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Cigar Review: Tatuaje Havana Cazadores

26 Jan 2012

The other day I was browsing our cigar reviews archive and discovered something that surprised me. Despite well over 500 reviews, my colleagues and I have never written a full review of a cigar from the original (Brown Label) Tatuaje Cabinet line.

Even with 19 Tatuaje reviews, including multiple “five stogie” ratings, and a few Brown Label variations (Reserva SW and Reserva Porkchop), the “Selección de Cazadore” line were somehow missed. To remedy this I decided to review the Havana Cazadores (6.4 x 42).

Billed as the strongest of the six original sizes, the Havana Cazadores is “wet-packed” in foil. When added to the other sizes in the line—Unicos, Noella, Taino, Especiales and Regios—the first letters spell Hunter, after one of Tatuaje creator Pete Johnson’s dogs.

The cigar features Nicaraguan binder and filler tobaccos wrapped in a habano Ecuador wrapper. The samples I smoked for this review were medium brown in color, though others I’ve enjoyed in the past were far darker. Since 2003, the original Cabinet line has been made at Don Pepin Garcia’s El Rey de Los Habanos factory on Calle Ocho in Little Havana.

The cigar is noticeably well-constructed with a Cuban-style triple cap. Despite not being particularly thick, it’s very firm to the touch. As I smoke the cigar, a light gray ash develops and holds steady for over an inch.

The Havana Cazadores starts with a bite of pepper and settles into a medium- to full-bodied smoke. Cedar and cocoa are dominant, but there’s also notes of coffee, clove, earth, and cinnamon. Towards the second half, buttery flavors develop and the body picks up with some added spice.

It’s no wonder that Pete Johnson says this is his favorite of the original Tatuajes. It’s my favorite too, with the smallest size, the Noella, being a close second. The entire Tatuaje Cazadores line has been a staple in my humidor for a few years now, so it’s hardly a surprise that I like it. But it took the attention to detail that is required to sit down and write a review to remind me why I still enjoy this cigar.

Nearly a decade after it was first released, the original Tatuaje still provides flawless construction, excellent balance, and a tasty combination of full flavors that focus nicely on the palate. That’s why the Tatuaje Havana Cazadores earns four and a half stogies out of five.

[To read more StogieGuys.com cigar reviews, please click here.]

Patrick S

photo credit: Stogie Guys

3 Responses to “Cigar Review: Tatuaje Havana Cazadores”

  1. Matt D Friday, January 27, 2012 at 6:24 pm #

    Great review on a great cigar!

    However, I don't think they are made on Calle Ochoa anymore. I stopped down there a few weeks ago to find that Pepin no longer rolls there, El Rey de Los Habanos is just a (fairly empty) cigar store. I asked Sandra from El Titan de Bronze about it and she confirmed that Pepin moved. I think he rolls all his American-made sticks over in Doral, FL now.

    It's sad for Little Havana that not too many sticks get rolled down there anymore. El Titan de Bronze seems to be the only one on 8th still going strong (can't wait for the new Padilla 8&11 that they will be making).

  2. Sin Sunday, January 29, 2012 at 5:16 am #

    Very glad to see a review on the original brown label tatuajes. Enjoyed it and made me grab one from the humidor. Thanks!

  3. caps Monday, February 6, 2012 at 10:33 am #

    Yep they are power peckad, but very tastey smokes, they also come in full size about 6×52