Tatuaje "The Frank": Monster Series Review #1

[Trent0341]

The Frank

So here goes my first ever attempt at a review. Overall I am fairly new to the Tatuaje line. My first ever Tatuaje was the Tatuaje Regios. Honestly I had kind of bought into the “anti-hype” so many seem to spout whenever anything Tatuaje is mentioned on many of the cigar forums, especially the limited release stuff. Then I smoked the J-21. This cigar blew me away. I remember thinking “this is why I smoke cigars”. To this day I still love that cigar. So fast forward to now. I haven’t previously smoked any of Pete’s Halloween series. With the Wolfman coming out I wanted to do this right. So with a fair amount of searching I ended up tracking down two of each of previous Monster releases plus two of the Boris. I plan to smoke one each week leading up to Halloween and if I’m able to, finish it off with a Wolfman. So lets get this started:

Up first for me is the Tatauaje Frank. This was the most costly of the series (for me anyway) and the rarest. The details:

Size: 7 5/8ths by 49
Wrapper: Connecticut Broadleaf
Binder: Nicaragua
Filler: Nicaragua

(A note on how I rate my cigars… I track all of my cigars on a spreadsheet. I rate every cigar that I smoke on a second spreadsheet based on five things. The first is construction with ten possible points. Next is the draw with fifteen possible points, followed by the burn, also with fifteen possible points. Fourth on my list is flavor with thirty possible points. Finally I rate the cigar overall with thirty points being the maximum in this category. This is to cover the intangibles that just don’t seem to be covered in any of the other categories.)

Construction:
The first and most obvious thing for me is the size. If I were to rate it in thirds I’d be rating the first petite robusto, the second petite robusto, and the third petite robusto. Seriously though this thing is huge! It has the standard Tatuaje triple cap that as usual has been beautifully applied especially considering that it’s a box press. The wrapper is fitting considering it’s namesake but in a good way. It is a solid cigar that has a bit of heft to it. If you where ever short a bat at your office softball game this could possibly fill in for it. The green and black band has the fleur-de-lis in progressively smaller sizes and “Tatuaje” printed across the front. Although it has often been described as ugly I find it quite striking in it’s own way. 9/10



Draw:
I clip the cap and test the draw. As to be expected it is rather tight. This was most likely due to how tight it was rolled and the length. The draw remained fairly tight with a small amount of smoke for about the first inch or so when it began to open up and the smoke became much thicker. 13/15

Burn:
The burn was decent for the most part although I did have to touch it up several times in the second half. I’m going to place partial blame on my humidor, which had risen to seventy percent. I maintain it at sixty five percent in my home humidor but alas, it is much harder to maintain a constant humidity here in scenic Iraq. I just find that personally cigars smoke and burn better when maintained at sixty five percent. 14/15

Flavor:
Where to begin… I do not have the refined palate that many have. I do not often distinguish noticeable switches in the flavor of cigars. This was certainly not the case for this cigar. At some points it seemed to change flavor every puff. It started with one of the most unique flavors I’ve ever had in a cigar. I don’t think my limited vocabulary will adequately describe the flavor. If forced I’d say it opened with a sweet floral grassy flavor although not in the Cohiba sense. It was very smooth and absolutely no spice at the beginning. Occasionally spice and pepper would work their way to the forefront but this never lasted more than a puff or two. This certainly isn’t the Tatuaje flavor profile I’m used to and resembles no other cigar I’ve ever smoked. Overall it was a medium bodied smoke. 28/30

Overall:
Like I said this is a huge cigar. Even more so considering that I usually prefer the robusto and petite lancero vitolas. What allows this cigar to be as good as it is, is the constant flavor changes. It would be easy to become bored with a cigar this size but that never happens. I was constantly focused on this cigar wondering were the flavor would take me next. That being said, this cigar is just to big for me. I really look forward to the Boris due to its (slightly smaller) size and vaguely similar profile. I would have loved to try this cigar when it was first released. I think the flavors with just a little less time would really shine. I don’t generally factor in price to my ratings but at $35-$40 it’s too high. At MSRP these cigars where an unbelievable deal. 27/30

Total 91/100