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Cigar Talk A place for cigar enthusiasts to discuss our hobby, legal cigars and related stuff. |
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06-03-2023, 04:45 AM | #1 |
Club Member
Join Date: Feb 2001
Location: Ohio
Posts: 1,896
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Tatuaje vrs Partagas
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. |