Tatuaje Fausto Cigar Review
When I first heard about this cigar I was psyched because I never got to try the Tatuaje T110, which the Tatuaje Fausto is based off of. Or maybe it’s not the exact same blend, I’m not sure. But that doesn’t matter. What does matter is that if you like strength in your cigars then this cigar is something that you have to try.
But what about that name? Evidently, it means “fortunate” or “good luck” and is used as a name for males. Alright, that’s somewhat interesting and makes sense as a name for a cigar. But then I thought back to my childhood education and a dog named Wishbone. Faust was the character, played by a wonderfully gifted Jack Russel Terrier with more acting chops than most actors today, who even though he was brilliant and had lots of good things in life was still not content with his lot in life and made a deal with the Devil. In exchange for his soul the Devil was suppose to give him whatever he wanted in life.
The version that the Wishbone producers deemed suitable for us children to see has the girl whom Faust corrupted in his 24 year long hedonistic streak winning Faust’s soul over to the side of the Angels and saving the man, who destroyed her life, from eternal damnation. Touching, for sure. But as is the case with many stories that get revised (can’t you imagine the story of the Three Little Pigs being butchered so horribly that the ending is changed so that the pigs and the Big Bad Wolf go into the construction business together?) it gets revised in such a way that there’s a happy ending. The original Faust stories have that bastard Fausto serving out eternity as the Devil’s servant.
I think it was the original story that this cigar is suppose to represent. Without giving too much of my review away this cigar is very full bodied and makes you wonder if you had asked for too much of a good thing with it. Shouldn’t it be enough to smoke a cigar that just tastes amazing? Why do we have to always yearn for something more? Because, as was the case with the sinful yearnings of Faust, it’s better to walk on the dark side than to be dissatisfied with our current lots, even if they are enviable.
Honestly, I’m not sure that any of that prelude to a review matters but it makes the cigar more interesting… to me at least. By itself, this cigar looks very well made with its dark brown wrapper that has a dull, oily sheen that makes you think this cigar might actually play nice. The wrapper is rather veiny but none of the veins are very pronounced. Evenly packed the cigar gives a little to the touch. Beyond all the other characteristics of this cigar the first thing you will notice is that it smells aggressive. Fiery tobacco smells make a preemptive assault in your nose before you even get the chance to cut the cigar. It’s an experience, that’s for sure.
Cigar Stats
Length: 5 ½″
Ring Gauge: 52
Wrapper: Habano Ecuador
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan
Price:$185.00/Box of 25 | $39.00/Pack of 5
Mephistopheles takes you to the Flames!
When I first smoked some of these cigars I liked them but I wasn’t overly impressed with them. They were impressive, for sure but as some time passed they got better. The one that I am smoking now has been resting in my humidor for five or six months now. It’s well worth the wait.
The flavors are just so strong and evocative. This is like the Booker’s of the cigar world: wildly strong but with flavor. There’s spice and wheat and oak. But it’s hard to get past the fire hose intensity of this cigar. Part of me absolutely loves this cigar right now. Another part of me realizes that this cigar is meant for a very specific niche of the cigar smoking market.
During the second half this cherry flavor starts to come through on occasion. Burnt cashew is another flavor I am able to pick up. Mainly, the flavors still revolve around those flavors I mentioned during the first third except for the spice, it has slacked off.
What I like the most about this cigar is that the flavors are dry and alive. In the final third bread comes through. It’s a nice way to end the cigar actually. While it is still a legitimately full bodied cigar the flavors have been complex and there has been a good deal of evolution in the flavor profile as well. Even if the flavors had remained constant from the first third to its conclusion this would have been a great cigar. With all the changes in the flavors and the fact that it had a decent burn, requiring only a couple of minor touch ups, and an excellent draw this cigar is a keeper.
93 points
Joya de Nicaragua Antaño Dark Corojo Cigar Review
I have had one last Joya de Nicaragua Antaño Dark Corojo sitting in my humidor for about a year now. Looking back on my notes I can see that I generally liked the ones that I had before so let’s see what a year’s worth of aging has done to this cigar.
For whatever reason, probably a combination of the dark wrapper and the torpedo shape, this looks like a menacing cigar. It looks like it is just going to kick you in the butt the second that you touch foot to torch. Beyond the fact that if this cigar were a person you would probably cross the street if you saw it coming your way, it is a good looking, well made cigar. Not very many veins, sufficiently packed from tip of torpedo to foot and the wrapper is fairly oily.
Cigar Stats
Vitola: Torpedo
Length: 6″
Ring Gauge: 54
Wrapper: Nicaragua
Binder: Honduran
Filler: Nicaragua
Price: $10.00/Single | $150.00/Box of 20
Marauder Torch!
After a year or so in the humidor this cigar is somewhat better than it was before. There is more nuance to the flavors, which, by the way, are led by chocolate followed by bitter coffee and generally earthy flavors. After a while the body gradually increases into the full bodied spectrum. One nit to pick is that the draw is a bit too loose and I think that is muting the flavors to a degree or two.
Gosh, this is an extremely slow burning cigar. I think it’s been nearly an hour, probably more like 45 minutes, and I can just now see the second third around the proverbial bend. At this point there has been some evolution in the cigar and that evolution is more towards the spicy side of the flavor spectrum. It’s a good twist because the main flavor other than the spice, which is fiery and long lasting (it never really leaves your palate actually), is chocolate. It’s a nice milk chocolate that goes well with spice.
The transition from the first third to the second third gets firmly set in and lasts through most of the second third. The final third is much the same with one notable departure. Chocolate becomes less of a leader and in its place there is this sweetness accompanied by toast. Almost as if you were smoking toast with a little bit of sugar sprinkled on top. And then….
It takes an unexpected turn and the sweetness becomes floral. Fortunately, it is not that fruity kind of floral flavor but it is the heartier kind, the deep, flavorful kind rather. And the spice has gone away. It’s a great way to (slowly) end a cigar that could have otherwise become too heavy on the spice.
If you were to gently prod me into saying something negative about this full bodied cigar I would quickly respond with this: the draw is too loose, which leads to the cigar being a bear to keep lit. This is all weird to me since there is a copious amount of smoke when it is lit and the flavors are excellent. It’s a pain but it’s got to be like the pain one feels when trying to keep a classic car up and running. Sure, there is a lot of maintenance required but it’s more fun than bagging your limit of yetis.
93 points
La Flor Dominicana Double Ligero Chisel Natural Cigar Review
A while ago I did a review of the La Flor Dominicana Double Ligero Chisel Maduro and I loved it. In fact, it was my favorite cigar of 2010, which says something. So then I decided to try the one with the natural wrapper.
The cigar is undeniably cool. The chiseled head is unique and the cigar has some heft to it. It’s lighter than it’s maduro-clad brethren and there are a number of superficial veins that run the length of this cigar like some kind of miniature superhighway system. It cuts nice and the prelight draw is good with a hint at what’s to come: spice.
Cigar Stats
Length: 6″
Ring Gauge: 54
Wrapper: Ecuador
Binder: Dominican Republic
Filler: Dominican Republic
Price: $155.00/Box of 20 | $8.75/Single
Best First Lines Fire!
It starts out admirably well in the flavor department. There is the perfunctory spice, which every LFD DL should have, and there is dry, salted meat with a little bit of hickory thrown in for good measure. Honestly, this is beating most cigars in the flavor department at this early stage, the first third, but it’s not beating out it’s maduro-ed brother.
While the burn line takes it’s sweet time advancing onto the second third I have to comment on the wonderful draw I get from every Chisel. Out of every cigar I have ever had it is this cigar I would go to if a perfect draw was absolutely necessary for me. The tapered head of the cigar produces a combination of flavor concentration and ease of draw that kicks these cigars up a notch or two.
This is also a fairly strong cigar. But it’s that good kind of strength, the mellow kind that shouldn’t knock you on your backside if you are a seasoned cigar smoker. If, on the other hand, this was the first cigar you ever smoked… well, you get the idea.
The second third of the cigar does see some movement away from the spiciness of the first third. Now, the best way to describe it would be that there is a dusty texture to the smoke and the flavors center mainly around meat, leather and sweet hickory. Actually, it’s a very good mixture and it’s gaining on the maduro version in my estimation.
This cigar really comes into itself during the final third. Spice picks back up a little with leather in the lead. Hickory is still there and, above all of that, the flavors just seem to be purer and more alive.
There never was a harsh moment for this cigar and both the burn and the draw were excellent throughout. But, in the end, I would still go with the maduro version of this cigar. Barely though.
93 points
Guillermo León Cigar Review
The first time I smoked one of these cigars was back during the spring in the Dominican Republic at the La Aurora factory. Jason Wood, now the Director of Finance at Miami Cigar & Company (who provided the cigars for this review and advertises on this site as well), secretly handed us these unbanded cigars and told us to give them a try. Needless to say, we were all intrigued and got down to smoking these cigars.
I can’t remember anyone who wasn’t pleased with their cigar smoking experience. And then they told us that this was going to be the first cigar to feature Guillermo León’s name on the band. So that was a pretty cool experience. And now onto the cigar that should be available in your neck of the woods by December at the latest (Miami and New York already have access).
The dark brown habano wrapper looks good. There are a couple of veins that are sticking up a little bit but nothing major. Well packed from cap to foot and it is an oily wrapper. The ones I’ve smoked in the past have all been excellent so I am looking forward to this one.
Cigar Stats
Corona Gorda
Length: 6″
Ring Gauge: 47
Wrapper: Ecuadorian Habano (Vuelta Arriba)
Binder: Cameroon and Dominican Republic Corojo
Filler: DR, Brazil, Nicaragua, Peru
Price: $8.50/cigar
Rediscovery Flame!
This is one of those cigars that is good from the first puff on. Nicely balanced flavors that coat your mouth and an abundance of smoke. Cedar is the driving force behind the early stages of this cigar’s flavor development.
There is also a certain sweetness, not quite fruity but close to it. This flavor is most pronounced on the retrohale and starts coming through shortly after starting the cigar (less than an inch in). After that sweetness flavor dissipates on the retrohale there is a mixture of leather and a mild spice that lingers in the back of the sinuses for a while.
A great draw is accompanied by a somewhat wavy burn. This medium bodied cigar easily makes up for that at times erratic burn line with a great group of flavors. The main evolution of this cigar is from cedar notes in the beginning to a sweeter fruit flavor mixed with spice and leather as the cigar progresses.
93 points
Padilla Dominus Cigar Review
Let me be upfront about my Padilla bias; I like their cigars. That being said, if the Padilla Dominus were a dog of a cigar I would tell you. Without giving too much away, it is anything but a dog.
The Padilla Dominus that is currently sitting on my ash tray is a beauty. Very smooth, a slight sheen of oil and only a couple of minor imperfections (a couple of dark spots the size of a gnat). It feels well packed and is a very well made cigar.
Cigar Stats
Robusto
Length: 5″
Ring Gauge: 50
Wrapper: Nicaragua
Binder: Nicaragua
Filler: Nicaragua
Price: $9.00/cigar | $200/box of 24
Levin Flame!
The immediateness of the spice is impressive. Right off the bat you will be hit with a robust helping of spice and a healthy helping of oak as well. It’s a nice mix. My one problem with this cigar during the first third is that it isn’t a particularly smooth cigar. The fact that it “isn’t a particularly smooth cigar” doesn’t deter me because I like it when a cigar has a little bit of an edge to it.
One other thing, the spice can tend to get a little racy and overpower the other flavors. In addition to the oak and the spice there is this mild sweetness that is barely noticeable. Honestly, I did not notice the sweetness until I had smoked a few of these cigars.
As I continue smoking this cigar I realize that I absolutely love it. Seriously, the spice is so alive, so vibrant. It’s a cross between cinnamon and something caliente (that’s Spanish for spicy or hot or something like that, I think). The wood – oak – is a welcoming canvas for the spicy interplay.
It is just barely a full bodied smoke. The draw requires just the slightest tug and the burn is mostly good, requiring just one touch up about two thirds of the way through. I have had some minor burn problems with almost every one of these cigars. Fortunately, the draw doesn’t put too much of a damper on the flavors.
In addition to all the goodness that is this cigar the band is awesome. I know it doesn’t affect the way the cigar smokes but it is nevertheless pretty cool. There’s a lion in the center of a bunch of flowers. The P – for Padilla – is artfully done. And even the name, Dominus, is awesome. You may not be able to judge a book by its cover but you wouldn’t be misled if you judged this cigar by its band.
The flavors do a bit of evolving. That sweetness, however faint it is, stays on after the first inch or so. The only thing I have to add is that there is a slight grittiness to the flavor profile that comes on about halfway through. It’s actually an interesting addition that I like.
It’s a great cigar. Need I say more?
93 points
For another opinion head on over to Fire up that Cigar’s review of this cigar. They have pictures! 
