Cigar Review: Tatuaje 10th Anniversary Bon Chasseur

Every year, many new cigar releases are so-called “anniversary smokes” that commemorate some event that happened years ago. The birth of a cigar maker. The date a family fled Cuba for freedom. Or perhaps the year a cigar company was founded. There are far too many examples to even begin listing them here.

While it can be hard to keep all the numbers straight, the subject of today’s review is a standout. It’s a cigar that’s not only one of the best anniversary smokes to come out in recent years but, in my opinion, it’s simply one of the best new releases in recent memory.

The Tatuaje 10th Anniversary was launched in 2013 to celebrate a decade of Tatuaje—as well as 10 years of partnership between Tatuaje’s Pete Johnson and Don Pepín García. Back in the early days, Tatuaje was García’s first client when he operated El Rey de los Habanos on Calle Ocho in Miami. Johnson recalls placing orders for cigars he didn’t need just to keep García’s business going.

Obviously, things are much different these days. Tatuaje consistently ranks as one of the hottest, most sought-after cigar brands in the market, and García is at the helm of a veritable cigar empire, with a nucleus at the My Father Cigars factory in Nicaragua.

So it would only be appropriate to mark the ten-year milestone with an excellent smoke that lives up to the lofty expectations the duo has set over the past decade. And that’s just what they did in creating the Tatuaje 10th Anniversary cigar.

For this review I sampled three in the Bon Chasseur format, a vitola that measures 5.4 inches long with a ring gauge of 52. I purchased these cigars at my local shop for $10 apiece. Each Bon Chasseur sports an incredibly oily, milk chocolate-colored wrapper, an unfinished foot, and pre-light notes of cocoa.

The Nicaraguan puro, which is a refined version of the Tatuaje Brown Label, kicks off with a balanced profile of coffee bean, black pepper, cream, and warm tobacco. Spice lingers on the tip of the tongue. The aroma of the resting smoke is sweet and nutty. The body falls between the medium and full spectrums, and the nicotine strength is moderate to mild. It’s hard to remember a cigar with such a rich, velvety texture. The smoke almost feels like silk as flavors of red pepper, woody spice, and sweetness come and go.

With top-notch construction befitting the reputation of My Father Cigars—including a solid ash, good smoke production, easy draw, and set-it-and-forget-it burn line—the Tatuaje 10th Anniversary Bon Chasseur is a true gem. Even at $10, I think it’s a steal. It has been a long time since I’ve personally awarded a cigar our heralded five stogies out of five score, but I can think of no rating more appropriate for this remarkable smoke.

[To read more StogieGuys.com cigar reviews, please click here. A list of other five-stogie rated cigars can be found here.]

–Patrick A

photo credit: Stogie Guys