I've received a couple of these from generous Brothers of the Leaf over the last month or two, and after hearing so many good things about them I finally fired one up last night.
The Tatuaje Cazadores Reserva (Petit: 4" x 40) is a small, but good-looking, cigar. The Connecticut Broadleaf Maduro wrapper is a rich, dark brown - the color and texture reminded me of an ancient football I used to own. After forcing my cutter through the very tough triple-wrapped cap, the pre-light draw was quite tight and yielded almost no flavor at all. Both, I assume, due to the closed foot.
The draw improved once it was lit, and the first inch or so was medium-full bodied and fairly smooth, with earth, red pepper and leather flavors that I really had to concentrate to pick out. The flavors were full but very non-distinct and jumbled together. The construction was good, with a fast but cool burn that stayed even and produced a nice, pale ash that was just under 2 inches long when it finally fell.
After an unimpressive first half, things went downhill quickly. The original flavors intensified but still didn't separate, and it took on a woodsy tone as well. Oak, perhaps. That's not bad in itself, but it lost its smoothness, and I began to get a bitter, chemical taste in the back of my throat. I purged it and put it down for a couple of minutes, but it was no better when I picked it back up.
I stuck with it for a while, but by the time I snapped this picture, the taste reminded me of the last time I got soap in my mouth. Just awful. I gave up on it and went inside and Googled up some reviews. The first 6 or 8 I read had nothing but great things to say about this Tat, so I'll assume I just got a bad one. I'll update this post (and hopefully the scores below) when I've worked up the courage to try another.
Appearance and Construction: 12/15
Flavor: 10/25
Smoking Characteristics: 20/25
Overall Impression: 16/35
Total: 58/100
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