Cigar: Tatuaje 10th Anniversary
Size: Bon Chasseur 5 3/8"x52
Wrapper: Ecuadorian Habano
Binder: Nicaragua
Filler: Nicaragua
Price:MSRP ~$10.00

Initial Impression/Prelight
The Tatuaje 10th Anniversary was firm, and had the smoothest wrapper I'd ever seen on a cigar - it was actually plasticy feeling. It was odd, but not bad. The wrapper was medium brown and uniform in color, with only tiny veins and a hint of oil.

It had a closed foot, but I picked up pepper and hay from the wrapper, and more pepper, cocoa, and a little dried fruit on the cold draw.

This cigar had been in my humidor for about 6 months at 65%. I actually smoked it about 2 months ago and never got around to writing up my notes into a review, so here we go!



1st Third
Immediately I got big cocoa and coffee flavors, and while I didn't get much of the expected pepper, I did notice some light nutmeg or cinnamon which was really nice. The smoke plentiful, and a brilliantly white ash took shape quickly. Creaminess came and went in the first third as well, along with sweet, dried apricot type flavors on the French inhale.



2nd Third
This section was still chocolatey, but more of a sweet milk chocolate rather than cocoa. I noticed hints of clove and more of the light dried fruit sweetness. Towards the back part of the second third I got some savory flavors too, mostly light earth. Flavor and strength were medium to this point.



Final Third
The flavors changed for the worse in this last section. While I got some hints of black licorice, unexpectedly I got more woody bitterness than anything else. Creaminess changed to a very dry profile, maybe some bitter walnut towards the end to go with the woodiness. The burnline was wavy, but never needed to be retouched.



Overall Impression
This cigar was really killing it for me until the last 2 inches or so. It looked good, and it tasted good with the chocolate and fruit sweetness balanced nicely by the spices. It turn a drastically bad turn in the last section though, and really lost me by the end.

Maybe I just had some bad luck. I'll score this cigar on it's own, but I definitely wouldn't mind trying another. Probably as a single.