Tatuaje Apocalypse Short Cigar Review
I received the cigar I am using for this review from Smoke Inn, all reviews are my own.
Wrapper: Connecticut Broadleaf | Binder: Nicaraguan | Filler: Nicaraguan | Box of 15: $134.25; Singly: $8.95 | Perfecto | 5 ¼″ x 48-52
0/3: About a year ago Smoke Inn released their first in a series of micro blend cigars with the Tatuaje Anarchy. It was a wonderful cigar and I rated it at 94 points, which is a pretty damn good score. Supposedly, the blend for the Apocalypse is a tweaked version of the Anarchy blend so that the Apocalypse has more concentrated flavors. Or, to put it in layman’s terms: it’s like cracking an egg and getting two yolks.
Now, this is a pre-release cigar but, according to the good folks over at Smoke Inn, this is the same cigar everyone else can purchase starting at midnight on Thanksgiving Day. I’m not exactly sure but I’m pretty confident that you will be able to purchase these cigars on this page at the appointed time.
Of course, your buying decision is going to solely rest on what my verdict is. Starting off, it is a really cool looking cigar. A perfecto, the chocolate brown wrapper feels like fine grit sandpaper and is very oily. The pigtail is back for this iteration and, to be honest, it doesn’t add anything to the cigar. It actually looks like an impressionist Cinnabon Cinnamon Roll but one I cannot eat.
1/3: The draw gets good once the burn line overcomes the perfecto’s hump. Whereas the flavor profile for the Anarchy was dry and “rugged” this one is warm. Leather, spice, graham cracker and some sweetness. Good mix.
2/3: Gritty, chalky earthiness comes through. The leather, spice and graham cracker flavors are still there with roughly the same intensity but the sweetness has pretty much left.
3/3: During the final third there is a marked change in the flavor profile with a movement towards dark, floral sweetness. Earth is still present but the other flavors have definitely receded into the background. Some fruity flavors as well.
4/3: Medium-full bodied with a good draw and burn, this cigar is pretty good. But I didn’t like it as much as the Anarchy. Still, I think it’s definitely worth a try.
4 out of 5 points – Definitely worth a try
My Father Limited Edition 2011 Short Cigar Review
Wrapper: Hybrid Ecuadorian Habano Criollo | Binder: Nicaraguan | Filler: Nicaraguan | Box of 12: $185.00; Single: $18.50 | Toro | 6 ½″ x 52
0/3: While attending an event in Chattanooga in August I got to talking with someone there who told me I had to try this cigar and that I wouldn’t be disappointed even though it costs quite a bit of money. Okay, let’s see.
It is a beautiful cigar. A consistent medium brown color to the wrapper and the feel of said wrapper is oily, soft leather. Like what Pig Pen (of Charlie Brown fame) does to the air whenever he enters the scene this cigar’s aroma was easily discernible even from a couple of feet away and, unlike the case with Mr. Pen, this aroma was a very nice mixture of sweetness and spice.
1/3: I’m greeted with a very strong and distinct pepper that is totally unaffected by any of the other flavors. I think it’s wonderful but those who don’t like pepper probably won’t agree and won’t like the first inch or so of this cigar.
It does change a little after that first inch. The pepper is now more like red pepper flakes. There’s also some leather and sweetness.
2/3: Bright spice enters the fray here. The leather has disappeared. Some fruity flavors have come into the mix. Medium-full bodied cigar.
3/3: A lot of flavor is going on during this final third; spice and fruity sweetness mostly during the first part of this third. After that it morphs into a floral sweetness with some leather creeping back in.
4/3: I am glad that I bought this cigar because the flavors were strong throughout and there was a great deal of evolution in the flavor profile. It was medium-full bodied with a good draw and burn. If you want a special cigar that delivers on everything that matters then you should give this cigar a try.
4.5 out of 5 points – great but not legendary
Tatuaje TAA 2012 Cigar Review
The other day I finished watching “Into the West“, which is one of those multi-generational miniseries that follows a family (two in this case) through the generations and, in the process, you also get to see a dramatized version of history, the “Wild West” in this case, and, based off of my watching of this show, I’m reasonably sure that the image on this band is that of an Indian. Upon further inspection I notice that the Indian is wearing a headdress made of tobacco leaves (this is a special cigar for the Tobacconists Association of America) and that immediately got me thinking of a Cabbage Patch Kid.
But none of that is important. What is important is that this cigar is a beauty. A box pressed toro, the very dark brown Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper has that rough, toothy texture that gets me excited to smoke a cigar. The box press is pretty drastic in that it’s a fairly flat cigar. Very oily with a closed foot this cigar looks like it is going to be a treat.
Cigar Stats
Vitola: toro
Length: 6 ¼″
Ring Gauge: 50
Wrapper: Connecticut Broadleaf
Binder: Nicaragua
Filler: Nicaragua
Price: ~ $12.00/Single
Space Jump Incineration!
After a slightly longer than normal session of toasting the foot, this cigar opens up with some pretty nice flavors. Fruity spice with a bit of a bite on the finish, clay earth and a small helping of very bitter chocolate in the background. The flavors are working well together.
Leather gets added to the mix during the second third. While the spice has decreased in importance the earthiness has increased and changed into this incredible dustiness. It’s still has a good deal of bitterness as well. This is one of those cigars where the smoke’s consistency is very granular; sort of like a thousand little flavor molecules surrounding your taste buds. Very interesting cigar.
The final third is a lot like the second with leather, earth and bitter chocolate. Like I said about the second third, this is a very interesting cigar, which, in this case, means that it’s unique… in a good way.
Medium-full bodied with an excellent draw and burn, this cigar does not have a great deal of evolution in the flavor profile but what it lacks in that department it more than makes up for with the mixture of flavors. It was good from beginning to end.
91 points
La Sirena Short Cigar Review
I received this cigar as a gift from Barry, who works for Miami Cigar & Co. All reviews are my own.
Wrapper: Connecticut Broadleaf Maduro | Binder: Nicaraguan Criollo ’99 | Filler: Nicaraguan Corjo ’99 Viso and Nicaraguan Criollo ’98 Ligero | Box of 10: $102.00; 5 Pack: $55.00 | Size: A | 9.2″ x 48
0/3: Big… Ass… Cigar. Very oily cigar with one stretch mark. I’m amazed there aren’t more imperfections with a cigar of this length. It is a little spongy to the touch and, since it has been resting in my humidor for about 10 months, it is a little banged up. But not too banged up to hurt performance, I hope.
1/3: I don’t normally smoke “A’s” but when I do I get this unsettling feeling that I should have some kind of support system about 2/3rds of the way down to make sure it doesn’t break. It’s irrational, I know, but that’s what my brain is thinking.
Good, clean spice comes through strong during the first third. A bit of floral flavoring comes through too. There’s some earthiness as well.
2/3: Floral spice is the main thing going during this third. There’s also a good deal of earthiness going around and some meaty flavors. But, like I said, it’s mostly floral spice, which has a little bit of sweetness to it.
3/3: Leather and that floral spice which covers everything like the Blob on some hapless 1950′s town. Still, I’m liking it. Maybe not as much as the robusto, which I gave 95 points to a while back, but, still, very good.
4/3: Medium-full bodied with a good draw and burn, this cigar is easily above average. It’s a bit expensive but, then again, it does last a really long time and is great throughout. It’s not the same robust spice explosion that you get with the smaller vitolas but the flavor here is very nice. More like two-plus hours of restrained delight.
4 out of 5 points
Viaje Skull and Bones “?” 2011 Short Cigar Review
Wrapper: Nicaraguan Sun Grown Criollo | Binder: Nicaraguan | Filler: Nicaraguan | Single: ~ $12.00 | Torpedo | 4 ½″ x 52
0/3: Viaje, which is Spanish for “boutique,” has put out a limited edition torpedo the last two years called “?”. Sounds like a Super Villain’s name to me but, hey, I guess it works.
It’s short (obviously) and it looks well made. Tightly packed, the wrapper does have some stretch marks but is also very oily.
1/3: Strong with clean, fruity spice, leather and some coco. Nice mixture of flavors. Not too strong, but the flavors are really alive.
2/3: Black cherry and spice dominate the second third. Coco and cream are there as well. So is leather. Very smooth cigar with a slight nasal spice burn that lasts for a while.
3/3: Spice, leather and a bit of bitterness. Not much bitterness but it starts to creep in during this third.
4/3: Good draw and burn, this full bodied cigar is alright. A little bit better than “alright” but not a lot better. Personally, I’m beginning to get a little Viaje limited edition fatigue because they are relatively expensive cigars and they aren’t always great cigars. Better than average, perhaps, but nothing spectacular. That being said, it’s still an intriguing brand to me.
3.5 out of 5 points
