Tatuaje 7th Tuxtla San Andrés

Purchased: 5-pack Corona Gorda (5 5/8 X 46)
Price: $42.75
Store: MiamiHumidor.net
Buy Again: Yes
Box Worthy: Absolutely
Experience Rating: 95

I’ve mentioned in the past that I’m a HUGE fan of Tatuaje’s Seleccíon de Cazador (Brown Label) 7th line. And though the Habano still remains my favorite, I usually have others in the line on hand either in 5ers or full boxes (my preference is to buy a box).

Like AJ, Pete Johnson knows how to blend Nicaraguan tobacco to produce some incredible sticks. One of the reasons Tatuaje is my favorite cigar brand is that there is a uniqueness in the flavor profiles that tastes like nothing else. I know when I’m smoking a Tat. And to me, the 7th vitola is the epitome of a Tatuaje cigar.

So, what about this cigar?

Like all Tatuaje cigars, construction is practically perfect. And that’s an expectation considering these are rolled at the famed My Father facility. No soft spots, tightly packed, but with a beautiful draw that has just the right amount of resistance.

Like its siblings in the line, this is a bold, complex, and sophisticated cigar. At light-up, after an initial blast of black pepper, cedar, and espresso, the cigar immediately begins to weave an intricate ever-morphing latticework of flavors. To split this up into thirds would be a disservice. But here’s what’s served up: Espresso, dark chocolate, hickory, loamy soil, dried apricot, honeysuckle, malt, cedar, black pepper, white pepper, light red pepper spice, sweet cream, leather, oaky tannins, smoked meat, molasses. Yes, this is a flavor bomb from foot to nub.

What is so insane about this cigar is that the palate constantly shifts. But each shift is presented in an organized way, which is why I mentioned latticework above. What I get is a combination of flavors that fit together. Other super-complex sticks seem to meander all over the place. That’s not a bad thing, and in fact it’s pretty incredible. But there are sticks like the 7th that have a defined pool of flavors whose complexity comes from combinations of different elements of that pool from puff to puff.

I love how this stick evolves. It starts out medium and evolves to full strength and body as I smoke it. By the time, I reach the secondary “Tuxtla” band, it’s full-strength. But note that the nicotine level, never gets out of hand in the progression!

As you can tell from the pictures, the burn line is as Katman puts it, “dead nuts.” I made one correction as I’m smoking it in lightly breezy conditions and it started to canoe a little. But other than that single correction, I haven’t touched it. This is a testament to how well-constructed this stick is!

I’m now down to the final third. Nothing has changed with the flavor profile; that is, this stick continues to transition! But it has ramped up in strength and spice which is why I’d say that this isn’t a cigar for the faint of heart. And I’m thanking the stars that I had a good breakfast before smoking this. The nicotine is still manageable, but it’s starting to toe the line.

The thing about Corona and Petite Corona vitolas is that they tend to be intense in flavor, especially near the end. All that tar builds up over the course of the smoke. In some cases, that makes the cigar harsh and unsmokeable. In this case though, it’s a treat. I tend to smoke full body cigars, and I’m in heaven right now!