Tatuaje Black Label Petite Lancero JUL 2020 (FTRW)

[saltbox]

I always feel a tinge of guilt posting a review of a NC cigar here and refrain from doing so unless explicitly allowed, hopefully I'm not ruffling any feathers. My first few boxes of CCs will hit a few months of rest soon, and it's been hard to restrain from dipping into them until now.

This cigar has been a solid default cigar for me for a long time. I normally also use a straight or v cut, but decided to try pinching off the end of the triple cap. It was far easier and neater than expected and satisfying in a weird way. I'll definitely be doing this more often.

First third: Opens with some peppery spice and cedar with a touch of sweetness, but the pepper fades pretty quickly leaving a balanced mix of leather, cedar, nuttiness, and sweetness.

Middle third: The nuttiness picks back up and a nice sweet mocha note appears on the finish, with occasional hints of vanilla.

Last third: Spice returns but with a touch of cinnamon and baking spices on top of the pepper.

Overall: Not much in the way of transitions, but a tasty flavor profile all the way through. This cigar has always been the benchmark for what a good Nicaraguan puro can be for me, ages extremely well, and is a steal at the price in the US.

[Kaptain Karl]

I've been trying to get my local B&M to pick these up! Love the vitola. 

[Bri Fi]

I had one last weekend. Always a great smoke. I only have a couple left out of a box I bought a year and a half ago. I’ve noticed they get a little sweeter after a year of rest. I was gifted a cazadores and it was even better. Pete Johnson is a brilliant man. 

[saltbox]

15 minutes ago, Bri Fi said:

I had one last weekend. Always a great smoke. I only have a couple left out of a box I bought a year and a half ago. I’ve noticed they get a little sweeter after a year of rest. I was gifted a cazadores and it was even better. Pete Johnson is a brilliant man. 

I've preferred the petite lancero over the corona gorda, but picked up a fiver of the cazadores recently to compare. Definitely looking forward to comparing!

[kalibratecuba]

Great cigar. Probably my favorite Tat.

Last week, Halfwheel wrote that the black line doesn't age well. Glad to read that you think otherwise.

Sent from my GM1917 using Tapatalk

[Kaptain Karl]

1 minute ago, kalibratecuba said:

Great cigar. Probably my favorite Tat.

Last week, Halfwheel wrote that the black line doesn't age well. Glad to read that you think otherwise.

Sent from my GM1917 using Tapatalk
 

Halfwheel is full of s**t lol. Their reviews on Cuban cigars are laughable. 

[NickV]

What is the consensus best Tatuaje? Pete Johnson is a client of my firm and I have an open request to ask for whatever I want to him for free. Was gonna pick the one that made cigar affictionado top cigars list but I know that’s basically a pay to play scheme. Figured if we are on the brand it’s as good a time as any to ask. 

[saltbox]

3 hours ago, NickV said:

What is the consensus best Tatuaje? Pete Johnson is a client of my firm and I have an open request to ask for whatever I want to him for free. Was gonna pick the one that made cigar affictionado top cigars list but I know that’s basically a pay to play scheme. Figured if we are on the brand it’s as good a time as any to ask. 

Of the regular production stuff, the Tatuaje Black Label and the Havana VI Verocu are probably the best, but if I could talk to the guy directly, I'd probably go for the deeper cuts. He's done a lot of one-off stuff that was rare and hard to find, and I imagine he's constantly rolling new things with the stuff he has access to and trying new things out.

I'm not a historian but a couple things come to mind, like the first releases of the Black Label, one of which was sold in a ceramic jar back in 2008. There was also a Black Label culebra called the Old Man and the C. If there are any still floating around, they've probably aged well past their prime so it would be more a novelty than anything.