danthebugman
BoM Nov '10
Yesterday I was badly in need of two things...some quiet time and a good cigar. I was fortunate enough to be able to get both while my wife and son were taking a nap. After rooting around and "enny meeny miny moing" over a few choices, I decided on the Tatuaje J21 Reserva...
I grabbed my cutter, lighter, a bottle of water and headed for the solitude of the porch. There was just enough breeze to keep you from sweating too badly in the 90+ degree heat. No screaming kids or amped up stereo systems could be heard, only the occasional round of fireworks. Turning my attention to the cigar, it's not as pretty as one would expect for a Brown label...yet alone a Reserva. It's a pretty standard 5 x 50 Nicaraguan puro, much like the other Brown labels except that the wrapper on this one is a Corojo Ligero priming. And speaking of the wrapper, it is a dark chocolaty color with some slightly lighter mottling here and there. There appeared to be a few imperfections in the way of some small holes in the wrapper (no these were not beetle holes). While the triple cap was expertly applied, one of the layers was a distinctly lighter color than the rest of the cigar. While I'm sure this is nothing more than natural variance, it is none the less something you notice. The seams were noticeable, but sound and the cigar felt well packed while not exceedingly hard to the touch.
Taking in the aroma from the cigar I was met with a musty earthiness and just a touch of spicy pepper. Delicious :drool:. The cap cut easily while the initial draw was too loose for my preference. The predominant cold draw flavors were of a spicy graham cracker. It was a pleasant mixture of flavors and I sat for a while just enjoying them.
Putting flame to the foot of the cigar half of it lit easily while the other half seemed to resist. The smoke output was at first not very good and I was concerned that I would not be able to fully enjoy what I had expected to be a very good smoking experience.
After about a quarter inch the half that wasn't wanting to burn finally blazed up and the cigar came roaring to life. What had been mildly flavorful wisps of smoke was now a smokestack of palate pleasing goodness.
The flavors had started off as a faint pepper (though I expect that it would have been more intense had the cigar got off to a better start) mixed with some earthiness. Now the pepper had taken a back seat to an earthy, slightly leathery flavor with occasional glimpses of a sweet, chocolaty flavor. At about 3/4 " into the cigar a citrus/floral aroma started to make itself known on the retro-hale.
The ash is a bright white and holds strong despite a somewhat crumbly appearing texture. The flavors remain pretty much the same as the cigar burns into the second third. I'm loving this cigar. The flavors are great and are playing well with one another. The burn at this point is just shy of razor sharp.
I kind of lost track of what I was doing a bit while smoking this cigar...if you notice the jump in the pics :grin:. All of a sudden I looked down at the cigar and though "Crap, where'd it all go?". Through the second third nothing really changes...and that's good! Into the last third the body goes up some, though this cigar is a lot milder than I had expected. I'd put it a solid medium body, just edging into med-full on the last third. And the last third was superb, well the first part anyway. I wasn't able to enjoy the burning of my fingers as some last minute dinner plans got thrown in the works.
Overall...the best Tatuaje I've had to date. Period. Between this and the 7th Reserva, why you would ever feel it necessary to chase down the newest and baddest LE is beyond me.
Dan
I grabbed my cutter, lighter, a bottle of water and headed for the solitude of the porch. There was just enough breeze to keep you from sweating too badly in the 90+ degree heat. No screaming kids or amped up stereo systems could be heard, only the occasional round of fireworks. Turning my attention to the cigar, it's not as pretty as one would expect for a Brown label...yet alone a Reserva. It's a pretty standard 5 x 50 Nicaraguan puro, much like the other Brown labels except that the wrapper on this one is a Corojo Ligero priming. And speaking of the wrapper, it is a dark chocolaty color with some slightly lighter mottling here and there. There appeared to be a few imperfections in the way of some small holes in the wrapper (no these were not beetle holes). While the triple cap was expertly applied, one of the layers was a distinctly lighter color than the rest of the cigar. While I'm sure this is nothing more than natural variance, it is none the less something you notice. The seams were noticeable, but sound and the cigar felt well packed while not exceedingly hard to the touch.
Taking in the aroma from the cigar I was met with a musty earthiness and just a touch of spicy pepper. Delicious :drool:. The cap cut easily while the initial draw was too loose for my preference. The predominant cold draw flavors were of a spicy graham cracker. It was a pleasant mixture of flavors and I sat for a while just enjoying them.
Putting flame to the foot of the cigar half of it lit easily while the other half seemed to resist. The smoke output was at first not very good and I was concerned that I would not be able to fully enjoy what I had expected to be a very good smoking experience.
After about a quarter inch the half that wasn't wanting to burn finally blazed up and the cigar came roaring to life. What had been mildly flavorful wisps of smoke was now a smokestack of palate pleasing goodness.
The flavors had started off as a faint pepper (though I expect that it would have been more intense had the cigar got off to a better start) mixed with some earthiness. Now the pepper had taken a back seat to an earthy, slightly leathery flavor with occasional glimpses of a sweet, chocolaty flavor. At about 3/4 " into the cigar a citrus/floral aroma started to make itself known on the retro-hale.
The ash is a bright white and holds strong despite a somewhat crumbly appearing texture. The flavors remain pretty much the same as the cigar burns into the second third. I'm loving this cigar. The flavors are great and are playing well with one another. The burn at this point is just shy of razor sharp.
I kind of lost track of what I was doing a bit while smoking this cigar...if you notice the jump in the pics :grin:. All of a sudden I looked down at the cigar and though "Crap, where'd it all go?". Through the second third nothing really changes...and that's good! Into the last third the body goes up some, though this cigar is a lot milder than I had expected. I'd put it a solid medium body, just edging into med-full on the last third. And the last third was superb, well the first part anyway. I wasn't able to enjoy the burning of my fingers as some last minute dinner plans got thrown in the works.
Overall...the best Tatuaje I've had to date. Period. Between this and the 7th Reserva, why you would ever feel it necessary to chase down the newest and baddest LE is beyond me.
Dan
