Tatuaje RC233

[Don Fernando]

The name of this Tatuaje can simply be explained. The cigar is rolled in traditional Cuban style, where the RC stands for "Retro Cuban" and the number stands for the millimeters of length. The RC233 is 233 millimeter long, that makes 9.125 inch and has a ring of 55 at the thickest part of the figurado shaped cigar. This vitola is rolled exclusively by Don Pepin Garcia himself, and I bought this stick at his factory when I visited Miami in May of this year. I promised myself I would smoke it on a special occasion, and that occasion turned out to be the birth of my first nephew Simon, who was born on Sunday November 15. The cigar has a perfecto shape, but it's bigger than any perfecto I have ever seen.



The cigar has an interesting silver foil wrapping on from the head of the cigar till the mid section, where a red, white, blue band with the fleur-de-lis that Pete Johnson likes to use covers the end of the foil. The foil is also based on the old Cuban style foil-wrapped figurados.



The Nicaraguan corojo wrapper is oily and has some veins running over it. The aroma of the cigar reminds me of straw and hay, but has a little sourish smell to it. Upon inspection I cannot find anything wrong with the construction, and the perfect predraw supports the idea that the construction is flawless. The predraw leaves a mild peppery raisin flavor on my palate.



I am surprised by the leathery flavor with the earthy notes and the hint of coffee. The flavors are quite full, bold and very pleasant. A little herbal flavor joins the other flavors and everything is perfectly balanced.
After 2 inch the earthy flavor is gone. The cigar starts to reveal its complexity and it is getting harder to recognize and name the flavors I can taste. The flavors are still full, but mellowed out and they become mild creamy.

Halfway a wood flavor joins the herbal taste and a mild pepper. I also get a fresh flavor, but it isn't a minty freshness. It is a kind of freshness that I can't explain. At the 2/3rd mark the cigar becomes a bit more spicy and I can also taste a nut flavor. The herbal flavor grows in strength and the main support flavor is wood.



The cigar produces a lot of thick white smoke and the draw is flawless. The
smoke starts out cool because of the length of the cigar. The ash has a beautiful light color and is pretty firm. I had a bit of a crooked burn in the beginning but I blame that on myself and not the cigar as it always happens to me with perfecto shaped cigars. The cigar is full flavored and medium bodied, but complex and interesting. It lasted for over 2 hours, and I wouldn't have mind if it lasted 2 more.



Would I buy this cigar again? Without hesitation. This is the best cigar I have ever smoked.

Appearance: 8 / 10
Construction: 9 / 10
Draw: 9 / 10
Smoke & ash: 8 / 10
Burn: 8 / 10
Aroma (first part) 9 / 10
Aroma (middle part) 9 / 10
Aroma (last part) 9 / 10