Cigar Extra: Noellas Reserva by Tatuaje

Noella (Corona), 5.125” x 42 ring gauge / MSRP $8, Burns

Has it really been 10 years since Tatuaje cigars came on the market? Apparently so…company owner, Pete Johnson, is working on several different things to celebrate the milestone, including a 10th Anniversary blend, but one of the first special releases for the year is sort of minor in scope, although I would argue major in flavor. I’ve been trying to unravel the mystery of the Tatuaje Brown Label almost since they came out and as near as I can figure it, it comes down to this: Brown Label alone is (usually) Seleccion de Cazador, with Nicaraguan filler and binder adorned with a Habano Ecuador wrapper (all were originally made in Miami and some still are, but newer vitolas are coming from Nicaragua); a Brown Label with a white secondary label that reads “Capa Especial” is a Sumatra wrapper (it’s been used in a few sizes only); and a secondary black label that reads “Reserva” uses a Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper…at least it does these days…some of the older vitolas of Reserva (those made in Miami, according to the website) use a dark Ecuadorian Habano. Mystery solved? Not quite, I guess, but it’s a fun game to try to keep up with.

This year adds two more Connecticut Broadleaf releases to the list as the Noellas and Regios vitolas of Reservas hit the market in a broad release (Noellas Reserva was apparently released once or twice before in smaller releases). I’m a sucker for Broadleaf and love the Corona format so I’ve bought several of these since they showed up at Burns in late March.

These cigar look fantastic, with their dark, oily Maduro wrapper. They have a fantastic aroma that’s a mix of chocolate and ripe tobacco. Most importantly, they taste fantastic. The prelight draw was a mix of sweet tobacco, cocoa powder and black coffee. Once lit, I picked up those notes plus some tea and red pepper. Put simply, this is a great stick and one of my favorites in all the Tatuaje universe of cigars. It is a fairly limited production stick, with some hitting store in March and another run hitting later this year. Will that be it? Hard to say. Pete Johnson often repeats this kind of run from time to time, so it wouldn’t surprise me to see this become a semi-regular release.

Originally published at Tiki Bar Online