Tatuaje Le Verite Vintage 2009
Monday, July 25th, 2011This is a first impressions review. I’ve never had this cigar before, but couldn’t resist picking one up from Ed’s shop. The price deterred me from buying more. Upon investigation, I found that this is a very limited production cigar. There is some hype and backstory that you can read about at Tatuaje’s website. Personally, I have no interest. I just want to know how the cigar is, so here we go.
Wrapper: Habano Nicaragua
Binder: 2009 La Estrella Habano Criollo
Filler: 50% Habano Nicaragua, 40% Criollo 98, 10% Pelo De Oro
Size: Robusto 5 x 50
Price: Around $13.00
Pre-Smoke & Construction:
The chocolate brown wrapper was shiny with no visible flaws. The wrapper had a barnyard smell and the foot was more earthy. The cigar was tightly and evenly packed. The pre-light draw had slight resistance, and had a dark natural earthy tobacco flavor.
The ash held firm for around an inch, and the burn required one correction.
Flavor:
The first third had no warm up period. It went right into a dense feeling flavor profile. Up first was a dense woodiness that was not your typical cedar. Earthy notes were in the background. After about an inch, I picked up a subtle, sweet note of cocoa. When passing smoke through the nose, there was a nice peppery spice that had some kick.
I noticed an increase in sweetness in the second third. All the while, the woody flavor remained up there. A nice spice could be felt on the tongue and lips. Through the nose, that nice peppery spice remained, but it had a toasty crisp feel as opposed to the denseness in the first third. Some draws were very creamy, and others were crisp and toasty. In the far background, earthy notes were noticed from time to time.
In the last third, I could have sworn I picked up some black coffee bitterness from time to time. Otherwise, the same complexities remained that I described in the second third. It was a nice, rich flavor profile. It burned nice and cool all the way down to the nub.
Conclusion:
This was a good, not over the top full bodied cigar. The complexities were nice and the flavors were good. Price aside, I thought this cigar delivered where it counts. The price is a bit out of my comfort zone though, especially for a robusto. But for a nice treat, I could see having one on hand. I think any Tatuaje fan would like this. It is definitely worth a try. I may get another one for a treat.
