Bear with me on this since this is my first review of sorts. Constructive criticism regarding how I should do future reviews is welcomed.
I got two of these cigars as part of a sampler from CI on 29 July 2011. Since then, they've been resting in my humidor. I keep the conditions of my "Fridgedoor" around 63% to 65% RH and 50* F. I have a fairly decent sized collection and age the cigars, so I prefer these temps and humidity for long-term aging.
My brother and I smoked these cigars last night. These were the first Tatuajes for the both of us and we were not impressed. We were actually rather disappointed with them.
After removing the cigar from the cellophane I found it was somewhat loosely rolled. When I lit the cigar using matches I got a really odd flavor that I can't describe. Almost simultaneously my brother, who already had his lit and was smoking, said "Right off the bat I'm not a fan."
For me, the first few puffs were very sharp tasting as if I had "hot boxed" it by taking long, fast draws, but that couldn't be the case since I had just lit it up. As I continued, I got the impression that this was a very young and fresh cigar that needed time in the humidor to settle down.
The ash was very dark and the cigar seemed to be tunneling. Towards the end of the first third it got a little better, but not enough to change my mind that I didn't like the cigar. My brother echoed my impression of the cigar. He even suggested tossing them and grabbing different sticks from the humidor. We didn't and continued smoking these.
The cigars required several re-lights and I eventually got my torch to light the cigar thinking maybe that would somehow correct the burn issues, but it didn't help.
The off-taste continued for both of us as did the tunneling and need to keep re-lighting them. We smoked them to just below the band and called it quits.
If Tatuajes, and this particular cigar specifically, weren't so popular I would never try it again. It was really that bad! The bottom line was that it was very disappointing.
I concluded that it had nothing to do with the humidor temps/humidity or the Nicaraguan blend because my other cigars are fantastic and Nicaraguans are some of my favorite cigars.
I'm really curious to see what other BOTLs think. Cheers!
I got two of these cigars as part of a sampler from CI on 29 July 2011. Since then, they've been resting in my humidor. I keep the conditions of my "Fridgedoor" around 63% to 65% RH and 50* F. I have a fairly decent sized collection and age the cigars, so I prefer these temps and humidity for long-term aging.
My brother and I smoked these cigars last night. These were the first Tatuajes for the both of us and we were not impressed. We were actually rather disappointed with them.
After removing the cigar from the cellophane I found it was somewhat loosely rolled. When I lit the cigar using matches I got a really odd flavor that I can't describe. Almost simultaneously my brother, who already had his lit and was smoking, said "Right off the bat I'm not a fan."
For me, the first few puffs were very sharp tasting as if I had "hot boxed" it by taking long, fast draws, but that couldn't be the case since I had just lit it up. As I continued, I got the impression that this was a very young and fresh cigar that needed time in the humidor to settle down.
The ash was very dark and the cigar seemed to be tunneling. Towards the end of the first third it got a little better, but not enough to change my mind that I didn't like the cigar. My brother echoed my impression of the cigar. He even suggested tossing them and grabbing different sticks from the humidor. We didn't and continued smoking these.
The cigars required several re-lights and I eventually got my torch to light the cigar thinking maybe that would somehow correct the burn issues, but it didn't help.
The off-taste continued for both of us as did the tunneling and need to keep re-lighting them. We smoked them to just below the band and called it quits.
If Tatuajes, and this particular cigar specifically, weren't so popular I would never try it again. It was really that bad! The bottom line was that it was very disappointing.
I concluded that it had nothing to do with the humidor temps/humidity or the Nicaraguan blend because my other cigars are fantastic and Nicaraguans are some of my favorite cigars.
I'm really curious to see what other BOTLs think. Cheers!
