Tatuaje Regios

[jazznut]

"Time In Hand"

Tatuaje Regios

Place of fabrication: El Rey de los Habanos Factory, Miami, Florida, U.S.A.
Type and origin of tobacco: 1st generation Cuban seed cultivated in Nicaragua
Dimensions of cigar: 5.5 inches by 50 ring gauge
Type of vitola: Robusto
Wrapper: Nicaraguan Corojo 99
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan
Smoked: Friday August 5th, 2005

Setting:

A quiet evening relaxing and perusing the Cigar Weekly boards.

Accompanying drink:

I elected to pair the Tatuaje with a generous dram of Bowmore 12 Year Old Single Malt Scotch along with my usual tall glass of cool, still water. The Islay whisky stood up well to the relatively strong Robusto. What’s more, the sherried sweetness, peat smoke and saltiness of the liquor even managed to accentuate some of the more nuanced characteristics of the blend of Nicaraguan tobaccos incorporated in the cigar.

The cigar:

Texture of capa: The seamless, smooth, delicate outer leaf displayed microscopic tooth as well as exceptionally fine veining, and gave off an attractive, oily glow in the lamplight.
Colour of capa: The Colorado hue of the wrapper appeared predominantly mid umber with a subtle sanguine cast, this walnut-like tone being discreetly adorned with golden cocoa highlights and scattered punctate oscuro markings.
Colour of tripa: The filler leaves ranged from ochre-tinged raw sienna through cocoa and Indian red to a very dark chocolate brown.

Construction: There was no box-press to speak of. A symmetrical triple-seam cap possessing a rounded head overlapped the body of the cigar by more than ¼ inch. The tripa exhibited a fairly even scroll pattern and felt to be medium-firm in my fingertips. However, I did discern a somewhat spongy superficial resilience, particularly near either end of the Robusto. And a pair of air gaps was evident at the foot, though no such irregularity could be seen in the filler leaves lying beneath the cap.
Draw: I judged the ease of flow as minimally facilitated.
Combustion: The Tatuaje took readily to the flame, immediately releasing billowing blue-grey smoke into the air. The ash varied from shale grey at its exterior through ruddy naval grey to medium-dark charcoal near the center. Despite its filigree texture, the ash consistently held on for more than 1¼ inches prior to dropping, whereupon it left behind a flat embering appendage. The hygroscopic nature of the tobacco necessitated a single relight approximately halfway through the session, and a lag in the burn edge on one side required a couple of minor corrections. Otherwise, technical performance was entirely satisfactory.
Total smoking time: I enjoyed 1½ hours with the Regios.

Pre-light aroma: The Tatuaje emitted a most enticing fragrance melding ripe, well cured tobacco, Hershey’s chocolate, sweetly manured earth, saddle leather and raisin bran.
Pre-light draw: Drawing through the as yet unlit cigar elicited rich tobacco spiked with spearmint and cloves, and surrounded by a musty, cedary quality. Faint echoes of expresso grounds and bitter dark chocolate shavings added to the sharp delineation and liveliness.
Post-light aroma: Scents of heavily toasted tobacco and embering fruitwood as well as of roasted nuts dribbled with butter and chocolate wafted upward.

Palate entry: A balanced core of lush tobacco arrived escorted by peripheral notions of wood, nuts, chocolate and coffee. These secondary sensations were so tightly interwoven as to be almost indistinguishable, and came embellished by a high-toned, herbaceous spiciness. Overall, I found the opening moments forthcoming, not to mention headily intoxicating.
Mid point: More cedar rose to the fore as wave upon wave of dense, toasted tobacco washed across my palate, in the manner of a Cuban H. Upmann or Vegas Robaina. Meanwhile, a demure maple and chocolate sweetness lurked in the background. The central portion of the smoke betrayed a slightly tannic aspect in the blend, though this surprisingly began to settle down past the ½-way point. The fruitwood element I had perceived in the aroma then slowly permeated the taste.
Latter stages: I reveled in an abundance of toasted tobacco as flavours of field berries and Scotch Bonnet peppers joined the proceedings. The Robusto showed an altogether smoother and more amalgamated profile leading up to the finish.

Summary: The Tatuaje Regios provided a no-nonsense, full-bodied and full-throttled Nicaraguan smoking experience that did indeed seem to cross over into a Cubanesque stylistic mode. I would be interested to revisit this fascinating and unique Robusto in a further 1 to 3 years, at which time I sense it may shed its residual tannin and traces of crudeness, thereby possibly acquiring even greater roundness and complexity.

A special thank you to Mark (Cigar Weekly's "mrkmitch) for taking the time and trouble to send me this fine sample.