Tatuaje vrs Partagas

[awesome1]

Woke up and decided that today is a 4 cigar day. Going to start with the tat reserve petite cazador. Will follow up with a party short from a 50 cab from 2017 followed by a 2016 party aristocrat and finishing the lineup with a tat Miami especiales.

The Tatuaje reserve petite cazador ( 4x 40)is excellent right from the start. Some cigars take a 3rd or even a half to really open up.. Not this. First puff is slight pepper, cocoa and even a little salty on the lips like a cuban. This is my 3rd one in a week and the 1st time I noticed that saltiness. I got them 2 weeks ago and they only traveled 2 days but seems like they needed a little rest to really show their true colors.
Retro is all about the pepper. aroma is very nice though, leather and chocolate but not super strong. Very pleasant.
1/2 way and definitely more pepper. Draw got a little hard so just rolled it between my fingers a little and it opened right up. These little things are really well made which is amazing to me for such and inexpensive cigar. 4 bucks if you buy a 5 pack and they also come in cabs of 50 for 180 or so.
Smoke output is very good and just past the 1/2 way point the pepper has backed off (I slowed down my pace and that may have had something to do with it.) More cacao flavor now with some pepper in the background and still has that saltiness on the lips as well.
Down to the last 3rd. Burn has been perfect, flavors consistent. More pepper but not over powering. Still some salt in there as well. leather is probably the main flavor. The others just compliment it. Down to the last inch and the draw is a little tight but still ok. Really that's the biggest drawback of the entire experience.
Last little bit was good. Fingers were getting hot though so had to lay it down. I didn't want to though which is a good sign.
Med to full strength. full flavor.

Brief 15 minute intermission

Next up is the Partagas short. 42 x 4 3/8. 2018
Pre light draw is perfect and has that slightly salty taste that lets you know it's a Cuban.
Starts off with a creamy, slightly spicy flavor. Little sweetness in there as well. Aroma is creamy/nutty.
Starts off milder in strength than the Tatuaje. Flavors aren't as strong either. But it is really good. Creamy, salty, sweet spice. Burn is a little uneven. haven't had to touch up yet but possibly in the near future. Smokes a bit faster than the tatuaje as well. Maybe the lower humidity at 62% hrs the tat at 67%.
3rd of the way through. Aroma has a little sweetness to it now and the flavor has picked up a little more sweetness as well. Ash is still hanging on and burn is still uneven.
1/2 way point and burn corrected on its own. Picking up a little pepper now along with the other flavors already mentioned. Smoke volume is also very good.
This is medium strength which is just what I needed after that Tatuaje. That tat is probably not a great morning cigar with coffee. Great cigar but a little too much oomph to start the day.
Approaching the last 3rd on this. 35 minutes in. Retro on this is like a sweet cedar. Still has a creamy aroma. sweet spice on the flavor profile and saltiness kicking up a notch on the lips. barely a hint of pepper.
Ok,last 3rd now and strength is kicking up a bit. flavors have gotten more salty with a little zing on the lips. This last 3rd with Cubans is always where they shine IMO. Richer flavor profile as well. Tobacco, leather, pepper. Burned really turned to sheet as well.
The last 3rd was very good as always and a perfect cigar with my morning coffee. Lingering flavors on the pallet and lips. Much more than the tatuaje. Both took about 45-50 minutes.

So, which is better. Not an easy question to answer. With morning coffee I would say Party shorts win. I'm just enjoying my coffee much more when smoking that. After a good lunch, maybe a burger or roast beef sandwich, the Tatuaje would definitely be better. It's a stronger cigars for sure. From start to finish it's a rich bold full flavored and full strength cigar compared to the party short. I won't be reaching for one with morning coffee though.

I did this comparison because someone mentioned in another post that these tats were sorta like a party short and it's a fair comparison to make and my initial impression from the 1st 2 I smoked I thought the same thing. Side by side though and the part just doesn't have the strength that the tatuaje has.
Price comparison. I paid 4 bucks a stick for both of them. However with the price increases there is no comparison. 50 cab of tatuajes for 180 or a cab of shorts for 1000. I'll take 5 cabs of tats.
The only unfair comparison was the shorts have 6 years on them versus a fresh tatuaje. Not sure how those age. I'll let you know in 6 years I guess.

Lets call this part 1. Be back later with the last 2.

[TommyBB]

That is a great post.
What a good morning

Sent from my SM-G781U using Tapatalk

[awesome1]

Thank you. .

On to part 2.
Starting with the Cuban 1st this time. The 2016 Partagas Aristocrat.
Pre light draw is perfect. Has that cuban spice right off the start.
Get er lit and 1st puff has great volumes of smoke. Getting some earth, a little leather, a little cream and a little cedar and pepper on the retro.
1/3 in and a little sweetness crosses the pallet. A little toasted wood as well. Burn went a little off course from the start but never got worse and is pretty much the same.
at the 1/2 way point and flavors are cream, sweet, very mild spice. The predominant flavor is a creamy or light wood flavor. Very nice with hints of the others mentioned. The aroma has a very nice sweetness to it. maybe a little cream and cedar thrown in as well. Occasionally I get some burnt leaf.
Approaching the final 3rd, the band comes off and the saltiness/cuban zest, that was absent for the 2nd 3rd, comes back and lets you know that this is clear Cuban cigar.

on the final 3rd that cuban zing is ramping up a notch. The cream has turned into sort of a burnt nutty flavor. Maybe peanut or cashew. Some burnt wood on the pallet with just a touch of pepper. I think the age on these is really starting to come through with the pepper being muted compared to earlier in this boxes life.
Still can't find the roach clip so sadly I had to lay this down. Palette and lips and clearly coated with that Cuban zest (Formerly known as twang). Little bit of pepper and stronger notes of toasted wood or nuts. Really good little cigar.
I love the PC size and this one in particular is smoking very well right now with 7 years of age on them. They used to be a great deal at 5 or 6 bucks a stick. Now at 12 a stick, I may spend 300 on another box since this one is almost 1/2 gone but I probably won't load up the cooler with them.
Oh and strength on these is on the stronger side of medium or the weaker side of full. Stronger than the party short.

Going to give the pallet a 30 minute break or so and then I'll be back with the final cigar and some final thoughts.

[awesome1]

Ok so time for the last cigar. Tatuaje Miami Especiales. 7.5 x 38. 8.88 a stick when buying a 5 pack. Slightly more when buying 25. Not sure why. maybe they want money for the box or shipping costs more (It's included in the price but nothing is free so your paying for it one way or another).
I may have mentioned before that this small ring gauge is one I really like. Sadly the Cubans cant get it together and more often than not those are plugged. So I am always a bit nervous when encountering these. Small pigtail on the cap which I remove and it leaves a small hole. Pre light draw............Perfect. Aroma of the cigar is a strong tobacco but pre light draw is more chocolatey. Like hot chocolate almost.
1st puff has loads of smoke with a little pepper and a strong tobacco flavor. Maybe hints of leather as well.
1/3 of the way in and thus far the profile has been the same. All tobacco and leather. Full flavor and strength.
2/3 of the way through and profile is getting a little more sweetness to it. Wood and leather on the retro and pretty much the same on the pallet. 1 hr in exactly so this is a 1 1/2 hr cigar. Burn has been perfect.
onto the final 3rd.
Rich tobacco, and leather along with some milder spice, pepper and sweetness.
Burn was perfect the entire way through. More than a little impressed by that. Don Garcia deserves a ton of credit here.

[awesome1]

Final thoughts. Not a bad cigar in the bunch overall. Every one of them has a place. The short would be perfect for morning coffee (Always has been) The Aristocrat would also be good in the morning or afternoon. The Tatuaje's definitely are stronger and really need some food with them.
Construction the tatuaje wins hands down. Cubans aren't even close to be honest.

That being said I would rate all of these 90 plus. Where the Cubans do excel is in the complexity department. The transition for 1st 3rd to the last is dramatic compared to the Tatuaje's. There are changes in the Tats but not as pronounced as the parties.

Value. Tatuaje wins hands down. Until this price hike the Cubans were still a good deal. More complexity and cheap enough to deal with the occasional construction issue or burn problems. However, at todays prices the value is really gone and the issues probably not worth dealing with. Throwing away a 4 dollar party short because of burn issues is way different than tossing a 20 dollar short.

So from best to worst how would I rate these?

coming in at 4th place would be the party short. Value just isn't there like it used to be and at 20 bucks a stick I won't be buying more. That being said, it's also the 1st stick I would reach for in the morning with coffee. The final 3rd on these is also better than either of the Tat's but not as much strength.

4th place was easy. The next 3 not so much. LOL.
3rd place goes to the tatuaje reserve Cazadors.
2nd place is Tatuaje Miami Especiales
1st is the Party Aristocrats.

Don't take these rating to seriously though because each one of these cigars would be my 1st choice at different times of the day or after different foods. If I had to do a numbers score both of the tatuajes would come in 1st and 2nd. The especiales and then the petite Cazador.
Of all 4 cigars the Aristocrat had the most complexity and thats from a fairly pedestrian smoke. Last 3rd was the best of any of them and because they are not over powering they could be enjoyed any time of the day.
In the end I think it comes down to personal preference which is why there are so many brands out there. No one cigar or brand is going to satisfy every customer.

One last observation. 20 years ago I could have never done this comparison with non Cuban cigars and enjoyed every one of them. Huge kudos to Pete Johnson and the Garcia family for putting out a very high quality product and I will say I enjoyed every cigar I smoked today and that says a lot mixing in non Cubans with Cubans.

[awesome1]

If you guys like this style of comparing cigars I will do more of them. I have some excellent H Upmann Cubans and they are one of my favorite brands. I'll see what cigars from the Non Cuban side I cn compare them with and put that together in the near future if there is any interest.

[tonycsmoke]

Originally Posted by awesome1

Woke up and decided that today is a 4 cigar day. Going to start with the tat reserve petite cazador. Will follow up with a party short from a 50 cab from 2017 followed by a 2016 party aristocrat and finishing the lineup with a tat Miami especiales.

The Tatuaje reserve petite cazador ( 4x 40)is excellent right from the start. Some cigars take a 3rd or even a half to really open up.. Not this. First puff is slight pepper, cocoa and even a little salty on the lips like a cuban. This is my 3rd one in a week and the 1st time I noticed that saltiness. I got them 2 weeks ago and they only traveled 2 days but seems like they needed a little rest to really show their true colors.
Retro is all about the pepper. aroma is very nice though, leather and chocolate but not super strong. Very pleasant.
1/2 way and definitely more pepper. Draw got a little hard so just rolled it between my fingers a little and it opened right up. These little things are really well made which is amazing to me for such and inexpensive cigar. 4 bucks if you buy a 5 pack and they also come in cabs of 50 for 180 or so.
Smoke output is very good and just past the 1/2 way point the pepper has backed off (I slowed down my pace and that may have had something to do with it.) More cacao flavor now with some pepper in the background and still has that saltiness on the lips as well.
Down to the last 3rd. Burn has been perfect, flavors consistent. More pepper but not over powering. Still some salt in there as well. leather is probably the main flavor. The others just compliment it. Down to the last inch and the draw is a little tight but still ok. Really that's the biggest drawback of the entire experience.
Last little bit was good. Fingers were getting hot though so had to lay it down. I didn't want to though which is a good sign.
Med to full strength. full flavor.

Brief 15 minute intermission

Next up is the Partagas short. 42 x 4 3/8. 2018
Pre light draw is perfect and has that slightly salty taste that lets you know it's a Cuban.
Starts off with a creamy, slightly spicy flavor. Little sweetness in there as well. Aroma is creamy/nutty.
Starts off milder in strength than the Tatuaje. Flavors aren't as strong either. But it is really good. Creamy, salty, sweet spice. Burn is a little uneven. haven't had to touch up yet but possibly in the near future. Smokes a bit faster than the tatuaje as well. Maybe the lower humidity at 62% hrs the tat at 67%.
3rd of the way through. Aroma has a little sweetness to it now and the flavor has picked up a little more sweetness as well. Ash is still hanging on and burn is still uneven.
1/2 way point and burn corrected on its own. Picking up a little pepper now along with the other flavors already mentioned. Smoke volume is also very good.
This is medium strength which is just what I needed after that Tatuaje. That tat is probably not a great morning cigar with coffee. Great cigar but a little too much oomph to start the day.
Approaching the last 3rd on this. 35 minutes in. Retro on this is like a sweet cedar. Still has a creamy aroma. sweet spice on the flavor profile and saltiness kicking up a notch on the lips. barely a hint of pepper.
Ok,last 3rd now and strength is kicking up a bit. flavors have gotten more salty with a little zing on the lips. This last 3rd with Cubans is always where they shine IMO. Richer flavor profile as well. Tobacco, leather, pepper. Burned really turned to sheet as well.
The last 3rd was very good as always and a perfect cigar with my morning coffee. Lingering flavors on the pallet and lips. Much more than the tatuaje. Both took about 45-50 minutes.

So, which is better. Not an easy question to answer. With morning coffee I would say Party shorts win. I'm just enjoying my coffee much more when smoking that. After a good lunch, maybe a burger or roast beef sandwich, the Tatuaje would definitely be better. It's a stronger cigars for sure. From start to finish it's a rich bold full flavored and full strength cigar compared to the party short. I won't be reaching for one with morning coffee though.

I did this comparison because someone mentioned in another post that these tats were sorta like a party short and it's a fair comparison to make and my initial impression from the 1st 2 I smoked I thought the same thing. Side by side though and the part just doesn't have the strength that the tatuaje has.
Price comparison. I paid 4 bucks a stick for both of them. However with the price increases there is no comparison. 50 cab of tatuajes for 180 or a cab of shorts for 1000. I'll take 5 cabs of tats.
The only unfair comparison was the shorts have 6 years on them versus a fresh tatuaje. Not sure how those age. I'll let you know in 6 years I guess.

Lets call this part 1. Be back later with the last 2.

I think that I was the one that made that comparison. I love the little tats (you should also try the Tat black PC). The last few party shorts I've had have been good cigars (I'd probably pick the tat over them). The party shorts of old opened up in a way about half way through that blew me away. Sadly I don't think they exist any longer. The tat blacks will be in my rotation from now on.

Love this comparison BTW.

[awesome1]

Originally Posted by tonycsmoke

I think that I was the one that made that comparison. I love the little tats (you should also try the Tat black PC). The last few party shorts I've had have been good cigars (I'd probably pick the tat over them). The party shorts of old opened up in a way about half way through that blew me away. Sadly I don't think they exist any longer. The tat blacks will be in my rotation from now on.

Love this comparison BTW.

I have the Tat black PC's resting now as well as the Reserve Petite tats. Be next week before they get a review. Those petites remind me of Clint Eastwood smoking those cigarillos in his westerns. Very rustic looking with black wrappers.

I appreciate that comment you made making the comparison. You really got me going on this Tatuaje brand.
I agree with you on the party shorts as well. Hard for me to make a comparison to the early 2000's where I had loaded up on the then but these recent ones were certainly toned down somewhat. I do have a cab from 2018 I haven't opened yet. I'll get to it soon and if they aren't as good as the old days I may sell them and buy custom rolls instead.

[tonycsmoke]

Originally Posted by awesome1

I have the Tat black PC's resting now as well as the Reserve Petite tats. Be next week before they get a review. Those petites remind me of Clint Eastwood smoking those cigarillos in his westerns. Very rustic looking with black wrappers.

I appreciate that comment you made making the comparison. You really got me going on this Tatuaje brand.
I agree with you on the party shorts as well. Hard for me to make a comparison to the early 2000's where I had loaded up on the then but these recent ones were certainly toned down somewhat. I do have a cab from 2018 I haven't opened yet. I'll get to it soon and if they aren't as good as the old days I may sell them and buy custom rolls instead.

If you haven't tried the Cabaiguan Guapos you should. Those are fantastic as well. It's a great example of Ecuadorian Connecticut wrapper in a strong blend.

[TommyBB]

Originally Posted by tonycsmoke

If you haven't tried the Cabaiguan Guapos you should. Those are fantastic as well. It's a great example of Ecuadorian Connecticut wrapper in a strong blend.

This has become a pleasing trend the last couple of years. Not to deflect the thread too far off course, I have liked these new Connecticut wrapped cigars, including the New World, La Galera, Perla del Mar and, believe it or don't, Don Rafael.