Cigar Review: Tatuaje TAA 2014

Vitola: Box-pressed Toro
Size: 6” x 52 ring gauge
MSRP $11
Purchased from Burns Tobacconist

Background

Tatuaje’s TAA series of annual limited release cigars began in 2011. Each subsequent year has seen a release exclusive to shops that are members of the Tobacconist Association of America, with the 2014 featuring a Broadleaf wrapper around a blend that is supposed to fall somewhere in between the 2011 and 2012 versions in terms of body and flavor.

I am not a Tatuaje Saints and Sinners member and don’t spend a lot of time trying to chase down every exclusive or limited release Pete Johnson makes, but when they are right in front of me, I won’t hesitate to buy a few (or a whole box in the case of the Silo store exclusive, Gran Maravilla, earlier this year). Burns is a TAA shop; it’s where I shop, it’s where I work part-time, it’s where I’ve bought several of these 2014 TAA Tats, including this one that I saved out for review purposes.

Prelight

The band is familiar to Tat fans as it’s been used on many limited releases over the past few years: red, white and cyan striped arms wrapping around, a circular middle ringed by gold foil and embossing, then a black imprint in the middle of that ring denoting what release this is. It’s easy to immediately peg it as a Tatuaje limited edition cigar. The wrapper is a lighter shade of brown than I’ve grown accustomed to seeing in Pete’s Broadleaf cigars, more of a mid-way between milk and dark chocolate, with some darker mottling and a couple larger veins. The box-pressing is soft with rounded corners and the foot is slightly closed. The aroma from the wrapper was a very pleasant mix of sweet earth and cocoa powder; the foot was earthier. The prelight draw was excellent and tasted almost like a dark chocolate candy bar with a touch of espresso and an underlying earthiness.

Flavor

I fired up the TAA 2014 Tatuaje and was welcomed with a rich espresso flavor, a more subtle cocoa note, and some red pepper flake on the palate and nose. There’s no mistaking that this was a full-bodied cigar right from the start, with rich, oily smoke. Midway through the first third, it was apparent that this was no cigar for lightweights…it’s definitely “the full Tatuaje” with full-flavor, full-body and at least fairly full strength (the final verdict on that score is always difficult to measure until you’re near the end of the stick).

The second third had more of sweet earthiness and espresso flavor, with a slight drop in pepper spice.

The pepper was resurgent in the last third while the sweetness toned down a bit, leaving just a powerful earthiness. As expected, this turned out to be a moderately full strength cigar.

Construction

As is normal with Connecticut Broadleaf, the burn line was wavy and needed some touching up. The draw was great, though, and I saw no flakiness in the ash, so I would call the construction great overall.

Value

$11 apiece for a Tatuaje LE in this size is a more than fair price.

Conclusions

As many of you might know, if you say “Pepin” and “Broadleaf” in the same sentence, I’m in. And that’s the case with this Tatuaje TAA 2014. It’s a great full-bodied, full-strength Broadleaf wrapped Pepin & Johnson blend that I will enjoy again and again. Heck, I might end up buying a box of these if I get the money to do so before they are sold out. If you like Broadleaf as much as I do, you can’t miss this one.

By-The-Numbers

Prelight: 2/2
Construction: 2/2
Flavor: 4.5/5
Value: 1/1
Total: 9.5/10