Skinny Monsters: Tiff

• 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.

Pretty much everyone agrees that the Frank was either “the best” or “one of the best” of the Monster Series…therefore, I really don’t want to burn it first…anticipation and all. So I decided to go in reverse order through the box. First up is Tiff…short for Tiffany and also known as the “Bride of Chucky” from the Child’s Play horror movie series.

Tiff is perhaps the mildest Monster Series blend made. It features the Nicaraguan core of fillers and binder leaves that you expect from just about any Tatuaje or My Father project, but the wrapper is an Ecuadorian Connecticut Shade, a leaf that tends to impart milder grassy and creamy flavors.

Chuck & Tiff Together Again!

Notes

The wrapper on the Skinny Tiff was mostly golden in color, but had some much darker mottling and smudging in evidence. The aroma from it was clean and grassy, while that from the foot had touches of earth and cedar in it. The cold draw combined creamy Shade notes with some Nicaraguan earth and cedar flavors.

Lighting up, I tasted a lot more cedar than anything else on the first couple puffs. That was soon followed by some black pepper on the palate and a fairly searing red pepper spice on the nose.

As Skinny Tiff burned on, the smoke got creamier, but I couldn’t really call this a “mild” cigar…it stands right in the middle of the medium-bodied category with a good deal of earthiness. The cedar and pepper flavors dissipated over time, but never fully went away.

When I first had a Tiff from the Pudgy Monster box, it was probably my least favorite of the Monster Series overall, while not really being a “bad” cigar. Skinny Tiff doesn’t do anything to change that impression…it’s “good,” but just doesn’t hit my palate as “great.”