MSRP $150- Purchased from Burns Tobacconist
Background
I decided to wrap up this look at the 2021 Monster Mash release from Tatuaje Cigars with “Ladies Night”…so to speak. Two of the Monster Cigar Series were based on female movie monsters and those are the two I’m smoking for this week’s installment.
In case you missed any of the previous Monster Mash articles, you can find them in the first 3 weeks of this month (October 2021 in case you’re looking at this at some point in the future). I’m going to pair both of these with a single bourbon: Buffalo Trace. Yesterday a lady friend of mine had a bottle with her; when someone remarked that it’s a “really good whiskey” she said “I’m a fussy alcoholic.” With that kind of endorsement from her, it makes the cigars and the pairing all a “ladies’ choice” type of thing.
If you haven’t gotten your hands on the Monster Mash box set by now, well…good luck. They shipped in September and are probably sold out almost everywhere by now. If you aren’t aware, the set includes 13 cigars that are the same ring gauge as the original release of the Tatuaje Monster Series, but 1.5 inches shorter (so “mashed”). There is a 14th cigar in the set that is brand-new…”Creature.” I’ll be giving that blend its own spotlight the day after Thanksgiving in my traditional “Thanksgiving Monster Cigar Review” slot.
Tiff
- 4.375” x 52 ring gauge
“Who is Tiff?” Someone asked me. Seriously, don’t you people keep up with horror movies? Bride of Chucky!!! Ok, so not the most classic of horror films…in reality the Child’s Play franchise was a little played out after the second movie, although Bride of did breathe some life back into it. The monster doll inhabited by the spirit of a serial killer wanted a companion, so he had his girlfriend’s spirit transferred into a female doll. Or something like that…the story really isn’t all that important. Lots of killing ensued afterwards and that’s what the kids pay for in these films.
The cigar is a Nicaraguan blend with a Connecticut Shade wrapper leaf. This example is a nice golden color with some mottling in evidence. It had a clean grassy aroma to it with a touch of cedar. The foot of the cigar had notes of earth and coffee beans. As I burned through the first third, I got hay and cedar notes overlaying earth and espresso, all riding on a creamy mildly sweet smoke.
I didn’t care for the Tiff blend much when it first came out as part of the Pudgy Monster collection, but I have to admit that it’s grown on me through the last couple iterations, including this Mash version. Nice mild blend that should be excellent for first thing in the morning with coffee…or late fall afternoons with Buffalo Trace!
Bride
- 5.625” x 49 ring gauge
Finally, we get back the beginning…sort of…The Bride is that of Frankenstein fame…and since we started with Frank, it’s fitting to end with his Bride. If you go back to the original Universal Monster Movies, The Bride of Frankenstein was widely seen as superior to the original Frankenstein film, with an amazing performance by Elsa Lanchester right next to Boris Karloff’s always-perfect portrayal of the famous monster.
From what I recall, this follow-up cigar features the same filler/binder blend as the Frank, but replaces the Connecticut Broadleaf Maduro wrapper with a Connecticut Broadleaf Rosado, which makes a huge change in the flavor profile. This sample was milk chocolate brown in color with a slightly reddish hue in sunlight. The aroma from it was mostly just earthy with touches of cedar. The foot had more earth with a touch of dark fruit sweetness.
Fired up, I got notes of earth and medium-roast coffee, slight sweetness, citrus, and a tiny bit of pepper spice. As I went along I was kind of amazed how much better I enjoyed this iteration of The Bride. It turned out creamy and smooth, with a backdrop of earth and pepper under cedar and milk chocolate. Interesting that both Tiff and Bride were better, in my opinion, than in the original releases.
