Tatuaje Monster 2014 “Jekyll”
Size: Churchill
Construction/Appearance: Beautifully rolled churchill. Kind of veiny, gorgeous, light coffee colored wrapper. Lumpy cap, seems like it should have stems in it, but when I cut, there’s nothing there. I do like the marblehead tip though.
Environment: It’s almost 4pm. Worked in the yard today. Still cold out, and rather dreary. 3:45pm
Drink: Tonic water
Pre-Light/Cold Draw: Some resistance. Mild, with a very light tingle on the end.
First Third: Jekyll opens with some cedar, nuts, and a citrus zest on the top. More reminiscent of limes, but maybe I just think that from the band color. This might be the only cigar I recall having where the citrus flavor is obvious to me. Ash is extremely flakey, and doesn’t want to hang on at all. After the second ash lands in my lap at the one inch mark, I decide that it’s best to ash after every few puffs. The citrus zest is starting to morph into a pepper zing. An inch in, this stick has shifted into a typical Tat pepper bomb on the retrohale. The stick mellows, and I get some light milk chocolate. There is still a hint of zest (now a nondescript split between cayenne and citrus) coming back and forth in the mix; sometimes I taste it strong through the retrohale, sometimes on the finish, sometimes on my lips. My throat has an oily coating. There is a little bit of vanilla maybe? It’s a very rich, but strangely light sweetness, which I can only really liken to vanilla, or maybe nougat? A creaminess, almost like a mocha coffee. This was an insane first third. Extremely diverse, heady stick, that was kind of all over the place, with a variety of flavors.
Second Third: The nougat/vanilla taste is going strong into the second third, but the zest has faded again. The smoke aroma definitely still has a citrus zest to it. My throat still feels like it has an oily coat, almost like the finish after eating peanut butter. There is a fair amount of resistance to this stick, kind of surprises me. The sweetness of the nougat is developing to a more savory, peanut kind of vibe. At almost the exact halfway point, it goes out. Spice comes back a little bit on the retrohale, as a black pepper. Shifting into full strength now, I’m definitely feeling a bit light headed. I have to put it down to get some sugar in my stomach, and let Knox come join the party. All in all, the second third was much more tame, and pretty straightforward.
Final Third: Jekyll is starting to get a bit of a bitter finish to it. It starts on the retrohale, but very abruptly steps in on the draw. Okay. I’m about ready for this to be over. If this was a robusto (and regular production), I would have put it out; however, I feel like since it’s an LE that I’ve invested an hour and forty five minutes in, I should give it a chance to redeem itself. It does, briefly, and the bitterness subsides with about an inch left. More of the same flavors. At the 2 hour mark, it’s starting to get dark and cold outside, I decide it’s time to let this guy die.
Final Thoughts: Jekyll is a peculiar cigar; at least, to me it is. I smoked my first one on Halloween before a long night of work; I was really impressed. I much preferred it to JV13, and I think that was due in part to the Churchill size vs a Toro Extra/Doble Corona. That being said, compared to what I normally smoke, Jekyll is pretty aggressively sized. The construction was pretty good, with only a few relights required (probably because I was too busy bullshitting on chat.) Ash was pretty flakey, but since I stayed on top of it, it didn’t give me much trouble after the beginning of the stick.
There’s still a lot of youth in this cigar 3 months after release. Flavors are all over the place, and the bitterness is a very real thing for this stick, in my experience. However, the flavors are quite enjoyable.
The Bottom Line: is it box worthy for me? Nope. This was my third stick, and probably the last I will purchase. However, for someone who doesn’t mind a churchill size, and has the budget/time to invest and let these rest, I think next Halloween these will be much better off then they are now.
Final Smoking Time: 2 hours 25 minutes
Size: Churchill
Construction/Appearance: Beautifully rolled churchill. Kind of veiny, gorgeous, light coffee colored wrapper. Lumpy cap, seems like it should have stems in it, but when I cut, there’s nothing there. I do like the marblehead tip though.
Environment: It’s almost 4pm. Worked in the yard today. Still cold out, and rather dreary. 3:45pm
Drink: Tonic water
Pre-Light/Cold Draw: Some resistance. Mild, with a very light tingle on the end.
First Third: Jekyll opens with some cedar, nuts, and a citrus zest on the top. More reminiscent of limes, but maybe I just think that from the band color. This might be the only cigar I recall having where the citrus flavor is obvious to me. Ash is extremely flakey, and doesn’t want to hang on at all. After the second ash lands in my lap at the one inch mark, I decide that it’s best to ash after every few puffs. The citrus zest is starting to morph into a pepper zing. An inch in, this stick has shifted into a typical Tat pepper bomb on the retrohale. The stick mellows, and I get some light milk chocolate. There is still a hint of zest (now a nondescript split between cayenne and citrus) coming back and forth in the mix; sometimes I taste it strong through the retrohale, sometimes on the finish, sometimes on my lips. My throat has an oily coating. There is a little bit of vanilla maybe? It’s a very rich, but strangely light sweetness, which I can only really liken to vanilla, or maybe nougat? A creaminess, almost like a mocha coffee. This was an insane first third. Extremely diverse, heady stick, that was kind of all over the place, with a variety of flavors.
Second Third: The nougat/vanilla taste is going strong into the second third, but the zest has faded again. The smoke aroma definitely still has a citrus zest to it. My throat still feels like it has an oily coat, almost like the finish after eating peanut butter. There is a fair amount of resistance to this stick, kind of surprises me. The sweetness of the nougat is developing to a more savory, peanut kind of vibe. At almost the exact halfway point, it goes out. Spice comes back a little bit on the retrohale, as a black pepper. Shifting into full strength now, I’m definitely feeling a bit light headed. I have to put it down to get some sugar in my stomach, and let Knox come join the party. All in all, the second third was much more tame, and pretty straightforward.
Final Third: Jekyll is starting to get a bit of a bitter finish to it. It starts on the retrohale, but very abruptly steps in on the draw. Okay. I’m about ready for this to be over. If this was a robusto (and regular production), I would have put it out; however, I feel like since it’s an LE that I’ve invested an hour and forty five minutes in, I should give it a chance to redeem itself. It does, briefly, and the bitterness subsides with about an inch left. More of the same flavors. At the 2 hour mark, it’s starting to get dark and cold outside, I decide it’s time to let this guy die.
Final Thoughts: Jekyll is a peculiar cigar; at least, to me it is. I smoked my first one on Halloween before a long night of work; I was really impressed. I much preferred it to JV13, and I think that was due in part to the Churchill size vs a Toro Extra/Doble Corona. That being said, compared to what I normally smoke, Jekyll is pretty aggressively sized. The construction was pretty good, with only a few relights required (probably because I was too busy bullshitting on chat.) Ash was pretty flakey, but since I stayed on top of it, it didn’t give me much trouble after the beginning of the stick.
There’s still a lot of youth in this cigar 3 months after release. Flavors are all over the place, and the bitterness is a very real thing for this stick, in my experience. However, the flavors are quite enjoyable.
The Bottom Line: is it box worthy for me? Nope. This was my third stick, and probably the last I will purchase. However, for someone who doesn’t mind a churchill size, and has the budget/time to invest and let these rest, I think next Halloween these will be much better off then they are now.
Final Smoking Time: 2 hours 25 minutes
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