Quick Smoke: Tatuaje Exclusive Series Proto 2 (Saints & Sinners 2011)

Each Saturday and Sunday we’ll post a Quick Smoke: not quite a full review, just our brief verdict on a single cigar of “buy,” “hold,” or “sell.”

La Casita Criolla, a new blend Tatuaje creator Pete Johnson launched this summer, is made from 100% Connecticut broadleaf tobacco. But this prototype, exclusively available through the Saints & Sinners club, intermingles that Connecticut leaf with tobaccos from Nicaragua and Mexico. The result is a cigar with a full-bodied profile of earth and coffee with some sweetness on the finish and good construction. I still haven’t tried the final La Casita recipe so I can’t offer a comparison, but if it’s similar to the Proto 2 it’s worth a try.

Verdict = Buy.

–Patrick A

photo credit: Stogie Guys