Skinny Monsters: Face

• Vitola: Petite Lancero
• 6” x 38 ring gauge 
• MSRP $85, as part of Skinny Monsters collection
• Purchased at Burns Tobacconist

Background

So, for those who have been disconnected from cigar shops and social media for the last decade, here’s a short recap…in October 2008, Tatuaje released 666 boxes of 13 sticks in the first of the “Monster Series.” It became an annual tradition, with production increased in subsequent years, though the number of “dress boxes” remains at 666. In the spring or summer of 2012, the first “Specialty Monsters” box was released…this was “Little Monsters,” which included 2 each of 5 blends (the first 4 regular Monsters, plus a preview of that year’s Mummy). 2014 saw the release of the Pudgy Monsters set; for that one, each cigar had the ring gauge of the original release, but the length of the “Little” release. There was only 1 of each of the 6 released blends, plus 2 each of 2 new blends…Chuck and Tiff…that were destined to not be released in a full-size. 

Now for 2016, we have been presented with “Skinny Monsters.” The box contains 10 cigars, 1 each of the first 8 Monster blends, plus Chuck and Tiff again. For the first time, all the cigars share the same vitola…a Petite Lancero at 6 inches long by 38 ring gauge. I will be smoking through each of these blends and giving some thoughts on them over the next few weeks. I am smoking through them in reverse order from the order they were released in, working right to left through the box.

The Face was the first Monster Series cigar I had in any quantity. Burns was an “Unlucky 13” store that year and I purchased a box during Pete Johnson’s visit. It’s the only “dress” box I have in the Monster collection and it is signed. I believe I sold half the cigars to Keith, but ended up buying some more sticks from non-dress boxes that came in later on. It was a very good smoke at the time and aged extraordinarily well, with the prime time coming after about three years.

The original Face came with no actual band, instead using a piece of natural tobacco cut unevenly as the band in an imitation of the mask that Leatherface wore in Texas Chainsaw Massacre. If I’m not mistaken, all the subsequent versions (Little and Pudgy) sued the same motif, but this Skinny version uses a traditional Tatuaje band that matches the rest of the box set. The blend uses Nicaraguan fillers and binder along with a Mexican San Andres wrapper.

Notes

The wrapper on Skinny Face seems quite a bit darker than the original release, although I don’t have a regular stick to compare it with at this time. It is a dark chocolate brown with a slightly rough feel and a decent amount of oils to it. Giving it a sniff, I got notes of earth with that distinctive Mexican aroma; the foot had a richer Nicaraguan earthiness to it. The prelight draw was good and tasted of earth and cocoa powder.

Once lit the cigar had a strong earthiness and a rich espresso bean flavor, with secondary notes of cocoa powder and a slight sweetness. There was a bit of a gritty, chalky note to it as well that I associate with some Mexican leaf, but it wasn’t overpowering in the blend.

Along the way there was plenty of pepper and a tangy citrus note, as well. Beginning to end, the Skinny Face was a great little cigar that balanced the bitterness in Mexican leaf with, I believe, more fermentation for increased sweetness and an overall fantastic flavor. This tasted to me more like the 3-year-aged Face than the fresh-from-the-dress-box version.