Tatuaje Monster Series 2009 – Drac
Nov 21, 2009 Cigar
Tonight’s review is the Tatuaje Monster Series Drac.
The Tatuaje Drac is the latest Monster Series Halloween release from Pete Johnson. The Monster Series started in 2008 with Pete’s release of the Tatuaje Frank. It’s followed up this year with two sticks, the Boris (Frank Out of Costume ) and the Drac.
The Drac is a 6 2/4 x 52 inch Torpedo and is dressed in a Dracula motif including shellacked black coffin. It has a Habano Maduro wrapper and there are 1,300 boxes of 13 cigars produced. Pete is also inserting 13 “Spooky Tickets” is the boxes for a Willy Wonka style contest in which one winner will recieve a beautiful Ducati Motorcycle. A brilliant marketing tactic and a fantastically fun experience for smokers who were put on a quest to find not just the smokes, but the Spooky Tickets. Brilliant!
And now, on to the review.
SPECIFICATIONS:
Size: 6 3/4 x 52 (Torpedo)
Origin: Most Likely Nicaragua
Wrapper: ??? Habanp Maduro
Binder: ???
Filler: ???
APPEARANCE and CONSTRUCTION – (17 of 20 pts.)
The Drac has a beautiful dark chocolate wrapper and is a Maduro in every way. The wrapper is very brittle however, and will lose a few points for that. In my box there were 2 sticks with cracked wrappers. Being the good guy he is, Pete has offered anyone with damaged cigars to contact Tatuaje and he will do his best to get replacements out to you. It is apparently somewhat of an issue and Pete has responded tremendously to it. The wrapper is very oily and a clean, vein free beauty. The band is at the foot of the stick which is a first I believe for Tatuaje. Overall the construction is pretty good other than the brittle wrapper
SMOKING CHARACTERISTICS – (22 of 25 pts.)
The wrapper has an aroma of sweet mint and spice. My buddy barry over at ACigarSmoker.com nailed it when he said the Tatuaje Boris had an aroma of Valentine’s Day candy heart mints. I found that aroma on both the Boris and the Drac. It’s a sweet mint spice aroma. Very interesting. The stick cut perfectly and had a perfect draw. The burn was perfect throughout the whole smoke. It had a thin burn line and a very light, white ash. Very voluminous smoke and overall wonderful nice burning stick.
FLAVOR – (26 of 30 pts.)
The Drac started with a woody flavor that had a twinge of unsweetened espresso. That flavor carried over from the first to the second third where it picked up a little spice and some strength. The second and final third also added a slight cocoa flavor and a more pronounced wood flavor than in the first third. Overall nice, but not overwhelming flavors.
OVERALL IMPRESSION – (21 of 25 pts.)
Overall I thought this was a good, not great stick. I am a HUGE fan of Pete Johnson’s work and I smoke Tatuaje cigars as much as any other stick in my humi. I found the Drac to be decent but not anything I would seek out other than it desireability as a “rare” or collectible stick. A good smoke, but considering availability and price (MSRP around $13) I would not scour the earth for one unless you are one of those smokers (like me) who is drawn to the harder to find cigars.
TOTAL SCORE – 86
Tags: Boris, Drac, Frank, Halloween, Monster Series, Pete Johnson, Tatuaje
Tatuaje Noella Reserva
Apr 18, 2009 Cigar
These Tatuaje Noellas cigars are a special release, marked with the “Reserva” seal on the box. They are the same size and blend as regular release Tatuaje Noellas, but they use a specially selected oscuro (dark/black) aged ligero wrapper normally reserved for the Cojonu 2003/2006 cigars.
Even though the wrapper is the same aged ligero leaf as the normal Cojonu 2003/2006 wrapper, it was fermented a bit longer than normal, and selected for its color to be especially dark. The leaves that were used for the Noellas Oscuros was too small to be used as a wrapper for the Cojonu 2003/2006, so a special limited release of ~200 boxes of these Noellas cigars was created. The “Reserva” label is meant to make it clear that this is not how Noellas normally come.
This special production should be available through most Tatuaje vendors.
Pete Johnson has said that the Noella Reserva is “like a little Frank” meaning the blend and wrapper are similar to his 2008 Monster release “The Frank”. All the Tobacco used in the Tatuaje Cigars are 1st Generation Cuban Seed, Grown in Nicaragua. The Cigars are rolled in classic Cuban Tradition by Eight Master Rollers in Little Havana Miami, FL U.S.A. Headed by Maestro Tobaquero Jose Garcia the cigars are rolled with a beautiful Cuban Triple Cap and are Medium to Full in flavor.
On to the review.
SPECIFICATIONS:
Size: 5 1/8″ x 42
Origin: Miami, FL
Wrapper: Nicaraguan aged ligero oscuro
Binder: Nicaragua
Filler: Nicaragua
APPEARANCE and CONSTRUCTION -
The wrapper is a dark chocolate color. Several shades darker than the original release Noella and noticably different when the two are placed side by side. The triple cap on mine was a bit uneven, but nothing to worry too much about. In fact, the entire cigar has a very rustic look to it. Wrapper is very toothy.
SMOKING CHARACTERISTICS -
There was some faint earth aromas coming off the wrapper, but the foot had an intense nose of sweet spice. Even with the thin ring gauge, I decided to use a punch cut on this beauty. I had a great draw with just enough resistance. The cold draw had flavors of earth and sweet tobacco. The Tat Noella Reserva lit beautifully and evenly. I had no burn problems at any point during the smoke. It gave off a good amount of smoke on the draw and kept a thin, even burn line throughout. No complains at all in that department.
FLAVOR -
Wow is the first thing that came to mind. I’ve had the regular Noella release many times and I like that cigar very much. This is a different ballgame. Right from the onset, there are full flavors of dark chocolate, earth and a light spice that all marry together beautifully. The dark chocolate flavor actually intensified at about the halfway point and turned into an interesting bittersweet, burnt chocolate flavor. Hard to pinpoint, but it reminded me of something like a burnt caramel or burnt sugar taste. Sweet with a slight bitterness at the end. The smoke finished with a very pleasant espresso flavor that lingered on the palate for quite a while. Amazing flavors for this little guy.
OVERALL IMPRESSION -
This was quite a surprise. I really enjoy Pete Johnson’s smokes and I’ve had many Noella’s in the past. This was a different animal however. The Reserva has a richness and a spectrum of interesting flavors that really took me by surprise. I also enjoyed the fact that the cigar was medium-full bodied and remained so throughout. The body didn’t overwhelm the amazing flavors at any point. I know these are limited, but if you have your chance to grab some, do so. I got mine from a great guy named Kurt at Twins Smoke Shop in NH. He has them by the box only on the site, but if you call, tell him Tony from LeafandGrape.com sent you and he’ll sell you a fiver or less. Don’t pass this one up.
TOTAL SCORE – 96
Tags: Broadleaf, Frank, Miami, Nicaragua, Noella, Pepin Garcia, Pete Johnson, Tatuaje
