’s, to the 601s, the list goes on. Today I indulged this obsession some more with a small purchase. These Don Pepin Garcia Series JJ Salomones arrived today and they are beautiful…
Cigar Reviews and Matt's Favs and Pepin Garcia and Tatuaje Churchill, Cigar Review, Nicaragua, Pete Johnson, Tatuaje 7:00 pm
Country: USA
Wrapper: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan
Size: Churchill 7.0″x47 ring
Tatuaje has become my favorite marca hands down and this cigar only reinforced that opinion. It is big stick with an oily, leathery, brown wrapper. There were small veins throughout and it was a little bumpy giving it a slightly rustic look. It had an expertly applied triple cap that clipped perfectly. It was well filled with no sign of any rib veins in the filler at the head or foot. The pre-light draw was firm with just the right amount of resistance. Very peppery at the start, it mellowed quickly to a nice woody core and vanilla notes with a nice earthy finish. I’d describe it as medium to full bodied, not as robust as the Regio or Noella. Half way through the vanilla disappeared and it got buttery/creamy with cocoa notes. The last third was the smoothest dominated by wood and leather. A fantastic and complex smoke start to finish. If it wasn’t for the price I could smoke this every day.
The burn was nice and even. The only thing I can say bad about this cigar is the ash. It was flaky and didn’t hold as well as I have come accustom to with other Tatuajes.
Cabaiguan and Cigar Reviews and Matt's Favs and Pepin Garcia and Tatuaje Cabaiguan, Cigar Review, Nicaragua, Pete Johnson, Robusto, Tatuaje 9:55 pm
Country: USA
Wrapper: Connecticut Seed Shade Grown Ecuadorian
Filler: Nicaragua
Size: Robusto Extra 5.25″x50 ring
Yet another cigar from the Maestro Tobaquero Jose “Pepin” Garcia. He rolls this one in his Miami factory for Pete Johnson just as he does the Tatuajes. This cigar more closely resembles a Cuban cigar than just about any other non-Cuban cigar I have ever seen. It is a work of art. The wrapper is a gorgeous. A rich tan color with the look of expensive leather. The are very few veins and the ones you do see are tiny. It even has a little puckered vein running down one side that I’ve seen on almost every Cuban cigar I’ve come across. And of course like all of his cigars this one is sporting a handsome triple cap. The cigar is beautiful. I even love the band. I’m a minimalist when it comes to bands which is why I am such a fan of the Tatuaje bands. As you can see above, this one is beautifully simple as well.
The cigar is well filled and the cap clipped perfectly with my Palio. The were no signs of rib veins anywhere in the head or foot and the bunch looked perfect. The foot toasted evenly and easily as if it knew that this was it’s purpose in life. The draw was pleasant and it produced a lot of creamy white smoke with a rich aroma. At first it tasted peppery which seems to be a trademark of Pepin’s cigars. The pepper quickly mellowed to just a hint and a woody/cedar flavor took over. The flavors were crisp and light on the palate but assertive and it had a long spicy finish. It started to develop a slight sweetness about half way through that was very pleasant but didn’t last long. The pepper started to pickup again a bit in the last 3rd and as I neared the end of the smoke it mellowed out again. It was an amazingly smooth smoke. The ash was perfect, marbled in white, gray, and black. The burn was a little crooked but by rotating the cigar as I smoked I kept it from becoming a problem.
This cigar is a prototype for how a cigar can be full of flavor without being a “strong” or “full bodied” cigar. This cigar was fantastic and ranks among my recent favorites. I will definitely be hunting down some more of these. I can see these quickly finding a spot on my list of box worthy cigars.
Cigar News and Matt's Favs Tatuaje 7:02 pm
As a big fan of the Tatuaje Brown lables, and Tatuajes in general, I was reading up on Pete Johnson and the Tatuaje line of cigars. I read somewhere that Pete loves his dogs. So much so, that he named the sizes of the Tatuaje Brown and Red labels so that the 1st letter in each size can be used to spell out the name of his dogs. In the case of the Brown label, the 1st letter of each size spells out the name of his dog Hunter.
Havana Cazadores
Unicos
Noellas
Tainos
Especiales
Regios
At this point, those who know Spanish may know where I’m going with this….
I was looking at my box of Tatuaje Regios the other day and noticed something for the 1st time. On the box is the “proper” name of the Brown label line, La Selección de Cazador. A literal translation is “The Selection of Hunter“. Cazador means Hunter in Spanish. This little detail escaped my notice before and I found it to be interesting so I thought I’d share this little bit of trivia. Not only the sizes, but the entire Tatuaje Brown Label line is named after Pete’s beloved dog. Some of you more observant types may have already caught this, but for other fans of these cigars that may have missed this factoid as I did… I hope you found it interesting.
He’s done the same with the Red label line. His other dog is named Havana, so…
The Havana VI sizes:
Hermosos
Angeles
Victorias
Artistas
Nobles
Almirantes
The man loves his pups. I like that about him.
Matt's Favs and My Stuff 4:36 pm
I just picked up a 25 count cabinet of Tatuaje Regios. This is my favorite cigar and given how hard it has been to find, I am excited about the purchase. My favorite local cigar shop finally got a couple boxes in and they were nice enough to hold the box of my favorite vitola for me. It’s a little Christmas present to myself. It took almost a whole year from when I first asked them to try and bring them into the humidor, and although they only got a couple boxes in, hopefully I will start to see them there more often and in a few more vitolas.
Cigar Reviews and Matt's Favs Cigar Review, Cuba, Montecristo, Petite Corona 2:53 am
Country: Cuba
Box Code: Unknown
What a little flavor bomb! This is one of the most robust flavorful cigars I’ve smoked. It had an intense earthiness to it with cocoa on the finish. The burn was kind of all over the place, but it always corrected itself. It is amazing how much flavor is packed into this little cigar. I would say this is probably one of the best, if not the best, tres petite corona I’ve had. It is a fantastic quick smoke.
Cigar Reviews and Matt's Favs and Pepin Garcia 3:00 am
Country: Nicaragua
Wrapper: Habano Rosado
Filler: Nicaraguan
Size: Robusto 5.0″x50 ring
Another killer cigar from the master blender Pepin Garcia. This is a fantastic cigar. The wrapper is a gorgeous shade of brown and it has lots of tooth. The burn is excellent and the salt and pepper ash is a little loose but not so much as to be a problem. It is a medium to full bodied smoke, peppery with a nice bite. The bite is a pleasant bite, not a harshness if that makes any sense. The cigar produces a ton of creamy smoke and will burn slow and cool as long as you take your time with it. I think it showed the potential to burn a little hot if you try to rush it so be sure you have time to kick back and enjoy this one at a leisurely pace.
I really like the Don Pepin Series JJ’s but after smoking this I think I have a new favorite line in this brand. I will hold off until I smoke a couple more to finalize that decision. I really enjoyed this cigar and plan to add it to my regular rotation. Between Don Pepin Garcias and the Tatuajes, Señor Garcia’s cigars have taken over my humidors and smoking rotation.
Cigar Reviews and Matt's Favs and Pepin Garcia 5:53 pm
Country: USA
Wrapper: Nicaraguan Corojo
Filler: Nicaraguan Corojo and Criollo long-leaf tobacco
Size: Sublime 6.0″ x 54 ring
This beaut is made in Pepin’s factory in Miami. The same factory that brings us the Tatuajes I love so much.
To be honest this is an average looking cigar with an nice ornate white band and a second ring proclaiming it as a Series JJ. That is where this cigar stops being average. It is a superb smoke. It starts off very strong. I hadn’t eaten much the day I smoke this cigar and the first inch and a half had me thinking that this cigar was going to kick my butt. It was very full flavored and powerful. Not long after that, it began to even out and mellow a bit. It still had tons of flavor, kind of straight forward flavors of coffee and and wood, not very complex but very enjoyable. The amount of smoke this cigar produced was amazing. It bordered on being too much smoke. Lots of thick creamy white smoke that had a nice traditional cigar aroma to it. It was a really good smoke. It should probably be a bit cheaper (find myself thinking this about a lot of cigars now-a-days), but it is certainly worth trying one if you have the chance. I picked up a handful to keep in my humidor.
