 |
| Tatuaje Mummy – Part of the Pudgy Monsters Series |
The Tatuaje Mummy 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 Monsters Series and same length as the Little Monsters). Today, we take a look at the Tatuaje Mummy, a shorter version of Tatuaje – The Mummy (the technical name has “The” in it). This blend combined with the Little Monsters Mini Mum was a winner on Cigar Coop as it was our selection for #10 Cigar of the Year in 2012. With the case of Tatuaje – The Mummy, I found this cigar worked extremely well in the large format. With the shorter Pudgy Monsters Mummy, I found this to also be an outstanding release and another winner in the Pudgy Monsters series.
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 Pudgy Mummy and see what this cigar brings to the table:
Blend Profile
In the Monsters / Little Monsters / Pudgy Monsters line, Mummy / Mini Mum / The Mummy blend is the only Nicaraguan puro:
Wrapper: Nicaraguan Sun Grown Criollo
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaragua
Vitolas Available
The Pudgy Monsters Mummy vitola shares the ring gauge of The Mummy and the length of the Mini Mum. The vitola could best be described as a Corona Gorda or a short Churchill. For completeness we include all three vitolas sharing the blend.
Mummy: 5 3/4 x 47
The Mummy: 7 3/4 x 47
Mini Mum: 5 3/4 x 42
 |
| Tatuaje – The Mummy (Part of the Monsters Series) |
 |
| Tatuaje Mini Mum (Part of the Little Monsters Series) |
Appearance
The Tatuaje Pudgy Mummy’s Sun Grown Criollo wrapper is medium brown in color. This seems to have a slight cinnamon tint to it. The wrapper has slight amount of oil on it. There were a couple of veins that were visible. There were also a few wrapper seams, but many were hidden. Like the other vitolas, the foot to the Pudgy Mummy is covered.
The band is based on the standard “Tatuaje” scripted logo. The script font is white on an gray background. To the left of the “Tatuaje” scripting is the text “PUDGY” in the white font. To the right of the scripting” it says “MONSTERS” in the white font. To the far right is a white Tatuaje “Tattoo” stamp.
Preparation to the Cigar Experience
Prior to the smoking phase, I placed a straight cut into the cap of the Pudgy Mummy. Once the cap was removed, I moved on to the pre-light draw ritual. The dry draw gave some nice flavors despite the covered foot. The flavors include wood, cedar sweet-spice, and nut. Overall I considered the pre-light draw to the Pudgy Mummy to be good. At this point, I was ready to light up the foot of this cigar and see what the smoking experience would have in store.
Flavor Profile
The start of Pudgy Mummy picked up where the pre-light draw left off. I picked up notes of black pepper, cedar sweet-spice, and nut. The retro-hale also delivered pepper, but the cedar sweet-spice also was very much present through the nasal passages. There was no dominant flavor early on.
By about the ten percent mark, the flavor profile began to take shape. There was very much a natural tobacco flavor in the forefront. In the background, there was a light citrus note and even a little cream. The black pepper was more present on the after-draw as well as the retro-hale. These flavors played a key role in the first third. There were also some complementary notes that were at play. Throughout the first third, there were notes of nut, cedar, and some dried fruit and moved in and out between the forefront and background.
In the second third, many of the notes converged and the natural tobacco took on more sweetness. The nut flavors were also present in the forefront. The citrus was still a secondary note. Meanwhile the cedar and pepper were still a key part of the after-draw retro-hale.
In the last third, the spices that were part of the after-draw became a part of the flavors on the main draw. These spices along with the natural tobacco sweetness were primary. The nut and citrus notes remained in the background. This is the way the flavor profile held until the end. While there was some spice at the end, the spice was not overwhelming. The resulting nub was lukewarm in temperature and soft to the touch.
Burn and Draw
Both the burn and draw scored very nicely with the Pudgy Mummy. The burn line remained straight from start to finish requiring minimal touch-ups along the way. The ash had a silvery gray color that was actually pretty close to the band color The ash was also tight and firm throughout the smoking experience. The burn rate and burn temperature were ideal.
 |
| Burn of the Tatuaje Mummy (Pudgy Monster) |
The draw was also ideal. It was not too loose and not too tight. This was a low maintenance cigar to derive flavors from.
Strength and Body
I found the Pudgy Mummy in the same ballpark in terms of strength and body as the Mini Mum and The Mummy. From a strength perspective, I assessed the Pudgy Mummy as being medium to full in strength. In terms of body, the Pudgy Mummy started out medium to full-bodied and a cigar that progressed to full-bodied in the second half. In terms of strength versus body, I gave the body the edge with the Pudgy Mummy.
Final Thoughts
One thing I’ve noticed with the Mini Mum and The Mummy, it a cigar blend that smokes best when you first get it. Over time, I’ve found the body of the cigar to slightly dial back, and some of the complexity reduced. I’m also curious to see what the Pudgy Mummy will do over time. With nearly two months sitting in my humidor, right now I found the Pudgy Mummy to smoke fantastic. Longer term (a year or more), the jury is still out. Given this cigar still has some strength and body, I would probably steer this to a more seasoned cigar enthusiast as opposed to a novice. As for myself, based on the way this cigar smoked now, I’d still have this as box worthy, but something I’d want to smoke now.
Summary
Burn: Excellent
Draw: Excellent
Complexity: High
Strength: Medium to Full
Body: Medium to Full (1st Half), Full (2nd Half)
Finish: Good
Assessment: 4.0 – Box Worthy
Score: 92
References
News: Tatuaje Pudgy Monsters Released
Price: ~$9.50
Source: Purchased
Stogie Geeks Podcast: n/a
Stogie Feed: Tatuaje Mummy (Part of the Pudgy Monsters Series)
