Wrapper: Ecuadorian Sancti Spiritus
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan, Nicaraguan Pelo de Oro
Size: 6 x 46 Corona Gorda
Strength: Medium
Price: $16.00
Made by My Father in Nicaragua and limited to 1,000 boxes of 10.
THE WHOLE MEGILLAH:
First, why would Tatuaje put out a cigar you can’t pronounce. Go ahead. I’ll wait.
Translated, the name is “The Burden of Choosing the Right Chinese Take-Out Is On You Unless You are Under 18.” Why couldn’t Pete Johnson have just said that?
Very delicate cigar. Yet it needs a little goose to flare the draw because I like it the way I like it. I reach for my PerfecDraw. It weaves and dodges me. Too early for this shit. I flick it to the floor. It gets up. Dusts itself off. I hear a tiny ‘Harumph.’ If you want a method to correct the draw on your stubborn cigars…and do not mind dealing with another female in your life, boychik…do I have a tool for you.
So, RFK Jr likes eating bear cubs. That’s a punchline in search of a joke.
The wrapper smells heavenly. Notes of caramel, freshly picked flowers, hot cocoa with marshmallows, roasted coffee, peanuts, and over ripe strawberries.
First puffs reveal strong coffee grounds, red pepper, steamed peanuts, caramel, and dark chocolate. My impression is I’m smoking a beautifully aged cigar. Instant complexity. Swirling transitions that have wasted no time.
I remember seeing Linda Ronstadt in The Stone Poneys in 1967. They were billed second to the house hypnotist. Tiny club that maybe sat 50 people. If you endured being hypnotized, you got tickets to come back for free. As I began my schmuckdom early in life, I got up and made an ass of myself. I was asked to play my imaginary bass. So, I played air bass guitar, Linda thought it was funny and came out to sing while I made bass notes with my mouth to their hit ‘Different Drum.’ She danced in front of me. I got a kiss. Sigh.
The sweet notes urge my palate to accept subtlety. Graham cracker, sweet cream butter, toffee, vanilla bean soaking in rum, chunky JIF, and dried apple crisps.
It ain’t a flavor bomb. Rather, a nicely nuanced blend that is in search of its center. I’m only an inch in. But I can tell it’s revving up.
Strength is an easy-going morning medium. The burn complies with its master.
The blender’s intent is not a well-kept secret. You don’t need a sophisticated palate to enjoy this cigar. Odds are you will taste the exact same notes as me. It will do well with extended humidor time. I look forward to the second half as it looms in hyperbolic space.
Salted caramel is impossible to ignore. These leaf stats are popular. Some do it well. This blend is the answer to that question I didn’t ask.
Hal Blaine wanted to impress me when we met. He pulled a chart from his stick bag. It was in Paul Simon’s handwriting. It was the drum chart for ‘Bridge Over Troubled Water’ that Hal used on the recording for that song. I couldn’t blink. I just stared. Yeah, I was impressed.
Have I mentioned creaminess? Nope. I forgot. Am I in my 70’s? Yep.
The second half arrives. I’m having a good time. It’s a shame these cigars are mostly sold out everywhere. But there is a happy ending as I will explain before I rate this blend.
Lemon citrus finds its way home. I thought I might have sensed it early on, but I wasn’t sure.
In grade school every year, I played my accordion to accompany the kids singing Christmas songs before the break. I was a hero according to my teachers. If I had done this in high school, I wouldn’t have gotten laid till I was 50.
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The second half coagulates the complexity of this blend. Like gathering gold in a pan. An intensity begins. Everything is pulled together. Aging will bring this to the forefront sooner.
The cigar band slips off easily. I love it when they aren’t cheap.
Now it’s a flavor bomb.
Sweet citrus rind, salted caramel, peanuts galore, milk chocolate, café au lait, red pepper, graham cracker, honeysuckle, and marzipan. I guarantee you will taste each and every note.
In the early 80’s, when I did enough cocaine to kill a den of bear cubs, it is a miracle that it only took out three of my friends. Rough affair it was.
Algorithms. I gotta stop talking about death. I see dead people in my browser feed.
The strength remained at medium throughout. Not an easy task.
This stick requires nubbing. I comply.
The L’Atelier Côte d’Or La Tâche ’18 begins to take it home. A lovely morning. Ninety-seven minutes of jovial congeniality. When we spend money we don’t have. Money spent we can’t explain to the wife. It is imperative we are entertained. Buyer’s remorse is our bane. But when we are rewarded, our spiel to elucidate our spouse on why we spent the kids’ college tuition is easier. But wait…
The L’Atelier Côte d’Or La Tâche ’18 is a carbon copy of the L’Atelier Selection Speciale. I reviewed the $10 stick (I know) in 2014 and loved it. The very noticeable difference between the Côte d’Or La Tâche and the Selection Spéciale is that the former is $16 per stick…the latter SS (3 Sizes) is only $9.00. I reached out to Alex at Cigar Page before I began this review and asked for a promo code. He came through brilliantly with 15% off: LAT24. Go to Cigar Page and get the SS cigar for around $6.00!!! No brainer. $10 off. Free shipping of course.
RATING: 95
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Categories: CIGAR REVIEWS
As a quadrilingual Swiss, I have no problems with the pronunciation. It seems obvious to me that Pete Johnson not only makes excellent cigars, but also loves French wine. If I remember correctly, I have seen tattoos on his arms that confirm this assumption.
As always, an excellent and very entertaining review!
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I consulted my guru. He confirms it is Pig Latin. Not French.
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I must have bought the Ecuadorian Sancti Spinctus by mistake: Overwhelming barnyard notes and the draw was very tight.
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ordered these as well!
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