WCD 127 Tatuaje Limited Edition

The WCD 127 Tatuaje Limited Edition is a retail exclusive cigar provided by Tatuaje Cigars to Washington DC area retailer W. Curtis Draper.  The release is intended to commemorate the 127th Anniversary of Draper’s.  Over the past few years, the Draper’s Anniversary series has established itself as one of the top retail-exclusive series in  he industry.  Various manufacturers have provided retail-exclusive cigars to Draper’s and Tatuaje is no stranger providing this as the WCD 127 becomes their second installment in this anniversary series.  The WCD 127 doesn’t disappoint.  It proves to be an outstanding release, and one that should satisfy many Tatuaje enthusiasts.

In 2007, the Cabaiguan WCD 120, a petite corona version of the Cabaiguan blend was released to commemorate Draper’s 120th anniversary.  Fast forward to 2012, and a second iteration – the WCD 120 Redux was released for Draper’s 125th anniversary.  The WCD 120 Redux proved to be one of the great releases in the history of Cigar Coop as it scored a 97. A year later – in 2013, the WCD 120 became Draper’s House Cigar , the “WCD House Cigar”.

Without further ado, let’s take a closer look at the WCD 127 Tatuaje Limited Edition and see what this cigar is all about.

Blend Profile

The WCD 127 is a completely different cigar from the WCD 120 in terms of the blend.  It consists of an Ecuadorian Habano wrapper over Nicaraguan binder and filler.

Wrapper: Ecuadorian Habano
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan

Vitolas Available

Size wise the WCD 127 is completely different than the WCD 120.  This cigar is a a long cigar – measuring 7 5/8 x 52.

The WCD 127 comes packaged 12 cigars per box.  The cigars are packaged in foil – a technique that is used on many Tatuaje releases that has been referred to as “wet packing”.

Packaging for WCD 127 Tatuaje Limited Edition

Foil packaging of the WCD 127 Tatuaje Limited Edition

Appearance

The Ecuadorian Habano wrapper has a real nice color.  It seems to be a combination of caramel, coffee bean, and colorado red mixed together.  Upon closer examination there is some darker marbling on the surface of the wrapper.  The complexion of the wrapper is somewhat oily.  The WCD 127 also has both visible veins and visible wrapper seams.

The band is one that is similar to what has been seen on many other one time limited Tatuaje editions (i.e. the Tatuaje Mexican Experiment).  It is a white band with red stripes along the top and bottom and slight green stripes inside the red stripes.  There is a black Tatuaje “tattoo” logo in the center.  To the left of the tattoo is the text “TATUAJE” in black font.  To the right of the tattoo is the text “LIMITED” in black font.

Preparation for the Cigar Experience

Prior to lighting up my WCD 127 Tatuaje Limited Edition, I went with my usual choice of a straight cut. Once the cap was removed, I moved on to the pre-light draw ritual. The dry draw provided a nice mix of flavor that had noets of floral, earth, natural tobacco, and a slight amount of spice. Overall, I considered the pre-light draw of the WCD 127 to be excellent. At this point, I was ready to light up the WCD 127 and see what the overall smoking phase would have in store.

Flavor Profile

The start to the WCD 127 Tatuaje Limited Edition provided a mix of black pepper, earth, and natural tobacco sweetness.  There was no dominant flavor out of the gate.  On the retro-hale, the pepper had more of herbal spice.  As the WCD moved through the early part of the first third, the natural tobacco sweetness almost took on a raw sugar cane quality.

By the middle of the first third, the natural tobacco/raw sugar cane became the primary note. There also was some chocolate notes that surfaced in the forefront from time to time. The way the primary notes melded together, it almost had a salted caramel quality. The pepper notes remained in the background and the retro-hale remained on the after-draw.

By the second third, the sweetness moved back toward a standard natural tobacco sweetness (shedding the sugar cane sweetness).  There still were some chocolate notes that surfaced from time to time – and the pepper remained in the back.  I found this flavor profile held into the last third, but with the only difference being the pepper notes increased a bit.  Still the pepper never got overwhelming.  The WCD 127 remained flavorful right until the end.  The resulting nub was firm to the touch and cool in temperature.

Burn and Draw

Overall the burn line for the WCD 127 remained straight from start to finish.  In terms of touch-ups, the WCD 127 did not require many.  The ash had a silvery color with some dark streaks.  The only minor issue is that for each of the cigars I smoked, I found the ash to be on the flaky side – especially in the first half of the smoke.  The burn rate and burn temperature were both ideal.

Burn of the WCD 127 Tatuaje Limited Edition

The draw was excellent from start to finish.  It was not too tight – and not too loose.  This made the WCD 127 to be an enjoyable cigar from start to finish.

Strength and Body

The WCD 127 Tatuaje Limited Edition is not going to be a nicotine bomb.  It provides what I term to be the “right amount of strength”.  I assessed this to be a medium strength cigar – falling just below the threshold for what I consider to be medium to full strength.   As for the body, there is some weight to the flavors on the pallet and I assessed the cigar to fall into the medium to full-bodied range.  The WCD 127 pretty much maintains a constant strength and body from start to finish.  In terms of strength versus body, the body is going to have the edge.

Final Thoughts

Pete Johnson and Tatuaje have long built a reputation for excellent retail exclusive shop releases. The WCD 127 Tatuaje Limited Edition will now join that list as being one of those special shop releases. I didn’t find the WCD 127 to be the most complex cigar in terms of flavor transitions, but I did find this a cigar that delivered excellent flavor. While this cigar was ready to smoke right out of the box, my gut tells me there is some serious aging potential on this cigar. This is the type of cigar I’d recommend to a novice or an experienced cigar enthusiast. As for myself, this is absolute a cigar I would smoke again – and it’s one that without question is box worthy at this time.

Summary

Burn: Good
Draw: Excellent
Complexity: Medium
Strength: Medium
Body: Medium to Full
Finish: Excellent
Assessment: 4.0 – Box Worthy
Score: 93

References

Price: $13.00 (Indvidual), $140.00 (Box of 12)
Source: Purchased
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