Wrapper: Ecuadorian Habano
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan
Size: 5.5 x 52 “Belicoso”
Body: Medium/Full
Price: $11.40 by the box online
I’ll make no bones about it, the Tatuaje Cojonu line is one of my all-time favorite cigars. It has the perfect convergence of the right ingredients meeting the right blender all at the same time.
As I looked through my body of work, I discovered I hadn’t reviewed this cigar on my own blog. I did review it on the blog of a big online store which means I didn’t review it at all.
Pete Johnson, one of the grand New Breed Tattooed Ones, and his partner in crime; Pepin Garcia are the devil’s team. No disrespect intended. It seems that these two fellas can’t screw up anything they touch.
The Cojonu blends come out every 3 years. The 2006 is the second in line. And all are different blends. How I ended up with two of the 2006 models is beyond me. Godfrey Daniel!!
Construction is beautiful with just a hint of visible seams, a few spider veins, a glistening wrapper covered in oil and very smooth to the touch. I literally caress the cigar because it feels that good in the hand. The perfect amount of packing of tobacco. In my eyes, of course. The wrapper is a Colorado Maduro in color.
I slant clip the gentle slope of the belicoso cap and find aromas of everything but the kitchen sink: Cocoa, coffee, spice, creaminess, cinnamon, cedar, sweetness, nuts, and earthiness.
Time to light up.
The draw is tight and I am hoping a little cigar massage will do the trick. I hate using my cigar awl as it can cause cracking of the wrapper from the inside out. But a few minutes into the stick, I use it. But only half an inch into the cap and I think it might be OK.
The first flavors are the famous Garcia blast of red pepper. Followed by cedar and nuts. And then a Bozo slap in the face of a big hand of sweetness. Lollipop sweetness.
There is a plug about 1-1/2” down from the top of the cap. And I can’t seem to dislodge it. The first time I heard a crackling noise, I stopped. I will just have to make do.
We’ve all smoked some version of the Cojonu line and we all have our favorites. Personally, I can’t tell you mine. It is so infrequently that I am able to afford these cigars that I can’t remember the differences unless I read one of my own reviews. It seems that most people like the 2003 version the best. I don’t know if it is because of the aging or just nostalgia.
I have to use the awl once more and I see a crack in the wrapper. There is this goddam plug just sitting in the way and I can’t move it.
An inch in, flavors begin to disperse themselves around my palate. The cocoa and coffee are very strong. In essence, I am getting the typical line up of Nic puro flavor profile. But with the twist of the Ecuadorian Habano wrapper….giving the flavors a real zing.
Halfway through the first third, creaminess; like a heavy cream envelop the cocoa, coffee, cedar, and sweetness. It provides a solid platform for the other flavors to balance on.
The crack in the wrapper looms large and I am forced to use my cigar glue. I allow it to sit for a few minutes. Drat! What are the chances that the cigar I choose to review has a goddam plug in it? And is it near the foot? Nooooooo.
The first third ends and with the second comes the flavor bomb chapter. The cocoa is potent… and strangely, the red pepper has all but disappeared. No spice for your Uncle Katman.
The cigar hits a complex mode quickly as flavors meld together into a big stew. The balance is right on the money. The stick becomes very chewy with a long finish.
I was in my local B & M not too long ago and I saw this cigar going for $18. And this is Wisconsin where the tobacco and cigar taxes aren’t that bad. The box lay in the display window, totally full of cigars, and looking very lonely. No one in Milwaukee can afford popping for a 5 pack of these.
There are no extraordinary flavors as I near the halfway mark. What makes this a really fine cigar is the blending. I know, I know…du-oh. Cigars from Johnson and Garcia focus not on the flavors as much as they do the taste of the finished tobacco. The grandiose taste of the tobacco is an entity all to itself to be enjoyed. The Nic flavors are just icing.
I find it difficult, and so do other good reviewers, in explaining the impact of what fine tobacco really tastes like. It is an elusive thing. I’m sure that palates better than mine can do it, but I get stumped. But here goes….it is earthy and meaty. It has a barnyard taste, but in a good way. It has the flavor of inhaling the aroma of the hanging leaves in a drying barn. A flavor that is dependent upon your olfactory senses as much as your palate. The curing process can be tasted. The time spent in cedar aging rooms. These things, and more, are the bus driver on a good cigar.
The draw righted itself about 2” ago. Meanwhile, my cigar looks like Frankenstein’s Monster from the cracks and glue.
This blend is a good scotch sippin’ cigar. An evening cigar to finish off a nice dinner. I go down to my man cave, click on the TV and watch some movies. In those moments, problems, concerns, and worries melt away. This is a soothing cigar.
Flavors are more expedient now. They are subtle, but expressive. At this point, the flavors are, in descending order: Tobacco earthiness, creaminess, cocoa, coffee, sweetness, the return of pepper, cedar, caramel, butter, French bread, and dried fruit.
The strength started out at as classic medium. By the halfway point, it ratcheted up to medium/full. As I begin the last third, it hits full body. And while the char line has been close to perfect, it did have a bit of waviness. But now, the burn line is razor sharp.
The last third is a bona fide flavor bomb exhibiting all of those wonderful flavors one after another like riding a carousel. Each time you grab a ring, another flavor explodes on your palate.
This cigar is for experienced smokers who are able to fully appreciate the nuance and balance.
The only problem is the price point. Granted, it is a lot of cigar for the money. But $11 a pop, or more, makes it a far reach for most smokers. Thank goodness, the team of Johnson and Garcia make some excellent cigars more in the price range we can all afford.
Because of the plug near the cap, it caused the last inch or so to just fall apart. An expensive cigar like this should not have plugs in them. I don’t care about coincidence. It’s a lot of dough and the construction should be impeccable and I don’t like tossing a cigar when there is plenty left to smoke.
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Categories: CIGAR REVIEWS
Absolutely correct…At that price point construction should be flawless…I smoke while playing golf ( do you hear me Rene ? ) and find it impractical to carry accessories around to repair a cigar…Plus, my golf game requires all of my attention…If the stick refuses to cooperate, it’s DOA…I miss you being on FB…Nice review Katman !
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Thanks Wally.
I do miss my real friends on FB. But there was just too much high drama for this old man. While I miss contact with you and some others, I just had to shut it down. Except for that, as the weeks pass, I really don’t miss it.
Thanks for the comment.
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Caught a fascinating talk between Tatuaje’s Pete Johnson and Curtis Draper online. They cautioned about reviewers too closely tied to manufacturers. Heard you mention several times about reviewer friends who actually work for cigar retailers. Isn’t there a conflict of interest – like a health inspector who works for a fast food chain?
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All of the “A List” reviewers work in the cigar industry in one capacity or another. These are they guys that get the cigars for review two months before anyone has even heard of the them. So they owe something; a debt.
It took me forever to get on the reviewer’s list of Torano. Jack Torano sent me three different sticks. I liked two. The third, not so much. He read that and our relationship ended. So what can you glean from that?
I’ve lost more connections than you can count because I won’t lie. I know I have worked, or currently work, for some online stores but they know up front that if I don’t like the cigar, then that’s how I will write it. Most don’t like that.
A few are honorable people. The compromise is that I don’t publish the review. I still considering that pimping myself out but it has happened so rarely, it doesn’t matter.
Jason at BestCigarPrices.com has my tastes down to a tee. He knows exactly what I like and that’s what he sends me…even the house brand Gurkhas.
I’ve never seen, even once, the A List reviewers write a bad review for their clients.
I wish I had their connections and I have done a lot of begging to get on manufacturer’s reviewer’s lists and most don’t even acknowledge me.
Some of my blog followers send me sticks. I will review those.
I have about a dozen manufacturers that still send me sticks but the list gets smaller all the time because I’m not an insider; and because of the style I write in.
They want a Halfwheel or a Cigar Coop. Not some schmuck from Milwaukee.
BTW- I’ve tried to get on Johnson’s list forever. And the hypocrite only sends them to the A Listers. A lot of his sticks are drek. But not according to the A Listers. Yeah, he puts out some great blends, but not all the time.
One online store told me that their behavior dictates whether they get new sticks and how many. If they vary from the good graces of someone like Johnson, they don’t get anymore.
So bottom line, Johnson is a huge hypocrite.
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P.S.
About 75% of the manufacturers that do send me sticks are liars. A new stick comes out and I find out about it from reading the A Listers. Or see them being sold online.
When I confront them, they just tell me they didn’t have enough to send me. Do I look that stupid in my space helmet on the moon?
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Fascinating stuff. Thnx for the brutally honest insight.
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