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| Tatuaje Jason |
The Tatuaje Jason is a part of Tatuaje’s Pudgy Monsters series that was released in mid 2014. This is the second sampler series released based on Tatuaje’s Monsters Series – a cigar released on an annual basis that pays homage to a different monster / horror movie character. In 2012, the Tatuaje Little Monsters series was released which provided smaller and thinner versions of the original Monster Series releases. While there are two all new blends in the Pudgy Monsters Series, the Tatuaje Chuck and Tatuaje Tiff, the remainder of the set provides another set of smaller monsters, but these have larger ring gauges (in most cases the same ring gauge as the original and same length as the Little Monsters). Today, we take a look at the Tatuaje Jason, a shorter version of the Tatuaje JV13. The name takes its name from Jason Voorhees, the main character from the horror series, Friday the 13th. The JV13 was the 2013 release of the Monsters Series. I had originally found JV13 blend to be the weakest of the Monster Series releases to date. With the case of the Tatuaje Jason, I found this to deliver a much improved vitola containing this blend. In fact, this cigar was a real surprise and delivered what I had always hoped the JV13 would bring to the table.
The Pudgy Monsters series consists of 10 cigars. There is one cigar per blend that has previously been released in the Monsters series. The new blends, Chuck and Tiff contain two cigars.
(Pudgy) Frank (Based on the 2008’s Tatuaje Monster Series – The Frank)
(Pudgy) Drac (Based on 2009’s Tatuaje Monster Series – The Drac)
(Pudgy) Face (Based on 2010’s Tatuaje Monster Series -The Face)
(Pudgy) Wolf (Based on 2011’s Tatuaje Monster Series – The Wolfman)
(Pudgy) Mummy (Based on 2012’s Tatuaje Monster Series – The Mummy)
(Pudgy) Jason (Based on 2013’s Tatuaje Monster Series – JV13)
(Pudgy) Chuck – New Blend
(Pudgy) Tiff – New Blend
Without further ado, let’s break down the Tatuaje Jason and see what this cigar brings to the table:
Blend Profile
The Tatuaje Jason uses the same blend as the original Tatuaje Jason. As with just about all Tatuaje Cigars these are made by the Garcia family of My Father Cigars. Along with the Tatuaje Frank blends, this is one of two Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper cigars in the Monsters / Little Monsters / Pudgy Monsters series.
Wrapper: Connecticut Broadleaf
Binder: Nicaragua
Filler: Nicaragua
Vitolas Available
We are treating the Jason and JV13 as a blend here, so we are including the original JV13 for completeness. The Tatuaje Jason is pretty much a shorter version of the JV13 – i.e. a Robusto Extra size.
Jason: 5 1/2 x 52
JV13: 7 1/2 x 52
The Jason is the only of the existing regular Tatuaje Monsters to not have a Little Monsters component.
Appearance
The Tatuaje Jason’s Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper has a dark roasted coffee bean color. Upon closer examination there is some darker marbling that can be seen on the surface. There is a some oil and it has a rugged characteristic typical of broadleaf wrappers There are some visible veins and so visible wrapper seams.
The band is based on the standard “Tatuaje” scripted logo. The script font is black on an orange background. To the left of the “Tatuaje” scripting is the text “PUDGY” in the black font. To the right of the scripting” it says “MONSTERS” in the black font. To the far right is a black Tatuaje “Tattoo” stamp.
Preparation for the Cigar Experience
As I normally do, I kicked off things with a straight cut. After successfully clipping the cap I moved on to the pre-light draw. The dry draw to the Tatuaje Jason was not far off from its bigger sibling the JV13. For the most part I detected notes notes of roasted coffee and spice. Overall I considered the pre-light draw of the Jason to be satisfactory. At this point I was ready to light up my Tatuaje Jason and see what the smoking phase would have in store.
Flavor Profile
The start to the Tatuaje Jason provided a mix of mocha and black pepper notes. The pepper was also prominent on the retro-hale. Immediately the big difference I noticed with the Jason as opposed to the JV13 is that the Jason had more sweetness coming from this cigar.
As the Tatuaje Jason moved through the first half the sweetness became more defined. It definitely had a raisin quality, but more interesting was the raisin sweetness meshed with the mocha notes. It almost created a taste of a Raisinet (chocolate covered raisin). The pepper was a close secondary note. There was some earth in the background giving the Jason a slight gritty taste, but this cigar was definitely smoother than the JV13.
By the second half the sweetness had diminished and the earth notes were now becoming more prominent int he forefront. I found the mocha / chocolate flavors were still in the forefront, but there was definitely less sweetness. In the last third, the earth and chocolate notes remained. There was a slight increase in spice at the end, but the Jason still didn’t deliver harshness or bitterness (which wasn’t true with the JV13). The resulting nub was outstanding – firm to the touch and cool in temperature.
Burn and Draw
While I thought the JV13 had its shortcomings, when it came to burn and draw it performed excellent. The Tatuaje Jason follows the path the JV13 set and performs extremely well. While there was a slight curvature on the burn line, I found the Tatuaje Jason had a reasonably straight burn requiring only occasional touch-ups along the way. The resulting ash was tight and firm with a white color. The burn rate and burn temperature were both ideal.
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| Burn of the Tatuaje Jason |
Like the JV13, the Tatuaje Jason had a slight resistance on the draw – which is something I like – making for an enjoyable smoking experience.
Strength and Body
I did find some differences with the Tatuaje JV13 and the Tatuaje Jason with the attributes of strength and draw. I found the strength stay relatively constant with the Tatuaje Jason. It maintained a medium to full strength profile from start to finish – unlike the JV13 which had its strength sneak up into the full range during the second half. Meanwhile I found that the Tatuaje Jason maintained rich and full-bodied flavors from start to finish (unlike the JV13 which started out in the medium to full range). Overall, I found the body to have a slight edge over the strength with this particular cigar.
Final Thoughts
The Tatuaje Jason was everything I hoped the Tatuaje JV13 would be. My experience with the JV13 had been one of inconsistency and frankly some disappointing flavors. The Tatuaje Jason delivered richer, fuller, and smoother flavors. I cannot determine if this was because of the blend just working in a shorter cigar – or if age on the blend really has effected it – or a combination of both. What I can say – the Tatuaje Jason was a total winner. Like the JV13, I think the Tatuaje Jason is a cigar geared more toward the seasoned cigar enthusiast. As for myself, assuming the Tatuaje Jason were available in its own 20 count boxes (which it is not), this is a cigar worthy of a box split in my book.
Summary
Burn: Excellent
Draw: Excellent
Complexity: Medium
Strength: Medium to Full
Body: Full
Finish Excellent
Assessment: 3.5 – Box Split
Score: 92
References
News: Tatuaje Pudgy Monsters Released
Price: ~$9.50
Source: Purchased
Stogie Geeks Podcast: Episode 106
Stogie Feed: Tatuaje Jason
