 |
| #20 Tatuaje Fausto |
The first third of the Top 30 has been completed and now it is time to begin the Top 20 in the Cigar of the Year countdown. Today’s epic encounter brings us to one of 2011’s most anticipated cigars.
Coming in at #20 is the Tatuaje Fausto. This was a new core line that was released by Tatuaje Cigars in 2011. In a year where many cigar manufacturers were producing more Ecuadorian Connecticut-Shade cigars that were on the milder side, the Fausto goes in the opposite direction and delivers a nice powerful smoke.
The Fausto is a blend that it is based off a previous Tatuaje blend called the T110. About 200 boxes of the T110 were made for a retailer in Hawaii. I’ve been told the “T” stands for “thermonuclear” and that cigar was a very strong robusto-sized vitola. By leveraging higher primings of tobacco, the Fausto is able to deliver a stronger smoke. The flavors of the Fausto are very old-school and traditional. At the same time, the Fausto provides a highly complex smoking experience. It has notes of chocolate, cocoa, pepper, sugar cane, earth, and hay notes.
Tatuaje also made a decision to issue an annual limited release vitola of the Fausto blend. For that vitola, Tatuaje also made the decision to give that it a separate name and a unique band. In 2011 that vitola is a box-press perfecto-grande called the Tatuaje Avion 11. In my opinion, the Avion 11 did not live up to what the core Fausto vitolas delivered. Since I rank the blend as a whole, the Avion 11 was included in this ranking. Needless to say, the Fausto would have ranked higher on this list if there were no Avion 11.
Click here to read my assessment of the Tatuaje Fausto. If you are interested in reading my thoughts on the Tatuaje Avion 11, click here.
Blend Profile
The Fausto derives its strength from using higher primings of the tobacco:
Wrapper: Ecuador Habano Maduro
Binder: Nicaragua
Filler: Nicaraguan including Jalapa/Esteli Ligero
Vitolas Available
FT127 – Robusto: 5 x 54
FT140 – Robusto Extra: 5 1/2 x 52
FT153 – Toro: 6 x 50
FT166 – Short Churchill: 6 1/2 x 48
Avion 11 – Box-press Perfecto Grande: 6 3/4 x 48/52
Recommended Vitola: FT153 (Toro)
