Tatuaje 7th Corojo

Purchased: Box of 21 Corona Gorda (5 5/8 X 46)
Price: $129.00
Store: HilandsCigars.com
Buy Again: Yes
Box Worth: Yes
Experience Rating: 99

This review cigar has had five months of rest in my humidor. I was lucky enough to get a box a month after they were released.

I wish I had gotten these under better circumstances, but I purchased this box from Hiland’s Cigars in Scottsdale, AZ back in May while attending a funeral for my uncle. But since I was in the area, on our last day there, my wife and I took a little tour of Scottsdale and it turned out that Hiland’s wasn’t too far from downtown. So, I dropped by and got a killer deal on this box.

The 7th Corojo is the newest release of the line, having been released in May of this year. When I saw the stack of these at Hiland’s, I knew I had to get a box. And considering my experience with the other 7th Brown Labels, I knew I wasn’t going to be disappointed. I’ve had a few from the box since I first got it and I can safely report that this is yet another hit from Tatuaje!

I’ve smoked one each month since I got the box to determine when it really started strutting its stuff. It took about four months for the cigar to open up. Before that, the flavors were like a tightly held secret. I knew there was something to the cigar, but it wasn’t letting me know. And now five months in, the cigar’s revealing itself.

In my prelight inspection, the 7th Corojo is like the others in the 7th line. It’s well-constructed and packed to the gills. The aromas coming off the wrapper are intoxicating. There’s some barnyard, but that’s overshadowed by a floral and fruity sweetness. But the real surprise was sourdough. I punched the cap. The slightly snug cold draw (but by no means plugged) revealed a hint of graham cracker and malt.

Light-up was unexpected. This was not your typical Nic puro start of pepper and coffee. Instead, I got more of that sourdough, a little cedar, cream, and what I can only describe as yeasty, sweet bread. Very surprising. Not a hint of spice either. There was also a subtle minerality on the finish, but that disappeared once I got a quarter of an inch into the stick.

As I get into the first third, light coffee works its way into the profile, along with a pleasing red pepper spice on the finish. I was wondering when that was going to arrive since this is a Corojo wrapper. There’s a lot going on as the cigar started transitioning within the first inch. Oh my! There’s coffee, red pepper, white pepper, graham cracker, sweet bread, cedar, oak, campfire smoke, malt, and believe or not, I got this sense of kids’ paste; you know, that paste we’d have in grade school. It was just a reminder, but damn if that didn’t take me by surprise. Man! This is taking me on a wild ride right now with the flavor profile shifting with each puff!

Getting into the second third, the transitions have calmed down a bit and where there didn’t seem to be a foundation in the first third from which transitions would revolve around, the cigar has finally created a base. Shit! I thought it was going to be light coffee, malt and spice since I got that a couple of times in a row. But the profile shifted again with more that delicious sweet bread and cedar, followed by that subtle minerality. Amazing!

I don’t retrohale much, but for some reason I did with this one. The finish in the second third reminds me of the aftertaste after taking a bite out of a glazed donut. It’s not the sweetness, but rather the yeastiness and that slightly sour twang.

As I reach the end of the first half, I’m kind of dazed from the onslaught of transitions I just went through. This is a damn complex cigar! Suddenly, the transitions slow way down. There’s the foundation. Weak, light coffee (that’s not bad, by the way), baking spices, a hint of cinnamon, red pepper, malt, cedar, honey, and a floral quality. There’s still a bit of a shift going on from puff to puff, but not the wholesale changes that were happening earlier in the smoke.

By the way, smoke time of the first half was 40 minutes. And the burn has since slowed down. I’m now an hour into the smoke as I write this and I’m just past the midway point! It was like this with the other cigars I had.

Finally into the last third, and the transitions have all but stopped. That’s not at all a bad thing. The smoke has become thick, rich, and creamy smooth. My mouth feels like it’s coated with a slightly sweet layer of cream. The red pepper spice is much more prominent now leaving my lips and palate with a slightly tingly feeling. The coffee is more pronounced. There hasn’t been a hint of chocolate or cacao. I’m loving the oak in the smoke that just showed up. It has a slightly astringent quality to it that acts a foil to the richness.

And nicotine? Light at best. This is a medium+ to full body smoke and it amazes me that there’s hardly any nicotine. I can feel a little, but not like other strong cigars that knock me on my ass from all the nicotine.

I’m now down to the last inch. It took me an hour and fifteen minutes to get here. Spice is now king. My entire mouth is tingling! Along with spice, oak, cedar, and coffee dominate the profile. I still don’t get any kind of cocoa. The coffee is campfire coffee. But despite that, there’s subtle sweetness on the finish along with that yeasty bread. Wow! This has been a great cigar to smoke!

So how does this one compare to the others in the 7th vitola? The Natural is still my favorite, but this is a close second – very close. It’s unlike any of the other 7ths and I might even venture to say that it’s different than any other Tatuaje I’ve smoked. With the others, Pete Johnson’s signature is there – even with the Backline cigar Pete Johnson’s signature is present. But with this one, he did something different. I love that! It’s a “dare to be different Joanie Caucus” (Doonsebury) moment.

Total smoke time: 1 hour and 35 minutes to the nub.