Size: 5 5/8 X 46
Shape: Petite Lancero
Origin: Miami
Body: Medium
Wrapper: Nicaragua
Binder: Nicaragua
Filler: Nicaragua
This past Saturday night, Diesel and I decided to lounge around the tobacco shop I work at after hours for a little R & R: Relaxation & Reviewing. The cigar of the evening: the Tatuaje Black Label Petite Lancero.
Before we lit up, we decided to take a few photos. They can all be found at the bottom of this post. There were some immediate surprises when comparing the two sticks. As you can see in the photo, one is quite a bit lighter in color than the other. The stick with the lighter wrapper also seemed to have a slightly larger ring gauge. I was a bit surprised to see so much variation in such a small batch blend. As you’ll see, the variations didn’t stop at their appearance.
(The following reviews are presented side by side as we each step through the cigar in thirds.)
Pre-Light:
Diesel: Gives a nice and open draw with a natural tobacco taste. The wrapper shade was much lighter that the others and a lot different that most Tatuaje Blacks that I have seen.
UberHuberMan: I began with my pre-light ritual by getting a few good whiffs. The main notes I experience pre-light in the nose are spice and sweetness. The wrapper on my stick was very attractive with a beautiful, oily, reddish brown hue. Wide open draw.
1/3:
Diesel: A pretty one dimensional taste throughout the beginning tastes of sweet hay often come to mind. A spice to the olfactory is beginning to show. I find this strange because most Tats I have smoked gave me a nice blast of spice from the moment that I have lit them. As I progress through the latter of the 1/3, the sweet hay becomes more full on my palette, but just before the beginning of the 2/3 the sweetness fades.
UberHuberMan: First light elicited an immediate sweet caramel essence with some complex spice revving up right beside it. Moving into the first 1/3rd, I tasted spice and leather with sweet caramel holding on in the background. Flavors holding strong, the profile became rich and buttery after the first few puffs and remained that way for most of the smoke. As I puffed along, the sweetness moved forward in the profile as the spice moved back, dwindling nearly into non-existence. From here on out, I noticed that the spice note that I enjoyed at the beginning of the smoke only made itself known randomly. From one puff to the next, I wasn’t sure I’d taste it, but when I did it was transcendent. The rich and buttery quality of the profile slowly began to take dominance and as it did, a delectable creaminess crept in just as the spice note decided to hang around for a while. This combination gave me the distinct impression of cream soda. This happens to me when I taste a very sweet, rich, and creamy smoke with a very light spice which could be described as a slight tingle on the palate akin to carbonation. There was a moment shortly after this, once this early peak had subsided, where I almost lost all flavor all together. Fortunately, this moment passed quickly and the buttery richness which dominated the profile returned, albeit slightly subdued.
2/3:
Diesel: Out of nowhere, this cigar provides a bit more of the spice on the olfactory as the finish moves from a hay like taste to a core of cream. As I draw further, the spice comes and goes, but the finish stays constant as a creamy pure smoke taste. It leaves a bit of a dryness with this creamy finish. About mid 2/3 this smoke takes on a flat woody taste and a few draws down the road, almost tasting nothing at all but clean smoke. The spice is nowhere to be found for about ten minutes. All of the sudden, with a larger than natural draw, I pulled a flavorful blast off this guy. The notes of wood morphed into some nice leather with the familiar spice in the nose that I love. But entering the final third, it faded quickly.
UberHuberMan: As the 2nd third began, a light coffee note appeared in the profile. The sweet richness of the profile held on strong and dominated this third of the stick. Even though the buttery sweet richness of the tobacco maintained a solid dominance in the profile, I was still able to detect other notes in the background like leather and light spice. As a result, this third was characterized by an overall subtle complexity that I enjoyed.
Final Third:
Diesel: It starts with the tasty spice but the core tastes on my palette went bland. Moving along, the spice continues but remains overall bland. A few draws into the final 3rd, I lost the ash, and the next draw was completely bland. Pulling harder than what is natural seems to extract a little more from this cigar, but it has lost a great deal in the end. I get some of the previous noted flavors ever 3 draws or so, but this smoke is on its way to the ashtray. At that point was only smoking it to finish the review.
UberHuberMan: About the time I reached the final third, the spice in the profile ramped up, but only for a few puffs. It began to build in one puff, ascended in the second, crescendo-ed in the third, then began its slow return to the background of the profile. The finish throughout this cigar had been very buttery rich but once I reached the final third, the finish became coffee oriented. Even though the coffee note in the smoke was pleasant, I missed the buttery richness on the finish enough to set this sucker down.
Overall:
Diesel: I was expecting a lot more from this cigar. I must mention that it was continuously changing, but there were more bland/flat spots that I was comfortable with. I must also make it clear that the wrapper on this particular cigar was lighter than all of the others that I have seen and there were a few green spots close to the foot of this smoke.
UberHuberMan: I found this to be a very rare and beautiful experience for me. The draw on this stick was phenomenal, the burn was consistent and perfect, and the flavors were frequently transcendent. The stick did dip occasionally in flavor but that didn’t take away from the overall experience. I do wish that the ebb and flow of flavors had been a little less chaotic, but on the whole, the buttery richness carrying the brunt of the weight of this blend while allowing other notes to come and go as they pleased was ok by me. This was a very fun, delicious, and complex smoke that I wouldn’t hesitate to have again. Another home run from Tatuaje!
There are the reviews, guys. I do think it a bit disturbing that Diesel and I had such vastly different experiences, but it should be remembered that there were differences in the cigars themselves. Inconsistency can be the death of a great cigar or cigar company and I would hate to see a company like Tatuaje who’s provided such an amazing product to cigar lovers go down the slippery slope of inconsistency.
Side note: We’re thinking of doing one of these every Saturday and then posting sometime the following week. What do you guys think?
Shape: Petite Lancero
Origin: Miami
Body: Medium
Wrapper: Nicaragua
Binder: Nicaragua
Filler: Nicaragua
This past Saturday night, Diesel and I decided to lounge around the tobacco shop I work at after hours for a little R & R: Relaxation & Reviewing. The cigar of the evening: the Tatuaje Black Label Petite Lancero.
Before we lit up, we decided to take a few photos. They can all be found at the bottom of this post. There were some immediate surprises when comparing the two sticks. As you can see in the photo, one is quite a bit lighter in color than the other. The stick with the lighter wrapper also seemed to have a slightly larger ring gauge. I was a bit surprised to see so much variation in such a small batch blend. As you’ll see, the variations didn’t stop at their appearance.
(The following reviews are presented side by side as we each step through the cigar in thirds.)
Pre-Light:
Diesel: Gives a nice and open draw with a natural tobacco taste. The wrapper shade was much lighter that the others and a lot different that most Tatuaje Blacks that I have seen.
UberHuberMan: I began with my pre-light ritual by getting a few good whiffs. The main notes I experience pre-light in the nose are spice and sweetness. The wrapper on my stick was very attractive with a beautiful, oily, reddish brown hue. Wide open draw.
1/3:
Diesel: A pretty one dimensional taste throughout the beginning tastes of sweet hay often come to mind. A spice to the olfactory is beginning to show. I find this strange because most Tats I have smoked gave me a nice blast of spice from the moment that I have lit them. As I progress through the latter of the 1/3, the sweet hay becomes more full on my palette, but just before the beginning of the 2/3 the sweetness fades.
UberHuberMan: First light elicited an immediate sweet caramel essence with some complex spice revving up right beside it. Moving into the first 1/3rd, I tasted spice and leather with sweet caramel holding on in the background. Flavors holding strong, the profile became rich and buttery after the first few puffs and remained that way for most of the smoke. As I puffed along, the sweetness moved forward in the profile as the spice moved back, dwindling nearly into non-existence. From here on out, I noticed that the spice note that I enjoyed at the beginning of the smoke only made itself known randomly. From one puff to the next, I wasn’t sure I’d taste it, but when I did it was transcendent. The rich and buttery quality of the profile slowly began to take dominance and as it did, a delectable creaminess crept in just as the spice note decided to hang around for a while. This combination gave me the distinct impression of cream soda. This happens to me when I taste a very sweet, rich, and creamy smoke with a very light spice which could be described as a slight tingle on the palate akin to carbonation. There was a moment shortly after this, once this early peak had subsided, where I almost lost all flavor all together. Fortunately, this moment passed quickly and the buttery richness which dominated the profile returned, albeit slightly subdued.
2/3:
Diesel: Out of nowhere, this cigar provides a bit more of the spice on the olfactory as the finish moves from a hay like taste to a core of cream. As I draw further, the spice comes and goes, but the finish stays constant as a creamy pure smoke taste. It leaves a bit of a dryness with this creamy finish. About mid 2/3 this smoke takes on a flat woody taste and a few draws down the road, almost tasting nothing at all but clean smoke. The spice is nowhere to be found for about ten minutes. All of the sudden, with a larger than natural draw, I pulled a flavorful blast off this guy. The notes of wood morphed into some nice leather with the familiar spice in the nose that I love. But entering the final third, it faded quickly.
UberHuberMan: As the 2nd third began, a light coffee note appeared in the profile. The sweet richness of the profile held on strong and dominated this third of the stick. Even though the buttery sweet richness of the tobacco maintained a solid dominance in the profile, I was still able to detect other notes in the background like leather and light spice. As a result, this third was characterized by an overall subtle complexity that I enjoyed.
Final Third:
Diesel: It starts with the tasty spice but the core tastes on my palette went bland. Moving along, the spice continues but remains overall bland. A few draws into the final 3rd, I lost the ash, and the next draw was completely bland. Pulling harder than what is natural seems to extract a little more from this cigar, but it has lost a great deal in the end. I get some of the previous noted flavors ever 3 draws or so, but this smoke is on its way to the ashtray. At that point was only smoking it to finish the review.
UberHuberMan: About the time I reached the final third, the spice in the profile ramped up, but only for a few puffs. It began to build in one puff, ascended in the second, crescendo-ed in the third, then began its slow return to the background of the profile. The finish throughout this cigar had been very buttery rich but once I reached the final third, the finish became coffee oriented. Even though the coffee note in the smoke was pleasant, I missed the buttery richness on the finish enough to set this sucker down.
Overall:
Diesel: I was expecting a lot more from this cigar. I must mention that it was continuously changing, but there were more bland/flat spots that I was comfortable with. I must also make it clear that the wrapper on this particular cigar was lighter than all of the others that I have seen and there were a few green spots close to the foot of this smoke.
UberHuberMan: I found this to be a very rare and beautiful experience for me. The draw on this stick was phenomenal, the burn was consistent and perfect, and the flavors were frequently transcendent. The stick did dip occasionally in flavor but that didn’t take away from the overall experience. I do wish that the ebb and flow of flavors had been a little less chaotic, but on the whole, the buttery richness carrying the brunt of the weight of this blend while allowing other notes to come and go as they pleased was ok by me. This was a very fun, delicious, and complex smoke that I wouldn’t hesitate to have again. Another home run from Tatuaje!
There are the reviews, guys. I do think it a bit disturbing that Diesel and I had such vastly different experiences, but it should be remembered that there were differences in the cigars themselves. Inconsistency can be the death of a great cigar or cigar company and I would hate to see a company like Tatuaje who’s provided such an amazing product to cigar lovers go down the slippery slope of inconsistency.
Side note: We’re thinking of doing one of these every Saturday and then posting sometime the following week. What do you guys think?
