Sunday, October 17, 2010

Tatuaje - Cazadore Petite Reserva

Tatuaje - Petite Reserva -
I'm constantly on the go, and while I like sitting down and smoking big cigars for hours on end, my schedule doesn't always offer that luxury.  Because of this shortness of time I find myself smoking smaller cigars quite a bit.  Even when given a nice chunk of free time, I often go for smaller ring gauges or box-pressed smokes.  I have smoked Tatuaje's original Petite series and enjoyed them, but the Reserva offers somethig a little extra.

With that in mind - I present to you one of Tatuajes newest offerings: The Petite Reserva.  The PR is a 4" x 40 ring gauge stogie.  This pint-sized smoke has the same Nicaraguan blend as the rest of Tatuaje's Cazadores collection (aka Miami, Brown Label).  The difference is that the Reserva features a Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper with a shag foot. 


Initial Thoughts
The PR is a cool looking cigar.  While small, it has weight to it; the shag foot at the end of the rugged Broadleaf wrapper gives it some character.  The Reservas are also banded, where as the original Corojo wrapped line was not.  The wrapper is beautiful and dark brown, showing a marbelized mix of coloring.  The cigar puts off a nice bit of sweet aroma, is filled evenly, and is rolled to perfection.

Smoking it and Final Thoughts
The PR had a flawless burn and packed a lot of flavor.  By the end, I was wishing it was twice the size because I  liked it so much.  The cigar tasted of coffee, cedar and had some sweet spice mixed in.  The flavor took a moment to develop as the first third was a bit lighter than the remainder. 
The broadleaf wrapper added a lot to Tatuaje's distinctive flavor profile; while the shag foot went up in a big flame.  The quality on the roll and tobacco was second to none.  The ash burned to an off-white color and held on damn near the whole way through. 

What a great little smoke!  The small size concentrated the flavor and complexity and delivered it through slightly resitant draws with large clouds of smoke.  At $4-$5 a cigar, I think there is some good value to the PR.  I'm a sucker for a broadleaf wrapper and enjoy the Cazadores series - so these will be a go-to when I'm in a rush. I smoke cigars pretty fast and the PR lasted about 25-30 minutes.

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