Tatuaje Pudgy Monster Face Review

10/7/2014

Cigar: Tatuaje Pudgy Monster, Face
Size: Gordo, 4.3”x56
MSRP: $9.50
Strength: Medium-Full
Wrapper: Mexican San Andrés
Origin: Nicaragua

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Prelight: The wrapper of Face is a deep brown and smells fittingly like chocolate. It is fairly toothy and veiny, with a nice oily sheen which gives it a rustic look. The band also adds to this feel, as it is a piece of wrapper leaf glued over the main wrapper. Clever. The cap comes to an interesting point, which is unlike anything I have seen before, and the foot is closed. The entire cigar is very firm, with no soft spots, and seems meticulously made. The cold draw gives a rich chocolate flavor and perfect pull.

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1/3: At the beginning of Face, pepper kicks me in the…well, you know. Nice, spicy black pepper, and as it burns, coffee begins to well up. A little earthiness also. The burn is impressively straight, creating bright white, toothy ash. The first third ends with flavors of pepper, coffee, earth, and just a bit of baking spice.

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2/3: The coffee flavors really take over in the second third, being complemented by some toast. The pepper had faded just a bit, but then comes back like it left its jacket at the party. The ash lasts for about half of the cigar, and the burn is still spot on. There is still just a hint of earth, reminding me that this cigar doesn’t have a lot of tricks up its sleeve.

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3/3: In the final third, chocolate sweetens things up a bit, being added to the coffee-dominated profile. The nicotine level of this cigar is impressive for its diminutive size. The burn is not hot at all, I realize as the ash reaches my fingertips. At the very end, I taste a little cedar with the coffee, earth and pepper.

Overall: Good cigar. Not much in the way of flavor evolution, but the flavors it did have were great. The construction was perfect. I understand and appreciate the gimmick behind the Monster line, but the cigar – although really good – doesn’t quite live up to the MSRP in my opinion. A really clever and well-made cigar that I would definitely have in my rotation if the release wasn’t so limited/expensive.