Blind Cigar Review: Tatuaje | The Michael

Cigar Info

The Tatuaje Monster Series is Pete Johnson’s annual Halloween cigar. The 2017 release gets it’s inspiration from the Halloween series of movies. This year’s blend has an Ecuadorian Habano wrapper and a blend of of Nicaraguan filler and binder at a retail price of $13.

Vital Stats:

Vitola: Toro
Length: 6.5″
Ring Gauge: 52
Country of Origin: Nicaragua
Wrapper: Ecuadorian Habano
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan
Factory: My Father Cigars S.A.
Blender: Pete Johnson
Number of reviewers: 4 – John I. (John I.) Stefan (Stefan) Isaac M. (The Nothing) Matthew T. (A Huge Nerd)
Price: $13.00
Age: 3 Months
Release Date: October 2017
Contributed by: Blind Man’s Puff

Initial Impressions

Appearance: 88

“The color of the wrapper was gorgeous. It almost seemed to glow. ” –Isaac M. (The Nothing)

Aroma: 93

“Notes of lightly roasted coffee beans, leather, and cocoa powder.” –Stefan (Stefan)

First Third

Flavor: 88
Strength: Medium
Body/Complexity: Medium

“The cigar starts out with lots of black pepper and a sour note. The sourness subsides after a short time and the pepper mellows and moves to the background. I also get some leather and faint citrus notes. Pretty good start. ” –Matthew T. (A Huge Nerd)

“Understated notes of leather and cocoa, with just a hint of citrus on the finish. Slow-burning, and highly enjoyable.” –Stefan (Stefan)

Second Third

Flavor: 88
Strength: Medium
Body/Complexity: Medium-Full

“The burn is starting to creep off to one side, not tragically, but noticeably. There are some citrusy notes developing or maybe simply a little bright crispness. It’s not distinctly “lemony,” but it’s in that realm. At just about the mid point, I attempted to correct the side that wasn’t burning well. After the torch intervention things came pretty close to leveling out within about ten minutes. ” –John I. (John I.)

“In the second third, I found a salted peanut flavor replaced the oak found in the first third. The oak was still found on the retrohale, while the mild tobacco maintained it’s position as the dominate flavor. ” –Isaac M. (The Nothing)

Final Third

Flavor: 88
Strength: Medium-Strong
Body/Complexity: Medium

“Final verse was same as the first. The cigar maintained a mild tobacco flavor, with just a bit of wood and nuts. ” –Isaac M. (The Nothing)

“The end of the cigar has a nice ramp up in strength, but it is not too overwhelming. I get flavors of roasted nuts and more of that toasted wood from earlier. Some of the leather from earlier comes back to the profile to close it out. ” –Matthew T. (A Huge Nerd)

Overall Impressions

Draw: 89

“Drew well from start to finish. ” –John I. (John I.)

Burn: 90

“It didn’t take much to get this cigar going, and it never required attention to keep it burning correctly.” –Isaac M. (The Nothing)

Construction: 88

“Aside from some larger veins visible on the wrapper, and a slightly uneven burn, I would say this cigar was nicely crafted. ” –Matthew T. (A Huge Nerd)

Overall Strength: Medium-Strong
Overall Body/Complexity: Medium
Experience Overall: 88

“I really want to rate this lower due to being boring as hell, but that really isn’t fair. it’s an ok cigar all things considered, but the flavor profile is just dull as the day is long. Might be a choice stick to puff on while doing yard work or something, but certainly not a stick you look forward to at the end of a long day. Therapeutic benefits here are pretty minimal. ” –John I. (John I.)

“An easy-smoking cigar that is hard not to enjoy, especially during the first two thirds.” –Stefan (Stefan)

“This cigar smoked well enough, but the first thing I noticed was that it felt quite light. This lead to a very easy draw, and likely led to a lack of substance. I really didn’t feel like I was getting much from it. It wasn’t long before I found myself bored with the cigar and had to remind myself that it was there.” –Isaac M. (The Nothing)

“This is probably a cigar I would try again. I liked the flavors overall. There were some classic combinations, joined by some unique additions that kept me interested. That was combined with big smoke output and a decent burn, so I see no reason to not try this one again. ” –Matthew T. (A Huge Nerd)

Smoking Time (in minutes): 90

To view the complete scores and notes, click here.

Blind Cigar Review: Tatuaje | The Michael

Overall Score – 88 – Good