Tatuaje Regios Reserva

[gui_tarzan]

Appearance: A beautiful dark brown, a nice sheen just a few veins. Construction was firm but not hard, no lumps. If there were a beauty prize for cigars I would give this cigar one.

Pre-light Aroma: Leather. Lots of leather with just a hint of an earthy background.

Cap: I don't know why but I noticed this triple cap even though it wasn't remarkable but I did. Something just stood out and upon a closer look it was well defined and the three consecutive slightly smaller pieces were spaced perfectly. If someone's going to take the time to do this, my bet is they spent a respectable amount of time with the rest of the cigar and it showed.

Pre-light Draw: Again, almost perfect. All five of these Tats have had perfect draws.

Light-up: When I finally lit this one it gave me the impression that it was going to be very mild. I didn't get a sense that it was going to be a strong cigar at all and it gave off quite a bit of smoke initially.

Smoke: One word - plentiful. By now you guys should remember that I love tons of smoke and this wasn't disappointing at all.

Burn: Arrow-straight and clean. I had to re-light a few times but only towards the end. The first half stayed lit and consistent.

Flavor: Here's where I was a little confused. I mentioned leather at the pre-light stage which I thought would carry through but it was hardly noticable after the halfway point. What I did get was a peaty, woody flavor that was far from overpowering but was still rich. About two-thirds of the way through the strength picked up quite a bit. The finish never turned harsh but had I nubbed it the tar may have made it very bitter so I stopped before that point. It never lost the ability to keep me guessing where the flavors would go after the first half so I have to say it was pleasantly interesting in that respect.

Overall this is a good cigar with a rich, slightly complex profile. I would probably wait until after a hearty meal the next time so I could take it a little further and see where it ended up at the last inch or so.