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
Don Pepin Garcia Series JJ Maduro Short Cigar Review
I received this cigar as a sample from Cigars Direct; my reviews are my own.
Wrapper: Nicaraguan | Binder: Nicaraguan | Filler: Nicaraguan | Box of 24: $100.00 | 5 Pack: $24.00 | Robusto | 5″ x 50
0/3: To me, Don Pepin Garcia is the Samuel L. Jackson of the cigar industry. You know that he is great but he doesn’t get the credit that he deserves from some people. Don Pepin Garcia makes some delicious cigars and the DPG Series JJ Natural is one of them. But what about this cigar?
Well, it feels tightly packed and it looks good enough with only a couple of largish veins marring the appearance of the wrapper. A fair amount of oils gives the dark brown wrapper a nice sheen. The triple cap (just like the Cubans do it!) looks solid.
1/3: I like puros not because I’m some sort of tobacco supremacist – far from it – but because it gives you a better idea about how the tobacco from a certain area will normally taste. Sure, I know, there are many variations within countries and the kind of tobacco leafs you get from one farm can be significantly different than the leafs from another farm a few miles away. But, still, I think that there are some trademark differences between countries; like with this Nicaraguan puro with its bold spicy notes that relentlessly remind the nerve endings in my nasal passages that they recently blew by.
There are also notes of nutmeg, barley and maple. The first parts of the beginning third were amazing but it begins to slide backwards a bit by the end of the first third.
2/3: Even though it has regressed somewhat from the beginning the plateau from which it started was very high. Spice is still the main flavor but now the biggest supporting flavor is a sweet floral flavor. And then at about the halfway mark my enjoyment of the cigar picks up again.
Deep, soulful flavors centering around maple with a fringe of spiciness that sticks around all over. It has a lot of complexity to it – other flavors include floral notes, earthiness and cocoa – and the flavors work extremely well with each other.
3/3: And there is a change back towards that floral flavor, which, while disappointing, still isn’t a bad flavor. But that floral flavor is not all there is. There is mesquite, which is not a flavor I get all that often. It doesn’t end amazingly though, with the flavors dying somewhat.
4/3: “Perplexing” is the best word to describe this cigar. One moment I am in love with it and the next I am confused. Alternating between the great and the merely good is something that I have not encountered too much but, still, this medium bodied cigar with a good draw and burn is a cigar that you should try. Personally, I think the version with the natural wrapper has the edge.
3.5 points
La Gloria Cubana Artesanos Retro Especiale Cigar Review
I received some samples from General Cigar for this review. My reviews are my own because I’m a moral person and because if I sold reviews no one would trust me. But mostly because I’m a moral person. Enjoy!
La Gloria Cubana has injected some nitrous into it’s line of cigars recently by launching line extensions like the La Gloria Cubana Serie N. It’s true, I didn’t particularly care for that cigar. But what about this cigar?
First off, here’s a little background info from La Gloria’s website:
Team La Gloria set out to break the mold with the blend of the Artesanos Retro Especiale by cross-breeding a Connecticut seed, which was then cultivated in Honduras. The maiden crop yielded a hearty, golden wrapper as noteworthy for its color as it is for allowing each of the cigar’s components to enjoy equal bearing on the overall taste of the cigar. Each of the frontmarks is uniquely packaged with a different design and bears a classic name that hearkens back to El Credito’s early days.
If this is a good cigar then some credit must go to Mendel for his pioneering genetic research with peas, Ricardo for providing the economic rationale for growing seed developed in Connecticut in the tropical climes of Honduras and most of the credit should go to the children because it is for them that we all smoke. Without their contributions this cigar and most of the others would not get made.
It’s a good looking cigar but I do not think that the wrapper is “golden.” Sienna maybe, but not golden. Oh, but that doesn’t really matter; nor does the tightness with which this cigar is packed. The two largish veins do give me some pause for concern but with all the samples I have smoked as of yet there have not been any problems with the draw or the burn; at least nothing too bad to make note of. Alright, now onto the review.
Cigar Stats
Length: 6″
Ring Gauge: 52
Wrapper: Honduran Connecticut Seed
Binder: Nicaraguan & Mexican
Filler: Nicaraguan & Dominican
Price: $7.25/Single | $101.00/Box of 25
Legendary Smoke!
The first flavor to greet my palate is bright spice that is bolstered by flowery sweetness. In the background there are rich maple notes that gives the flavor profile some heft and balance. Even with the maple this cigar is very light and refreshing; solid start.
Transitioning to the second third and the biggest difference is not in the composition of the flavors but rather in the intensity of the flavors from the first third. It’s sort of like when a car gets a super charger installed, the flavors are just more robust. And that is a good thing because, while these flavors are not extraordinary, they are very good. It’s a cigar that piques your interest and, even though there hasn’t been any evolution in flavors, it is able to keep my interest.
Unfortunately, as is sometimes the case with cigars, the final third was a bit of a letdown. It wasn’t bad, per se, but it was just a little flat with the spice vanishing like a Randy Johnson slider and the maple getting watered down. The floral flavor was still pretty strong and it did provide the lone bright spot for the final third.
Even though the final third did have its problems the first two thirds of the cigar were really good; a solid 91 point cigar. When counting the final third and taking into consideration the fact that this medium bodied cigar had a good draw and burn I am going to have to bring down the final score a little.
89 points
Gurkha Crest Short Cigar Review
I received this sample from Cigars Direct, which does have a good selection of rare cigars.
0/3: Ah, another Gurkha. How many different lines do they have now? At least a couple dozen. I guess it is a sign of the times. Cigar companies, just like every other company out there, needs to do things in order to stay relevant and for many that means either line extensions (new vitolas or a different wrapper) or new products.
Back to the cigar now. It is a good looking torpedo. The wrapper is a little dry to the touch, the feel of the cigar is uniformly properly packed with just the slightest give and the wrapper looks mottled – vacillating between medium brown and dark brown. The prelight draw is a little tight.
Wrapper: USA/Connecticut | Binder: Nicaraguan | Filler: Nicaraguan | Box of 10: $100.00 | Single: $28.00 | Torpedo | 6″ x 52
1/3: The first third is enjoyable with soft spicy notes and bread. While the draw is a little tight it does not hamper the flavors all that much. There is also a bit of sweetness that is trying to punch through.
2/3: Spice continues with a small helping of sweetness that borders on cherry flavored. The tight draw is beginning to hamper the flavor development somewhat. There is a sharpness that is borderline unsavory to the flavor profile at this point. Wood is an addition during this third.
3/3: The final third sees a great increase in the intensity and the enjoyability of the spice. I would have to peg this cigar in the medium-full bodied range and it has a good burn with a somewhat tight draw.
4/3: Overall, I cannot say that this cigar justifies it’s very expensive price tag. The flavors, while good, are somewhat muted due to the fact that there is a tight draw. Additionally, the flavors are not all that complex and leave much to be desired. However, if this cigar is available in a sampler pack with some other sticks that you like do not be discouraged because it is a good cigar overall; just nothing special.
3.5 points
Camacho Diploma Corojo Cigar Review
With just a quick glance it is fairly evident that this is not one of the best looking cigars ever made. It is dotted with a couple of pinprick-sized holes, a number of bumps that runs from foot to cap and a number of veins mixed in as well. There is not much oil covering this cigar and it feels like it may be too loosely packed; which is something that happens frequently with Camacho cigars. This cigar’s wrapper is made with corojo tobacco but also comes in a maduro (which has received some pretty bad scores).
According to the Camacho website, the Camacho Diploma is comprised solely of Cuban seed corojo tobaccos. The leaves come from the fifth priming, which is important because these are the leaves at the top of the tobacco plant and they are the ones that receive the most exposure to the sun and the elements. This means the leaves that make up this cigar should have a lot of flavor packed into them. Oh, and it should also be a full bodied cigar. Let’s see.
Cigar Stats
Length: 5″
Ring Gauge: 50
Wrapper: Honduran
Binder: Honduran
Filler: Honduran
Price: $30.50/5 Pack | $191.00/Box of 21
Contagion Conflagration!
Cutting the cigar reveals a good pre-light draw that is accompanied by a slight molasses sweetness and a mildly spicy tingle that lingers for a moment on my tongue. The smell is akin to a robust barnyard (think more hay than excrement).
Lighting the cigar confirms some of the pre-light flavors right away. Barnyard is prominent but it is perceptibly lighter than I thought it would be. Spice is evident in both the inhale and the retrohale but it is not overpowering; it is a soft and warm spicy flavor. That molasses sweetness is not present, however.
In addition to those flavors there is a strong oak presence. It starts out dark and smoky but then the oak starts to gradually become sweeter. Of course, this is no pushover of a cigar, so sweeter is a relative term.
Another flavor, which I can only identify as tobacco, is a major flavor in the beginning. I like it because it provides an edge to the flavor profile of oak and barnyard hay.
So far (about an inch in), this cigar is a very good cigar. It is a full bodied cigar with a lot of hearty flavors – I’m loving this cigar. The draw is a shade below effortless and the burn is even. Also, at around this point, a fleeting anise flavor is present on the back of the tongue. It is nice and adds to the complexity (and to my enjoyment as well).
If billowing clouds of smoke was the mark of a great cigar then this would truly be one of the best that I have ever had. While I can’t say it is one of the best that I have ever had it is still very good. The flavors are very alive and are enjoyable.
Over halfway through now and the anise flavor has only grown in prominence. That doesn’t mean it is the major flavor in this cigar, not by a long shot. The main flavor profile is still the smoky tobacco and oak mixture. Burnt hay is also a major flavor as well.
I really want to peg the Camacho Diploma as this dark and brooding cigar. One that is full of force and in-your-face flavor. But it isn’t that at all. It is much more refined than that. Yes, it has some strength to it but the flavors are a melodious mix of farm, oak, spice and a touch of sweetness.
The end of this cigar is an uninterrupted continuance of the middle segment. Barnyard flavors may increase a bit – so have the oak flavors – and the anise fades just a touch but it is basically the same. The strength has grown somewhat.
I can call this a delicious cigar. And that is what this cigar is: delicious.
91 points
