Tatuaje Cabaiguan Review - CoM June 2016 (Cigar of the Month)

[cgraunke]

Post your reviews here!

Wrapper: Ecuadorian Connecticut Shade
Binder: Nicaragua
Filler: Nicaragua

7.00"x47 - Imperiales
5.00"x52 - Belicoso Fino
5.63"x46 - Coronas Extra
5.00"x50 - Robustos Extra
4.00"x32 - Petite Cabaiguan
7.50"x38 - Lancero

MSRP: $9.25-$10 (Petite ~$3.75)

Manufactured at My Father Cigars, S.A., Esteli, Nicaragua.


From tatuajecigars.com

CABAIGUAN
1) A city in northern Sancti Spirites province that is home to some of the most knowledgeable cigar men in Cuba
2) An Old World Medium Bodied Cuban Style Cigar created by Pete Johnson​

From BOTL Site Sponsor famous-smoke.com:

Cabaiguan cigars (pronounced Kah-by-GWAHN) are medium to full-bodied cigars created by Pete Johnson, also known for his highly-rated Tatuaje cigars. They are named for the Cuban city that's home to some of the world's most talented cigar makers. Cabaiguan cigars are made at Pepin Garcia's Miami factory with prime Nicaraguan tobaccos triple-capped in a flawless Ecuadorian Connecticut wrapper. The smoke is rich yet balanced, dealing toasty-nutty flavors, bread-like notes, and a touch of pepper.​

Prior CoM reviews can be found HERE

 

[cgraunke]

Currently in stock at the following BOTL Site Sponsors:
famous-smoke.com
smallbatchcigar.com

 

[tadpole]

subbed!

 

[atllogix]

I'll try to have mine up a little earlier this month.

Sent from my 2nd Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge SM-G935V

 

[Jim D]

I enjoyed a Cabaiguan Lancero ( back in February perhaps ), looks like it's time to find another one!

 

[IronW]

I was able to smoke one of these last night in the Coronas Extra vitola (46 x 5 5/8)

Cold Draw: I got a slightly sweet, fruity taste of plum.
On the initial light there were hints of oak and fruit, no pepper or spice that I could tell.
First third was mostly a bit earthy with fruit in the background, almost a citrus flavor to the fruit.
Second third brings a light pepper to the front but not overpowering, a bit of the oak from the light comes back into the background as does the sweet fruit (plum).
Final third brought the oak/wood flavor forefront though there are still some subtle fruit here and there.

This stick burned great, requiring no touch ups. It's not a highly complex smoke but has good flavor, and it is most definitely a mild smoke. I could see burning one of these in the early morning with my coffee.

 

[atllogix]

I totally failed on this this month. Should be before the end of the week. I completely forgot.

 

[JR Kipling]

@IronW - good review, thanks. I got some of these super fresh. They're in the sick phase so I'm giving them a couple months to rest. I'm looking forward to trying them.

 

[IronW]

Bump for more reviews

 

[tadpole]

i wasnt aware until this past weekend that there were 2 (or 3) different Cabaiguan blends:
the Cabaiguan (yellow band) - Connecticut Shade Ecuador wrapper
and the Cabaiguan Guapos (yellow band with a silver border along the top and bottom) - Connecticut Ecuador Sol (Natural) and Connecticut Broadleaf (maduro)

that said, i had a Cabaiguan Guapos 46 (corona gorda), natural.

aesthetics: this isnt the prettiest cigar, but it was better than average. very small veins and it was mostly smooth with a cute tiny pigtail on the cap. there was a visible line from cap to foot that was caused by the rollers lack of rotation of the stick in the press... purely cosmetic, as it didnt affect the smoke in any way.

the cold draw has mostly pepper notes, which i have come to expect from tatuaje. it has a normal draw...not too tight, not to airy. this cigar had zero burn issues and needed no corrections. it is nice to have a cigar and not have to keep looking at the burn lines, etc. it was razor sharp from start to nub.

rather than describe the cigar in "thirds", i will have a different approach for this particular review. this is a creamy cigar, and the flavors of pepper, floral, and wood (with hints of leather, perhaps?) were all present throughout the entire smoke - they would take turns being the dominant flavor. however, the second half of the cigar is where everything ramps up a bit: the smoke was creamier, and it became more pepper-ier, wood-ier, and floral-ier than the first half. even in the second half of the smoke, it never went above medium.

this was a very enjoyable smoke (1 hour, 40 minutes)
paired with glen morangie 18 year old single malt scotch and water (but not mixed with the scotch)

 

[atllogix]

Sorry folks but posting now.

 

[atllogix]

Double-Time Cigar Review: Tatuaje Cabaiguan Petite Cabaiguan​

Double-Time Cigar reviews are a condensed version of the typical cigar review, while still attempting to purvey the associated experience to the reader. This format is used for multiple reasons (ie. a different vitola has already been reviewed, short for time, small cigar, an experience that leaves little to write about, etc), and may not be all that formal. In today's case it's due to the size of the cigar.

Cigarro: Tatuaje Cabaiguan Petite Cabaiguan
Capa: Ecuador Shaded Connie
Capote: Nica
Tripa: Nica
Dimensions: 4.5 x 32​

Brisk Beginning
It's small, bandless (I put my custom inventory band on it), and according to the abandoned Tatuaje website; a little redundant in the naming if you put everything together. Its got a triple cap even though it's so tiny. I cut it then lit it.
​

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How'd It taste
Cedar and honey is what it started off with. There was a good amount of black pepper in my throat. Floral, earthy, and a decent amount of pepper. Then there was spice. Earth is really in the background in the beginning. It's got some cream to it. And once things started to settle it was a floral, peppery, honey profile.
Halfway down and woody notes were prevalent. Earthiness increased as well. I started to taste a big milk chocolate flavor. The honey note waned. It was more like a sweet chili pepper, sweet cedar, and sweet milk chocolate.
In the last third the Petite Cabaiguan took on a more earth-centric profile. Pepper was still present along with a sweetness.
At the nub (if you choose to call it that, I'll go with "nib") the earth is very heavy and there is pepper and a light sweetness, and a smidge of cedar. It finished off as a creamy, earthy, peppery, chocolatey smoke.
​

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Quick Thinking
First, this was only the second time I smoked this cigar. I really thought poorly of it the first time. Reason being is, I went through it on a quick smoke break in 20 minutes or less. Wasn't good then and now I had a totally different experience. It lasted me 1 hour and 3 minutes this time around and it was too delicious. A couple things came up for me after this cigar finished. How did this last me longer than a Tat Black PL (which, while small, is a lot bigger than this)? The other thought was from a cigar review where the author said one cigar was superior to another cigar in almost every way but he'd choose to smoke the lesser of the two. When I first read it I actually had a moment of contemplation on how that couldn't possibly make since, and eventually came to the conclusion the person foolishly wrote that. However, just a couple days after that read I had the same epiphany with this cigar. While I thought this was better than the Tatuaje Petit Cazadores Reserva, I ultimately would reach for a PCR over a Petite Cabaiguan more times than not. I don't know how it can make since, but I honestly feel that way. What I do know is the Petite Cabaiguan is an absolute marvelous smoke.
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Smoke Time: 1 hour 3 minutes
Pairing: Zero Water
Scoring: 94/100
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