Vitola: Toro- 5.75” x 50 ring gauge
- MSRP ~$10
- Purchased at Burns Tobacconist
Background
It seems like just days ago that I reviewed the 2019 release of Tatuaje’s Mexican Experiment. Actually, it was…just 3 days ago in real life…about a week between blog postings here on Leaf Enthusiast. Read that review when you have a chance, but to summarize:
- 2012 Tatuaje’s Mexican Experiment (ME) is one of Pete Johnson’s first forays into use of Mexican San Andres wrapper leaf. It is released in a couple sizes in a couple different regions and becomes a cult classic.
- 2019 ME is re-released nationally in four vitolas, but still limited production.
- 2019 ME II is also released as a regular release, using a different blend than ME, but available (at least initially) in the same four sizes.
I bought this Toro at the same time as I bought my ME reviewed earlier. I’ve also smoked a couple other different sizes in the meantime. I bought them all at Burns Tobacconist where I work.
Prelight
The boxes are comfortably familiar to anyone who smokes Tatuaje a lot…simple wood cabinet style boxes with slide-top lids. Classic and unassuming. The bands are also familiar, aping the style of numerous Tatuaje limited releases with flag colors wrapping around from the front. Usually those colors are red, white and blue, though…here they are red, white and green, the colors of the Mexican flag. This was also done on the Tatuaje TAA 2019, which also used a Mexican wrapper leaf…and that’s not the last time you’ll hear me reference that cigar.
This San Andres Maduro wrapper is so well processed and (presumably) aged, that I would be hard pressed to tell it apart from Connecticut Broadleaf used on many other Tatuaje Maduros, at least visually. It was a rich dark chocolate color with a smooth, oily feel under my fingertips and gnarly veins on some samples…maybe not quite as gnarly as my beloved Broadleaf, but enough to put me in that frame of mind. The aroma from the wrapper wasn’t like Broadleaf, though…here I got cedar and earth, but also a strong vegetal note, all before I picked up a hint of cocoa powder. The foot was earthy and ripe, with a sweeter cocoa note.
The cold draw was good and featured flavors of semi-sweet chocolate, earth, and cedar, with an afterthought of red pepper.
Flavor
The Tatuaje Mexican Experiment II starts off with full earthiness, followed on quickly by a sweeter chocolate note and some espresso bean. The finish was woody and had some slight bitterness in the form of a vegetal note. There was a decent amount of black pepper on the palate and left over on my lips for a minute or more after each puff. The retrohale was cedary and spicy with much more of a red pepper heat. As the first third burned along the spiciness on the palate mixed with the woodiness and moved toward more of a cinnamon heat. The vegetal note faded quickly and left more earth and faint sweetness.
Getting into the second third I got some of that bitter earthiness I usually get from Mexican leaf, although it was nicely balanced by a faint chocolate sweetness and more cinnamon spice. The retrohale continued on with woody notes and a decreased pepper spice.
The bitterness faded some as more sweetness came into play during the final third. I had semisweet chocolate, earth, and black pepper in abundance.
Construction
Very good draw, even burn line and solid ash.
Value
The price point on these is around the sweet spot for today’s marketplace and they deliver a very good experience.
Conclusions
The Mexican Experiment II is a worthy addition to the Tatuaje catalog, giving devotees of the brand a chance to fully experience what Mexican San Andres wrapper can be. I found it similar, although maybe not identical to the 2019 TAA release…although if I was told it was the same blend, just different sizes, I wouldn’t be all that shocked. It was medium-to-full in body the whole way with a very nice amount of complexity.
By-The-Numbers
Prelight: 2/2
Construction: 2/2
Flavor: 4/5
Value: 1/1
Total: 9/10
