Today's review is of the Tatuaje Black Tubo. As I am sure you are aware of, this cigar has had very mixed reviews, some very bad, some very good. It also seems that a lot of people have had problems with the construction with this cigar: some were going out, some cracked, some exploded, etc. The consensus seems to be that it needs a long nap.
I am sure you all know about the history behind the cigar unless you've been sleeping under a rock the last couple years. In case you have it is a cigar that supposed to be like some Cuban Fuma he was gifted every morning he was in cuba sometime, something like that.
Enough of that, let's get to it, shall we?
The Black Tubo comes in a sleek vibrator-esque tube that says "Tatuaje" on one side and has the Tatuaje symbol on the other. The cigar itself is a torpedo and weighs in at a hefty 6 inches by a 52 RG. They also come in a red Tubo which I will be smoking today or tomorrow and will have a review up for that one too.
After cutting of a little the draw was no existent. I don't mean very tight I mean there was no draw. I have never encountered this in my short smoking career. Usually I have to do at least two clips on a torpedo because I usually don't cut enough off at first. Still no draw after another cut. I had to cut off about 2/3 inch before getting any draw, and it was a tight draw. I had to whip out the draw poker for this one. It worked, but sometimes with the draw poker you will find the cigar will close back up while smoking. I also let it dry box for about 12 hours. I would've let it sit longer, but the draw was good and I could not wait! This will be my first black, so I will not be able to compare it to any of the other releases.
Besides the hard as a rock head, construction is good. I absolutely love the shaggy foot, I wonder why more cigars don't have these. Wrapper seems very rough looking, but no major veins. Pre-draw is that of sweet tobacco.
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1/3: Initial puff I was expected a blast of spice. It was actually a very mild spice in the initial puff, accompanied by some Cuban-esque flavors. The first inch was very pleasurable. Lots of sweet woodsiness, a little bit of citrus, and a tad of white pepper on the finish. There also was some floral there too. The floral and the white pepper kept on changing: one would be in the back round, then would come forward, etc. This made for a very complex first inch.
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Up until this point you could have fooled me in a blind taste, I would've thought it was a CC. Not after the first inch, though. This is where the cigar got fuller in body. Don't get me wrong, though, this cigar is no more than medium strength. This is where it developed meaty/chewy flavors, flavors I only find in Nicaraguan Puros. For the first third the white pepper was only in the back round.
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During the second third the flavors pretty much stayed consistent. The only thing that changed was the white pepper. It did not want to stay put. One second it would be in your face, the next it would be in the backround. This made for a very interesting smoke.
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The only change for the remainder of the cigar was the change in strength, which increased somewhat towards the nub. Not once did this cigar get hot. It also was very nice on the palate, very refreshing. That is something I only find with CC. Usually Nicaraguan Puros destroy my palate....
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Final Thoughs: Well, I enjoyed this cigar. I enjoyed it a lot more than I thought I would, actually. It is just too bad that most of the complexities was in the first inch. And it went out on me three times, all in the final third, that didn't really bother me all too much. It would've bothered me if upon re-lighting it got bitter or something, but this did not happen. I would get a box of these if they weren't so damn expensive, so I will probably pick up a couple singles. This cigar should be priced at around 10 bucks, IMHO.
Anyways, I would definitely recommend this cigar if you haven't already smoked one. That's great if these will get better if age, but I really don't see them changing. There was a little bit of bitterness at some points, maybe that will subside, but in my opinion that's all that will happen. Like I said, I haven't tried any of the other vitolas, so I cannot comment there, but if the CG is a lot better than these, I would buy as many as you can. I will definitely be searching out some CGs and some Robustos as well. Thanks so much for reading my review, I hoped you enjoyed it!
FINAL SCORE: 82 POINTS


-Tommy
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Thanks for the review. I love these cigars.
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great review, thanks!
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Thanks for the review. I prefer the robustos, but I've only have 1 tubo...
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Quite common with these, lots of burn issues.
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Thanks for the review. I have one of these resting currently.
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Smoke that badboy already! Smoking a Red right now, totally different flavor profile, like night and day
-Tommy
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Thanks for the review. I actually just picked up a box of these from Richard.
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Nice review, I have one resting as well, I think I am going to give it go next week.
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I really liked the one I had. I let it rest for a couple of months after getting it.
Draw was good. flavors were good. And not over the top on strength. Very nice. Only too much $$$.
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These shipped very wet. They need to be taken out of the tube to dry out for several months. Then, no burn issues.
:-)
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Will storing them with the cap off help, or do they actually have to be out of the tube all together?
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I have one of these sitting as well. Guess I'll have to pull it out of the tube and let it dry out a bit.
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I am actually curious in this as well because I just took the cap off on mine but if they need to be out of the tube altogether I just might let them sit a bit longer.
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Nice review...my favorite Tat stick. :-)
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just taking the cap off will do the trick too, but it will just take them that much longer to dry out. Its really a matter of when you want to smoke them.
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Good review, I'll have to put that one on my list. Big fan of Tatauje.
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Nice review. Let them rest though
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Nice review. Good cigar which needs a nap and to be taken out of the tube. These have very good potential of becoming great........imho
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Thanks Moe.

I guess I'll take a few out of the tubes considering I wanted to smoke them yesterday. :-)
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