Video review HERE.
The Tatuaje Tattoo is a re-release by Tatuaje. It was originally introduced in 2011. Not much is known about the cigar. The wrapper is a Ecuadorian Habano and the filler is Nicaraguan. I do not know the binder or any other blend info.
These are made in the Tabacalera Cubana (TACUBA) in Esteli, Nicaragua. TACUBA is the factory where Don Pepin Garcia started making his cigars before moving to the new Pepin facility in Esteli.
The cigar is very dark and very well made. The wrapper is smooth with no imperfections. What else would you expect from a Pepin made cigar?
It has an average feel in the hand. Not overly dense.
After cutting the cap the test draw had a touch of firmness. I always take the minimum from the cap so sometimes the draw has some firmness. Not overly firm and very workable. The initial flavors at light up were sweet cedar and boysenberry mix, coffee, and black pepper rated at an 8. The cedar is very sweet and the boysenberry gives it a high pitch sweetness. The finish is a brown sugar flavor at this early stage.
About 1 inch in the cigar is settling down. The sweet cedar is prominent and the boysenberries are toned down. There is some cocoa flavor mixing in with the cedar. Call it a low grade cocoa. The black pepper is very nice. I'm a huge pepper fan, be it black, white, or red. The finish is a brown sugar with light cocoa with a lot of lingering black pepper. The cigar is medium bodied. The flavor mix is very nice.
About 2 inches in the flavors are all in play and very close to balanced. You get an even amount of all the flavors in each puff. Warning; the ash in these cigars is very brittle. At about 1 inch the ash will fall. Be aware of that. It happened to me on previous Tattoo's and it's already happened on this one. You won't win a long ash contest with this cigar! Aside from that the flavors are amazing. Love the combination. The finish has a lot more brown sugar now and still has some cocoa notes also.
At the band I noticed the balance did not last very long. There are much more brown sugar notes now. The other flavors are secondary. I easily removed the band at this point. Notice a little charring at the bottom of the band.
Very close to the end there are more changes. The brown sugar is prominent with the sweet cedar secondary. The boysenberries are gone. There is subtle cocoa. The coffee remained a nice base. The cigar is medium to full bodied now. Again, be aware of the ash. It fell again on my lap! The finish is unchanged. The cigar is making changes but if you like brown sugar and sweet cedar you will really like this cigar.
The cigar ended just like the last segment. This has been a very good cigar. There is almost a touch of richness on the brown sugar and cedar. It ended at medium to full bodied. I enjoyed this cigar quite a bit. I also had a couple of the torpedos and I actually prefer this robusto. The flavors are fantastic. Again, anyone who loves brown sugar and sweet cedar should love this cigar.
Try Tatuaje Tattoo cigars for yourself. You can purchase them here.
Score: 93
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