Skinny Monsters: Jason

• 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.

I’ve actually smoked all the Monsters in their original sizes except for the original Monster, Frank. Of the ones I’ve had in original sizes, my favorite blend is the 2013 Monster, JV13…short for Jason Voorhees 2013…aka “The Jason,” named after the hockey-mask wearing villain from the Friday the 13th film series. It uses Nicaraguan filler and binder leaves, wrapped in a Connecticut Broadleaf. At the time it was reported that it was pretty much the same blend as used in the Avion 13 Reserva release…which was in turn a version of the Fausto blend using a Broadleaf wrapper instead of the normal Ecuadorian Habano. (Here’s my review of the original)

Back to how much I liked it…I ended up smoking my final stick last October. That was from a 10-count non-dress box like I also bought for the Wolf and Mummy, both of which lasted a year to two years longer. I simply couldn’t stop myself from smoking them. It’s probably a good thing, too, as the last one (aged two years) wasn’t as good as most of the ones previously smoked. Pete Johnson is said to have stated, “My cigars are meant to be smoked when they hit the store” or something to that effect and that last JV13 was the cigar that signaled to me that it might be very true…if you get a Nicaraguan cigar that you really enjoy as it is today, don’t wait too long to smoke them…it might not be better…it might not even be as good.

Anyway…I love the original, I expect to love this one…here’s Skinny Jason…

Notes

Giving the Skinny Jason a sniff, I got a nice amount of earth from the wrapper and a mix of earth and cedar on the foot. The cold draw was excellent and tasted of more cedar and earth.

Once lit, the cigar blasted some pepper right up front before settling down in the familiar and comfortable mix of cocoa powder, earth and espresso. The retrohale had a fairly strong dose of black pepper.

Before the first third was even over, the amount of sweetness increased and there was a very nice dark chocolate note at the top, with earth just below and cedar and espresso on the finish. A low intensity pepper burn continued at the back of the palate.

I noticed a slightly tight draw at the beginning, but by the middle of the second third, it was getting more pronounced. Sadly that’s the risk you take with a very wet leaf like Broadleaf on a very small ring gauge like a Petite Lancero. The flavor was very good, but the smoke production was fairly minimal most of the time. I resisted the urge to draw harder, knowing that this might pull out the bitter tobacco juice most people refer to as “tar.” You might want to dry-box this one a bit before lighting up.

Aside from the tight draw, the Skinny Jason was delightful—a full-bodied, full-flavored smoke that really emphasized the sweetness of Connecticut Broadleaf tobacco. I’d love to get my hands on these…and since the plan is to produce some boxes of each Skinny blend, I might be able to!