Seeking Advice On Tatuaje

[boston]

Recently smoked a Tatuaje Havana Cazadores. I had just received it the week before from Smoking Pipes. (By the way they package cigars unbelievably well...in padded zip-lock bags w/ little boveda packs.)

I had a hunch that the cigar would need to rest, but I smoked it anyway and sure enough it was too tight. I still smoked it, and it had good flavor, but it was too tight. I assume that is because it was packed and stored at a higher humidity, not because the construction was off. Has anyone had similar problems?

When I have the opportunity to buy OpusX, I age them for over a year, and they are very nice. Anyone have experience w/ these Tatuajes and how long to leave them sit? I keep my humidor at 69%.

I may set up a second humidor at 62% for dry boxing, maybe move cigars from my main humidor to there and let them sit for a month before smoking. but I've never done that, I don't know if it would really be dry boxing, and I hate to mess up a good cigar is 62% is too low. Welcome any thoughts on my rambling here...

 

[jerseysam]

Boston, I'd let the cigars rest at 'standard' (68-72) humidity for a week and see where that gets you. Typically I haven't found construction to be a big impact unless we're talking extreme humidity swings....more taste. But still, give it a week to stabilize and see what you get.

Everything is personal to taste, but I move a bit opposite of what you propose. I have a large cabinet I keep at 63-64 for aging/storing and move to smaller 68-70 humidors for smoking. There are folks who like smoking straight from 62-63, but my two cautions are be very sure of your seals/circulation at the level (you'll get oil evaporation not far below that level) and know your preferred flavor profile. Typically, but not exclusively, folks smokkng at 62-63 are enjoying Dominican/Connecticut style cigars. Heavier, oiller tobaccos.....for me and many others.....tend to lose brightness and get cigarette-harsh when smoking from the low 60's. Your mileage may vary.

 

[mityahicks]

I have found their draw extremely tight as well. Still tasty, and I've since learned to enjoy a tight draw cigar too.

 

[kwg116]

No need to set up a separate humidor, just take an empty cigar box and let it sit in there for a day or two. I have done this for years, and unless it’s a construction issue, I seldom have draw issues. I also always cut my cigar when I take it out of the humidor and test the draw. You don’t want to dry box a cigar for two days only to cut it and it’s a tight draw.

 

[briarbuck]

The Noella is one of my all time favorite cigars. I have never had an issue with a tight roll with any of Pete's stuff.

 

[hoosierpipeguy]

Tats are known for too tight draws. Used to be horrible and has improved substantially since Peppin Factory is making them. Tats are strong Nicaraguan tobacco, they'll certainly improved with aging but they're quite good out of the box. Tats are one of my favorite cigars, love the strength and full bodied flavor. Pricey but worth it.

 

[boston]

Thanks very much for the suggestions. Primary concern is that the cigars may be rolled too tight, although that's not been my experience in the past. Was thinking of getting a box of the cazadores...just want to make sure I don't have too many tight draws. I think resting them for a bit will help. Thanks again.

 

[lightxmyfire]

If the draw is really bad you could use a tool like this:

PerfecDraw Precision Draw Adjustment Instrument

Use the PerfecDraw to fix cigars with a tight or plugged draw. This modern cigar poker will pay for itself many times over by keeping you for tossing away cigars with a difficult draw, just insert the metal blade through the head of the cigar and while you remove the tool it will clear a channel...

www.neptunecigar.com

To open it up. I’ve only had maybe one or two cigars that I’ve ever had to use it on, and luckily I was at my local B&M that had one handy.

 

[boston]

That's very interesting! $10 plus $ a stick....if it works that is good math!

 

[boston]

Thanks!

 

[hoosierpipeguy]

It works sometime but many times, not. Buy an aircraft (long) 1/8" drill bit. Run it through plugged cigars from the butt to end. Twist with fingers to remove some tobacco. If the cigar is tightly plugged, you have to clear out some tobacco for the cigar to draw.

 

[boston]

I don't feel like a box of tatuaje cazadores will be too much of a risk. Pretty sure the one I had was holding too much humidity. If I let them rest for a few months or more I expect they will be fine. Spendy, but a birthday present for myself. Maybe I'll go w the Churchill size. That's my fav size in opus x. Thanks again for the feedback.

 

[tbradsim1]

Go to your hardware store and get a deck screw, I keep one at my chair on porch and one on my tractor while bushhogging, opens up a tight cigar.

 

[jerseysam]

Boston,

I smoke a lot of Tatuaje, and usually I'll use a deeper cat's-eye/wedge cutter as opposed to a simple cap snip. As Hossier mentioned, Tats can be tightly rolled.

I mention as if you're thinking about picking up a draw tool (or using a long, thin screw)....switching up your cap-cut my be a worth-while one-time try. The screw-draw tools work pretty ok when there's a plug.....a dense spot in an otherwise evenly rolled cigar. Rolling has gotten pretty darn good, comparatively speaking, the last 4-5 years so thats kind of rare on mid/higher end production...but can happen. When you have a plain tighter roll/construction (than average), going for a deeper angled cut can improve draw compared to a small punch or cap snip (how I usually trim).

Just food for thought before you buy another tool

 

[briarbuck]

It works sometime but many times, not. Buy an aircraft (long) 1/8" drill bit. Run it through plugged cigars from the butt to end. Twist with fingers to remove some tobacco. If the cigar is tightly plugged, you have to clear out some tobacco for the cigar to draw.

I have some Cohiba lonesdales that are tight. Breaks my heart. Will have to try this so they don't go to waste. Going to let them dry out for a few days to reduce the volume.

 

[pantsBoots]

Tatuaje by design are rolled similar to Havanas and Havanas are almost always rolled much tighter than NC. It's something anyone who goes froml NC to CC has to contend with. Spend years mostly smoking Havanas and buy a NC, you're going to want to cut the head smaller (or just punch it) and draw slower to get the tighter draw you're used to.

All that to say this: dry the Tatuaje out a little - maybe drybox for a couple days or a week. That will help. Also, I'm not a big fan of Nicaraguan tobacco generally, but I have read often that Tatuaje age wonderfully. Maybe buy some and leave them alone for a couple years?

Finally, going along with the Tatuaje-mimics-Havana-production notion, try storing them at a lower RH (65 or maybe a bit less) rather than the 70% typically advised for NC. Generally, Havanas aren't that great when stored at 70, but, IMO, really shine from 65 down to even the very high 50s.

Experiment!

 

[hoosierpipeguy]

Boston,

I smoke a lot of Tatuaje, and usually I'll use a deeper cat's-eye/wedge cutter as opposed to a simple cap snip. As Hossier mentioned, Tats can be tightly rolled.

I mention as if you're thinking about picking up a draw tool (or using a long, thin screw)....switching up your cap-cut my be a worth-while one-time try. The screw-draw tools work pretty ok when there's a plug.....a dense spot in an otherwise evenly rolled cigar. Rolling has gotten pretty darn good, comparatively speaking, the last 4-5 years so thats kind of rare on mid/higher end production...but can happen. When you have a plain tighter roll/construction (than average), going for a deeper angled cut can improve draw compared to a small punch or cap snip (how I usually trim).

Just food for thought before you buy another tool

Unfortunately, the majority of plugs run up 3/4" to 1 1/4" from the butt of the cigar. Sometimes even further. So the only cutter that solves all that is to clip off the bottom 1" or 2".

 

[hoosierpipeguy]

Tatuaje by design are rolled similar to Havanas and Havanas are almost always rolled much tighter than NC. It's something anyone who goes froml NC to CC has to contend with. Spend years mostly smoking Havanas and buy a NC, you're going to want to cut the head smaller (or just punch it) and draw slower to get the tighter draw you're used to.

All that to say this: dry the Tatuaje out a little - maybe drybox for a couple days or a week. That will help. Also, I'm not a big fan of Nicaraguan tobacco generally, but I have read often that Tatuaje age wonderfully. Maybe buy some and leave them alone for a couple years?

Finally, going along with the Tatuaje-mimics-Havana-production notion, try storing them at a lower RH (65 or maybe a bit less) rather than the 70% typically advised for NC. Generally, Havanas aren't that great when stored at 70, but, IMO, really shine from 65 down to even the very high 50s.

Experiment!

Tats do age very nicely. Stronger, quality tobacco will generally age the best. Some mild Cubans for example aren't very good after 4 or 5 years as they become too mild. Might as well smoke an Avo. A couple of years ago, I had a 15 year old Nic Saint Luis Rey that was fabulous. Last year I had a 10 plus year old Fuente that were the special blend from Senior's personal humidor that was incredibly full and strong (unexpected for DR tobacco).

Drying out may help with some but it is not a silver bullet for most plugs. Having bought thousands of Cubans, the only thing I found that had much of a chance of working was the drill bit. Most recently, I've found the better cure is the trash can.

 

[pantsBoots]

Tats do age very nicely. Stronger, quality tobacco will generally age the best. Some mild Cubans for example aren't very good after 4 or 5 years as they become too mild. Might as well smoke an Avo. A couple of years ago, I had a 15 year old Nic Saint Luis Rey that was fabulous. Last year I had a 10 plus year old Fuente that were the special blend from Senior's personal humidor that was incredibly full and strong (unexpected for DR tobacco).

Drying out may help with some but it is not a silver bullet for most plugs. Having bought thousands of Cubans, the only thing I found that had much of a chance of working was the drill bit. Most recently, I've found the better cure is the trash can.

I will say El Rey del Mundo, a comparatively mild Cuban, ages better than many other brands. I would also say that while many brands as of late are ready to smoke without aging, ERDM still seems to be one that needs some time before blossoming.

And as for smoking AVO, well, I like AVO!

 

[hoosierpipeguy]

I will say El Rey del Mundo, a comparatively mild Cuban, ages better than many other brands. I would also say that while many brands as of late are ready to smoke without aging, ERDM still seems to be one that needs some time before blossoming.

And as for smoking AVO, well, I like AVO!

Avo cigars have nice flavors. Just too mild.