Pudgy Monsters, part 4: Mummy and Jason

Mummy

Size: 5.75” x 47 ring gauge

The Mummy reportedly made his first appearance thousands of years ago in Egypt, although the one that inspired this cigar was most likely the 1932 film version of The Mummy starring Boris Karloff, in a role that he would be very well-known for…if he hadn’t made another monster movie earlier that forever got people to call him “Frank.” Universal made no direct sequels, but the movie did spawn a franchise of mummy movies in the 1940 and eventually a modern remake with the Brendan Fraser film in 1999 (as well its endless sequels, none of which were as good as the first…and it wasn’t as good as the Karloff version).

Tatuaje’s Monster Series Mummy cigar was reportedly based on the Tat Black Label blend. At the time the Mummy came out (almost 2 years ago) I hadn’t had much experience with the Black Label but regarded it as a full-bodied stick. Having had more since then, I realize it’s not as full as I thought and the Mummy probably isn’t far off. The full sized Mummy release was presaged by the Mini Mum release in the Little Monsters sampler, released in mid-2012. This cigar is a Nicaraguan puro using a Sun Grown Criollo wrapper leaf.

It’s almost come to be expected that black label releases will look a little rough and that’s definitely the case with the Mummy…of course, you would expect a thousands-year-old walking corpse to look a little ragged, so it goes with the theme here to have some largish veins, a small hole in the leaf, and a bit of a ragged cut…rough beauty. The oily leaf smelled of earth and leather. The cold draw was sweet with notes of earth, cedar and tobacco.

Lit up the dusty old Egyptian gave up plenty of chili pepper spice, cedar and earth notes, along with a subtle sweetness. The retrohale had a very peppery bite to it and as I puffed along I detected a citrus zing on the palate, too. The Mummy may not be exactly the black label (or it might be), but if you are a fan of the black label, you’ll enjoy this as well.

Jason

Size: 5.5” x 52 ring gauge

Finally we come to the poor little drowned boy at Camp Crystal Lake. We first heard the name “Jason” on the big screen in 1980 with the original Friday the 13th film, although we didn’t end up seeing the little monster until the final seconds when he jumps out of the lake to attack the lone survivor of the slashing attacks of…Jason’s Mother! Should I have said “spoilers?” Really, if you don’t know this by now, you might want to check your pop culture knowledge. The 10 sequels to that original film featured a continually hacked up, dead and brought back to life Jason, although the famous hockey mask didn’t debut until 1982’s Part III, which was released in 3-D to capitalize on the 3-D craze of the time. 2013’s JV13 Monster Series cigar (standing for “Jason Voorhees 13”) was inspired by this most famous incarnation of Jason, with the dress box featuring a hockey mask design.

The blend of the Jason is definitely one of my favorites in the entire series. From what I remember reading at the time, it is based on the Fausto blend, using a Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper instead of the Habano leaf. This same trick was also used on the Avion 13 Reserva, another cigar based on Fausto and using the Broadleaf, though in a different vitola altogether (and one that is a regular release item). Like many of Pete Johnson’s Broadleaf cigars, this one can’t exactly be called “pretty”…unless you are a Broadleaf fanatic…which I am. I find the rough, oily, veiny appearance to be the promise of deep, rich flavor. It smelled of earth, coffee and cocoa powder with the Nicaraguan filler and binder giving the foot a richer, more pungent earth note.

The cold draw was good and had great flavors of chocolate, coffee, red pepper and earth. The same was there once lit, along with a bit of raisin and anise on the palate and an intense pepper on the retrohale. As I puffed along, the Jason blend definitely did not disappoint…it had rich semi-sweet chocolate, loads of pepper and a solid earthiness. There is a reason this blend and the Avion 13 Reserva are two of my favorites from 2013. Not much more to say, either…smoke it and enjoy…or if you hate Broadleaf, let me know and I’ll send you an address you can mail yours to.

I purchased my box of Tatuaje Pudgy Monsters at Burns Tobacconist, a sponsor of this blog and a part-time employer for me. You can call Burns at 423-855-5200 to buy yours while supplies last.