Tatuaje 10 Miami Selection De Cazador Belle Encre Perfecto

This 5.4 X 48 perfecto cigar, offers a oily dark brown wrapper with slight seems and a slightly toothy wrapper.  This is the 10th Anniversary of Tatuaje brown label edition.  First light reveals a sweet cedar flavor with a slight coffee.  There is a black pepper flavor and sensation that is around a 6-10 on the pepper scale.  The pepper is fairly powerful but smooth. In fact the whole cigar is very smooth so far.  Its at a solid medium body.

After about an inch and a quarter down or so a nice leather has joined the cedar, and slight coffee.  The flavors are very smooth and stay present all the way until the next draw.  After a few more puffs a nice caramel flavor is mixing in with the coffee.  Its very nice and sweet.  The caramel switches back and forth after each draw between a caramel flavored coffee and a faint coco.  The cigar so far is fairly complex giving different flavors after each puff.

Just after the half way point, there are a lot of flavors playing off of each other.  The spice has been tamed a bit.  Its now a 4-10 on the pepper scale.  The sweet cedar is there on the draw, but quickly goes away and turns into a caramel on one draw, and then the next it becomes a coco/coffee mix.  The leather is starting to pick up on the finish and leaves a oil slick in the mouth.  The burn is good, in fact it has been a little wavy but is burning fine, not requiring any re-lights or touch ups.  The smoke production has also really picked up and its giving off large plumes of smoke.  The ash is a perfect white and is solid.

With just over two inches to go the cigar is starting to become warm.  A earthy leather has taken over all the flavors.  No bitterness has come into play, but the flavors are very warm.  I sat the cigar down for the last time at the 1 hour and 15 minute mark.


Price: $9.25
Appearance: 95
Draw: 94
Burn: 90
Flavor: 94
Burn Time: 93

Overall Score: 93

The Drew Estate Herrera Esteli in Toro

This 6X52 light brown cigar appears to be perfectly rolled.  It has zero visible seems and is oily to the touch, and shines brightly.  At first light, I get a large amount of a sweet cedar.  Its mild to medium in body and is quite enjoyable.  The foot on this cigar gives off a ton of smoke.  Plumes of smoke billow out of it like a churning fire through a chimney.  This I have found very common with many Drew Estate Cigars.  The draw is firm, but not plugged, and gave off a good amount of smoke.

After a bout 22 minutes the cigar is burning slowly only down about an inch or so.  The flavors of cedar are still present but are starting to turn more into a vanilla sweet nuttiness.  The flavor is very bold and is coming into a medium body.  The vanilla is not their with every puff.  One puff the cigar produces a huge blast of a cedary, earthy, nuttiness.  The next puff it will be a vanilla nuttiness.  The flavors are fairly complex switching after every other draw or so.

Nearing the half way point and about an hour in, the cigars burn went wonky.  It has been pretty sharp until this point.  The smoke production had come to near halt.  I taped off the ash to find the the cigar was tunneling(burning faster on the inside, then on the outside).  After a few more puffs the flavors were a warm nuttiness burnt tobacco.  Two puffs later and the cigar was completely out.  I found this to be really weird, because it had been preforming very well until that point.  I gave it a relight and after about 10 or so draws the cedary, earthy Vanilla started to come back in to play.  The burn never quite recovered requiring a few touch ups. The body has gone up to a full in body, but is starting to come back down.

The last two in a half inches or so are dominated by a earthy nuttiness.  It likes a double draw.  Without the double draw it gives the impression that it wants to go out again.  The burn is still very wonky but required no more touch ups.  The sweetness is gone, so is the vanilla and cedar.  The nuttiness and burnt tobacco comes back again at the two inch mark at 1 hour and 35 minutes in.  I sat the cigar down for the last time at exactly 1 hour and 40 minutes when the cigar went completely warm and bitter.

Price: $8.00
Appearance: 95
Draw: 85
Burn: 82
Flavor: 88
Burn Time: 94

Overall Score: 88

Oliva Master Blends III in Robusto

This 5 X 50 dark brown oval shaped stick smelled of cedar and sweet tobacco.  I decided to pull this one from the top shelf of my humidor which is where I keep the best of the best cigars that I can acquire (below is a picture of my current top shelf).  The cigars on my top shelf are usually the pricier sticks in my collection and I know that they will give me a great smoking experience.  This cigar I have had resting for about a month.  On first light this cigar hit me with a large amount of black pepper and sweet cedar.  The draw was open almost completely open and I knew right away that I would have to watch the rate of how many puffs I would take so I do not heat up the cigar to fast.  The cedar and pepper were at a medium to full body but very smooth.  This flavor stayed for the first inch of the cigar where the first ash dropped off.

The second inch or so required a touch up, but not a major one.  The flavor transitioned quickly in this next inch and brought in a cedar and dark roasted coffee and kept a strong black pepper feel and taste.  The flavors were at a full body and stayed long into the finish and after taste.  The coffee was literally like drinking a fresh cup of dark Folgers.  The pepper was going down into my throat and stayed with the coffee.  Before the next inch the burn required a bit of a touch up again this being number two, but it was nothing major and corrected quickly.( I want to note that I do not have many cigars require a touch up, and I keep my cigars at 64-68 percent humidity and anywhere from 68-71 in temperature).

The third inch transitioned quickly as well dropping the coffee and cedar, but keeping the black pepper and added a dark chocolate flavor.  This flavor was very nice and sweet, but did not last long into the finish, where the pepper quickly reigned supreme.  The Chocolate literally tasted like I put a pinch of black pepper on a bite of a Hershey's dark chocolate bar.  It was very distinct and obvious to pin point.

The last inch and a half or so did require another touch up and started to bring back the cedar note and kept the chocolate and spice. At the one inch point the flavors started to get washed out by heat and I sat it down for the last time at around the one hour and 10 minute mark.  Altogether these were flavor combinations I do not get out of most cigars and I enjoyed them very much.


Price: $9.45
Appearance: 95
Draw: 85
Burn: 82
Flavor: 97
Burn Time: 93

Overall Score: 91


If I didn't have to give so many touch ups it would have been a higher overall score.

 My Humidors Top Shelf

Oliva Serie O Maduro in Robusto

This dark wrapped 5X50 maduro cigar has invisible seems and is put together perfectly.  The wrapper is very oily and looks delicious.  After lighting the draw is a little firm but not plugged and is putting out adequate smoke.  The first initial flavors are a extremely creamy and smooth black pepper and cedar.  Its at a mild to medium in body and is very creamy.  The black pepper is more the flavor than the warm zing sensation.  The cedar and black pepper are mixing together very well for a very tasty balance.  There is also a slight mustiness on the finish and a earth starting to kick in after the draw.

After the first two inches(the ash held on for a full two inches).  The ash is a nice bright white and is holding together very nicely. The smooth creamy pepper is the dominant flavor.   The cedar drops off but a faint coffee kicks in on the finish.  The earth is also starting to come to the for front matching the pepper.  The earth is still there on the finish and the body has moved into a solid medium to full.  The cigar is getting creamier and creamier as it goes and is very smooth and enjoyable.  The burn is razor sharp and very impressive, it has stayed even all the way through to this point.  The flavors are very good, but to me they are lacking.  I wish the flavors would last longer and stay on the palette longer.  I particularly enjoy the flavors its giving off, they are some of my favorites, but besides the smoothness and the creaminess they are faint and fade quickly
With just over an inch and a half left the cigar starts to get warm and ads in a chard tobacco and cashew flavor.  At just over 55 minutes all the flavors from the first half of the cigar have dissipated and the flavor is now a straight chard tobacco.  I set it down for the last time at just near the one hour mark.


Price: $6.40
Appearance: 95
Draw: 89
Burn: 95
Flavor: 91
Burn Time: 88

Overall Score: 91

Arturo Fuente Anejo extra #48

This 7 X 48 dark dark brown cigar is a little rustic looking.  It has some water spotting and slight tears.  It almost appears that the outer wrapper is dry, even  though I know its not.  It almost has the feel of paper mache in my hands.  The cigar came with a long cedar sleeve that covered 3/4 of the cigar.  The cigar smells of cedar and aged tobacco.  I have had this cigar resting in my humidor for around a year and a half.  This cigar is said to contain the same filler and binder as the famous OPUS X, although this has never been confirmed.

The cigar starts off with a huge sweet smokey oak flavor, its mild to medium in body.  After a few more draws a nice pepper flavor starts to come into play.  The pepper is spicy, giving me a 6-10 on the pepper scale.  Its a black pepper but very soft and very smooth.  The overall flavors are extremely smooth and creamy, no creamy flavor, but a creamy feel in the mouth.

After the first inch and a half the cigar is burning very well, razor sharp in fact.  The sweet oak stays on the palette and the black pepper is still there, although it has gone down to a 4-10 on the spice scale.  A really nice coffee flavor has taken over and is mixing really nicely with the sweet oakyness.
The smoke continues to be very creamy and smooth but is at a solid medium in body and is starting to turn up to a full.  There is no strength present at this time.

Now I'm down about four inches or so and the burn time has bee absolutely outstanding.  As I said I'm down about four inches and I am an hour or so in.  The flavors continue to be a sweet Oak, with a dominant coffee and pepper flavor burst.  The pepper is still at the 4 out of 10 on the scale.  A very nice salty coco has come into play.  It bounces between a coco and a salty caramel.  Its very, very nice and I am thoroughly enjoying this cigar. I'm also very impressed how easy the flavors are to pin point and how long they are lasting.  The flavors are playing off one another and are very complex.  The smoke has moved to a solid full body.

With about 2 and 3/4 inches remaining, the salty caramel and spice have taken over the draw and after taste flavors.  A medium strength is now present.  I dont usually feel an strength effects from cigars, but this one is starting to give me a bit of a buzz and a light headed feeling. The flavors remain very delicious and desert like.  Smoke is billowing off of the tip of the cigar and smoke production has increased dramatically.  The burn has stayed razor sharp all the way through the cigar giving me the best burn line I have ever experienced.  At about two inches the flavor started getting washed out by a warm nuttiness and I sat it down, reluctantly.  I wish I could have kept smoking this cigar for days.  But it did smoke for just over TWO HOURS!


Price: $12.50
Appearance: 88
Draw: 97
Burn: 98
Flavor: 98
Burn Time: 98

Overall Score: 96