Cigar Beat Blog

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I knew it was going to be a good day once I decided to have my first Tatuaje. As soon as I put fire to this cigar I heard a knock at the door. I stopped what I was doing kind of mumbling all the way to the door. But when I opened it no one was to be seen. Like Santa the UPS driver was in and out never to be caught. Once I opened the box I figured out that it was a ticking bomb! Now who would send this? Gurkha of course! They sent me a hat, three cigars and a pouch to carry them in!

So after looking through it all I put the cigars in the humi and got back to my Tatuaje. I picked this up at my local B&M last week and have been waiting for a good time to burn it. I paid $4.25 but I think around $5 is the norm.

tatuajecigars.com is seriously lacking and is in desperate need of a make over. Very little information on this cigar. This cigar was created by Pete Johnson and Pepin Garcia and produced in Pepin’s Tabacalera Cubana factory in Esteli, Nicaragua.

Country: Nicaragua
Length/Ring: 4 5/8x 42
Shape: Corona
Wrapper: Nicaraguan Corojo 99
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan Havana VI
Strength: Mild-Medium-Full (What?)
Price: $118 (24) Buy Now

Pre-light: A nice solid cigar with small veins. The band is a thin red one with Tatuaje written on it. The pre-smell is of mild tobacco and the draw is firm even after a hefty cut of the triple cap. This is a very solid silky smooth cigar with the cold draw showing a mild tobacco taste.

The burn: For being firm you get a good amount of smoke from this little cigar. The ash was white for the most part lasting around a inch. The burn didn’t give me much trouble. Going off once it corrected itself and behaved the rest of the way down.

The taste: It started off a little leathery and earthy. The body is a mild-medium leaning a little to the medium side. Once about an inch in some freshly ground pepper came out for a puff or two and it then went back to earthiness. At around the half way mark I get that pleasant tangy flavor and I can only describe it as cherry. This only lasts a couple puffs as well going back to more present spice. This is the point where things move from a mild-medium to medium-full but more toward medium. The finish is much longer the last half.

Over all: This cigar has it all. The only issue I have is the draw but the flavors make up for it in a big way. Cigar Aficionado rated this cigar a 93 in 2007. I agree with that rating but not the description they gave it. At $.4.75 this is a great deal. I say buy!

What others say about the Tatuaje Havana VI Angeles:

• The Stogie Review enjoys it.
• The Stogie Guys recommends to buy this.

Cigar review Index, Around The Cigar Blogs, The Winner of Guess and Win,

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While in my local B&M yesterday looking for some smaller cigars this smoke caught my eye. I have seen them there before but finally decided to give it a try.

The Griffin’s website does not seem to want to bring up any information on this cigar.
Country: Dominican Republic
Length/Ring: 4 x 43
Shape: Corona
Wrapper: Ecuador
Filler: Dom. Rep.
Binder: Dom. Rep.
Strength: mild-medium more towards medium
Price: $37.99 (10)

Pre-light: This is a small cigar with very little visible veins. The wrapper is very smooth, almost hairy. I don’t see or feel any imperfections. The ban is white with a Griffin on the front ( an ugly beast if you ask me) and HECHO A MANO on the side. It then has another band with “Fuerte” on it. The smell is of mild tobacco and the cold draw has a sweet tobacco taste. The draw is just a tad firm. The band was a pain to get off. Over glued it stuck to the cigar and even with the burn line 1/8 away it still did not want to come off.

The burn: The burn line stayed sharp for the most part but did need a couple touch-ups and it held the white ash well. Like the pre-light the draw was a tab firm but gave me plenty of smoke.

The taste: A nice mellow wood flavor is what you will find here for the first half with a little spice hiding in the background. Once past the half way mark things pick up a little and turns more rich. This cigar never got hot or bitter.

Over all: I enjoyed this short smoke, it was just what I was looking for today. I paid $4.75 for a single at my B&M. Not a bad price but if picked up by the box for under $4 each I see myself getting more.

Cigar review Index, Review: CAO Gold Corona, Smoke Notes: CAO Flavours Eileen’s Dream,

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This month Tex Cigars sent me another new cigar from Olor Del Cibao that has been aged in Jose Cuervo 1800 Tequila. They call it not a typical flavored cigar so I’m looking forwards to smoking this one. I have enjoyed most of the Olor Del Cibao line so far and have reviewed the Churchill Cuban Seed and the Double Shade Presidente.

Information from the site:

This is the newest edition from Olor Del Cibao. It is a box-pressed, cuban-seed cigar that has the beautiful construction and flavors that you might expect from Olor Del Cibao. However, the long-leaf filler tobacco has been aged in Jose Cuervo 1800 Tequila for weeks. This cigar is not what your typical flavored cigar might taste like because the wrapper is not flavored or aged in Tequila. The Olor Del Cibao Tequila Aged Cigar has hints of Tequila and a wonderful aroma. Each cigar is hand made and over 40 hands touch this cigar before the finished product is smoked. You can compare these to the Acid line of cigars that used Sauza Tequila if you like, but the truth is that they are a little different because the Sauza Tequila cigar is flavored.

Country: Dominican Republic
Length/Ring: 7 x 54
Shape: Box-Press
Wrapper: Natural Cuban Seed
Strength: Mild
Price: $109.99 (25) Buy Now

Pre-light: I love box pressed cigars. This one has a rough cap, small veins and some color variations on the wrapper. Not the sexiest looking cigar but I don’t want to look at it, I want to smoke it. The cold draw was firm with a little sweetness on the lips almost like a honey. Reminds me of a sweetened tip but this comes from the aging process.

The burn: I would call the burn normal all the way down. Ash lasting a little over an inch and had very little flaking. It kept an even burn throughout. The draw was effortless all the way down on the first cigar and a very tight on the other.

The taste: This is a very interesting cigar when it comes to flavor. Nothing really reminded me of Tequila. It is more of a honey flavor throughout. It kind of reminds me of those Havana Honey’s that I tried back in the day.

Over all: Not my favorite Olor Del Cibao but a decent one. Out of the two I had one was unsmokable do to the draw. I will see if Jarrod will send me a couple more and will update this review if he does. I hate to run into plugs but I can not hold this one cigar against them. So at a little under $4.40 per stick box price I think that is an OK price because of the aging process (if the plugged cigar was just a fluke). I would like to see them in a sampler so I would not have to commit to a whole box…. wait, I guess I should have research before I opened my big mouth. You can try one of these along with other smokes from this line in the Olor Del Cibao Cigar Sampler along with my personal favorite the Double Shade Presidente at Tex Cigars.

What others say about the Olor Del Cibao Tequila:

• MonkeyDan’s review

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Smoke Notes: Olor Del Cibao Churchill Cuban Seed, Cigar Review: El Taíno Brazilian Torpedo, Killer Deals,

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I have been on Oliva kick lately going back and forth from the Serie O and G. I have been enjoying the smaller cigar also so I picked my favorite size of this line, the Special G. Weighing in at only 3.75 x 48 it makes the perfect size for a lunch break smoke. These come in boxes of 48 so you are sure to have plenty to go around.

Information from www.olivacigar.com:

Serie G is a medium body blend made with authentic African-Cameroon wrapper. The unique flavor notes of theis wrapper are complimented by the natural richness of Nicaraguan Habano fillers.

Blending Notes: Medium body with notes of cedar and coffee
Aging: Cameroon is a thin wrapper with little oils, its flavor will changed little from aging.

Wrapper: Cameroon (African)
Binder: Cuban-Seed Habano
Filler: Nicaraguan Habano
Size: 3.75 x 48
Vitolas: 10 Natural
Strength: Medium
Price: $80 (48) (if you search around)

Pre-light: This golden brown cigar is a looker. Small and tapered with the largest part close to the foot. The foot closes back up making for an easy light. The cap fits the cigar well. I used a punch on this cigar and it did crack just a little. The common Oliva band slides off very easy from about the midway point of the cigar back over the small ring head. The wrapper has some veins but nothing that will mess with the burn.

The burn: On this cigar I had a little trouble getting it going. It wanted to go out on me twice before the ash rounded the large part of the cigar. With that said I do not remember this being an issue on the others I have had. Once it did make it past the foot things opened up and you get an easy draw and tons of smoke. You get a train like effect from this cigar as it sits in the ashtray with the smoke being moderate. The burn on the first third is nice and even. Getting into the next third it went off some and needed a touch up. After that it had a good burn for the remainder of the smoke. The grey/black ash is firm and fell only when I wanted it to at little over 1/3 of the cigar.

The taste: I picked up coffee (in the beginning) , wood (maybe cedar) and a little sourness. The flavors pretty much stayed constant all the way down with a nice medium finish. One note to make is you can smoke these to fast fairly easy since the ring gauge gets smaller as you smoke. I have ran into some charred/bitter wood flavors by doing this. It reminds me to slow down!

Over all: At under $2.50 a stick even at 5-pack prices these are a great deal and I think they are a little under valued. That makes these a bargain cigar and when you nub it as I did you will be happy you picked up more at that price. Even though I like the maduro version better I would not hesitate to pick these up when ever I’m running low. These will always have room in my humidor and they are cheap enough to smoke on a regular basis.

What others say about the Oliva Serie G Special:

• Stogie Guys give this smoke 3 1/2 out of five stogies.

Guess How Many, Win A Free Cigar!, Cigar Review: Oliva Serie O, The Winner of Guess and Win,

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