Tatuaje TAA

Today's review is of the new(er) Tatuaje TAA cigar, which is for the Tobacconists Association of America stores. There are 40 stores in this association and 1,500 boxes of 20 were split between the stores. This slightly box pressed/oval shaped cigar has an oily Broadleaf wrapper and a closed foot. It measures in at 5 5/8x54. This has a slightly squishy feel to it, but it doesn't seem underfilled or anything like that.

The TAA is a great looking cigar, I'm a sucker for the closed foot that Pete does for some of his releases. The aroma off of the wrapper is strait up broadleaf with some cocoa and leather. The prelight draw shows a near perfect draw with flavors of musty tobacco and some spice. Once lit this starts out with plenty of classic Tatuaje/Pepin peppery spice, leather and a deep, rich earthy tobacco flavor. Right from the start this is a hell of a cigar. There is some sweetness in the flavor profile as well, which is working as a great contrast against the peppery spice. This is very full flavored and already medium+ as far as strength goes. The slightly flaky ash held on for right around an inch and the burn has been even so far.

Reaching the halfway point and this is still smoking really well. Some espresso has joined the flavor profile with even more of that great leathery taste. This definitely reminds me of the Tatuaje Barclay Rex. Towards the end the TAA I would say this is still a medium+ strength cigar with a great full bodied flavor profile. 

The Tatuaje TAA was amazing. This was one of the best of Tatuaje's limited releases I have smoked this year. I love the rich flavor profile and the size of this cigar. It smoked perfectly and never had a single burn issue. These sell for around $10-11 a piece and are worth every penny. I think they are still availabe at some of the TAA shops, and I recommend going out and getting as many as you can! 

Tatuaje Federal Cigar 90th Anniversary 109 Reserva

I know what you are going to say, another Tatuaje cigar review? I don't like to do the same companie's cigar 2 weeks in a row but I received this cigar from a good friend for my birthday and couldn't wait to smoke it! A while back I reviewed the 90th Rosado, and this time around I have the Reserva version. This is the same blend and vitola (so I won't go into all kinds of detail on that), but with a Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper. Only 100 boxes of the Reserva were made, which means these have been sold out for quite a while now. 

This cigar has an oily broadleaf wrapper that seems to be rolled flawlessly. There is only one noticable vein and the wrapper has an almost gritty feel to it against my fingertips. I love the conical head on the 109 vitola, its subtle but a nice detail. The preflight draw shows a good draw with light earthy flavors. Once lit this cigar is loaded with great broadleaf flavor; a peppery spice with leather and a slightly dry finish. The snowy white ash holds for over an inch and the burn is even. After getting a little further into the 90th Reserva, some cedar and more earthyness come out in the flavor profile. Being a Tatuaje, it's no surprise that there is some spice on the retrohale! Reaching the halfway point a dark sweetness has crept in that balances out the leather and earth flavors. 

At the halfway point this cigar is loaded with dark cocoa flavors in addition to the other flavors that I already noted. I wish the 90th blend (this and the rosado) were full production cigars, i really like the blend and the vitola. In the final third there is a lot more cedar with that great cocoa flavor. This is a solid medium bodied cigar with a great balance to it. I was able to take this cigar down until I was just about burning my fingertips. 

If you like broadleaf, then this is one you will definitely enjoy! I love all of the Tatuaje's/Pepins cigars with the broadleaf wrapper, and this is another great one. These sold out pretty much immediately upon release, which isn't a surprise after finally getting the chance to smoke it. I would definitely buy some of these if given the opportunity, they are well worth the $12 price tag.