Differences In Tats???

[jaymz]

Originally Posted by longknocker

So DPG & Jose Don Pepin Garcia One & The Same?

Don José "Pepin" Garcia [current C.E.O. of El Rey de los Habanos]

I always took the "Don" moniker as a sign of respect. And the "Pepin" moniker as a nickname.

[montecristo#2]

Originally Posted by longknocker

Thanks! So DPG & Jose Don Pepin Garcia One & The Same?

Originally Posted by Col. Kurtz

Pretty sure.

Originally Posted by jaymz

Don José "Pepin" Garcia [current C.E.O. of El Rey de los Habanos]

I always took the "Don" moniker as a sign of respect. And the "Pepin" moniker as a nickname.

Yeh - Jose Garcia, nickname Pepin, his cigars Don Pepin Garcia (rolled in Miami at El Rey de los Habanos) and in Nicaragua at Tabacalera Cubana (TACUBA) and My Father Cigars (not sure if TACUBA became My Father Cigars or if it still exists).

For me, if we are strictly speaking of Tatuajes (owned by Pete Johnson, rolled and blended by Pepin) I definitely prefer the brown labels over the red labels (Havana VI). To me, the browns are definitely fuller and more complex. I find the red labels a little too bitter for my tastes.

To me, the Series P taste a lot like the Havana VI, just not as intense in flavor (definitely milder), I actually like the Series P over the Havana VI.

The Verocu Havana VI (East, West, #9, Tubos) are definitely a different blend. Fuller flavor profile, closer to the Miami made brown labels.

In terms of the brown labels, I like the noellas and the especiales. The regios, unicos and tainos have a similar blend, a little too woodsy or me, but really good with a couple of years on them.

The Reserva line is a little fuller than the other brown labels. The Gran Cojonu is probably the mildest of the line and is fantastic if you like 6 x 60 cigars and have 2.5 to 3 hours to smoke one. In terms of the reservas, the J21 has been hit or miss for me and is really full bodied (probably why it is hit or miss as I prefer milder cigars). The 2006 is fuller than the 2003 which is fuller than the 2009. The 2009 is one of my favorite Tatuajes.

I do not have as much experience with the Cabaiguans (the originals were also too bitter for me), the La Riquezas and I have not tried the new El Triunfadors yet (although I have some coming).

I actually like the Ambos Mundos, a slightly different flavor profile, but very clean and crisp (although they are not very complex). Solid Nicaraguan tobacco flavor. I like the sumatra over the habano.

In terms of the RC184 and RC233, I liked the RC184 I smoked. Reminded me of the brown labels. I do not think he rolls a lot of these as the sizes are more difficult to roll and I do not know if they sell all that well (large cigars with a higher price point). I do have some RC233s in the humidor, I just have not had a good opportunity to smoke one. I usually save cigars this size for a herf.

Pete seems to like to release limited edition cigars: Monster Series, Reservas with different wrappers. . . some of these I have bought, others I have not.

The black label, a limited edition cigar that started as a corona gorda and was eventually released in jars. Robustos that are only available at events and the new tubos. I have found these get significantly better the longer you let them rest.

I think Pete is updating his site, but some of the other pages are still indexed and active:

http://www.tatuajecigars.com/smokes/


For me, I have found most Pepin's including Tatuajes smoke a lot better after they have had time to rest in the humidor. Some people say 6 months, I often let mine rest at least a year before lighting them up. Of course, I don't smoke all that often, so it is easy to let them rest a while.

From my personal experience, I also find that Tatuajes (and again most Pepin's) smoke better at 65% RH (I actually have been storing them closer to 60% lately). I know some people complain about them being tight and not drawing well, not sure if this is an RH issue. [My only disclaimer there is that most of my regular production Tatuajes are from 2006 / 2007, so I have not purchased a lot of recently rolled cigars besides the new ones and limited editions.]

My advice, if you are thinking about trying a certain size, buy two and smoke one now and one later to see if there is any difference. I know most B&Ms store their cigars at higher RH as the humidors are opened more often.