Cigar Review – Tatuaje Black
05/30/2010
Tatuaje Black Tubo
So first things first; I only have pictures of the Tatuaje Black before I smoked it, reason being its night, and my little dinky digital camera doesn’t do well in indoor light, never mind the night time. That said, I truly wish that I’d smoked this during the day, because it’s a fantastic cigar. The story behind it is equally interesting. Pete Johnson (owner of Tatuaje) has revealed that the origin of the Tatuaje Black (his ‘personal’ blend) stems from time he spent on vacation. There was a man who would bike by Pete’s porch while Pete was smoking cigars in the morning. The man was a roller in a cigar factory; he gave Pete a few cigars and Pete was overwhelmed by them. When he inquired, Pete found that all the cigar rollers would roll their own cigars when they went home, blended to fit their own, personal tastes. Pete and Don Pepin Garcia spent a long time trying to recreate it and finally did, thus the Black was born. It is worth noting that Pete chose the ugliest wrapper he could find, complete with an uncut foot. Though ugly, this wrapper feels and smells absolutely sublime. The cigar is so full of veins that it looks like a wizened, grizzled war veteran. The Black comes wrapped in cedar within a tubos, and measures 6.25″x52 ring.
The uncut foot. Visualize this burning evenly all the way to the nub and you've basically got what happens to it.
The Black lights beautifully, and immediately sets loose an aromatic smoke. The first puffs release the epitome of black pepper flavor, a bomb that goes off in just the right way, complete with the cedar wrapper’s residual flavor, this is a very full-bodied, full-flavored cigar. The smoke is pungent and pleasant, and for a moment, sitting outside on a warm summer night, it really feels like I’m in Nicaragua, smoking a cigar. The Tatuaje Black is very rich and complex, and takes on nuances of a smokey whiskey, and almost like a sherry based pepper sauce. This is the equivalent to smoking an expertly seasoned steak, and reminds me of a richer, more complex Don Pepin Garcia Cuban Classic.
The second third is very spicy with black pepper, cloves, and cream all floating through a cedary core. Perfect burn exemplifies the construction of this cigar; too often I’ll smoke an expensive cigar that has poor burn or build, and that ruins it for me. Not this time. All you get is a nice, slow-burning, rich, dark smoke.
As I burn this baby down the home stretch, a bit of saltiness, maybe brine begins to appear on top of cedar, oak, black pepper, and hints of ginger and sugar cane on the finish. The brine reminds me a bit of the Padilla 1932. The complexity here is really remarkable, and the whole experience is harmonious and brought together by the central flavors of cedar and black pepper. The MSRP of these is around $14.00, and the experience is something you can’t put a price tag on.
Final Judgment: A hell of a cigar. It’s rare to find a stick that excels in all facets, but the Tatuaje Black lives up to both the hype surrounding it and the price tag attached. A word to the wise, this is a strong cigar, and will probably cripple mere mortals. I will buy more of these while I can, and recommend you do the same, as this run produced just 46,000 cigars!
Alternate View/Review: Nice Tight Ash
| Strength | Full |
| Base Flavors | Black Pepper, cedar, whiskey, steak |
| Wrapper | Nicaraguan Criollo |
| Tobacco Origins | Nicaragua |
| Pairing Recommendations | Whiskey or scotch. Eat before this, red meat preferably. |
| Recommended | Beyond a shadow of a doubt, yes. |
Questions or comments? Post them in the comments box or feel free to email me at ubicigar@gmail.com!
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