The Tatuaje Skinny Wolf is the fourth vitola based on the Tatuaje Wolfman blend, which happened to be the fourth installment of the Tatuaje Monsters Series. The Skinny Wolf was originally released as one of ten cigars included in the Tatuaje Skinny Monsters collection. Skinny Monsters is a sampler of 6 x 38 petite lanceros based on the first ten Tatuaje Monster Series blends. Since 2008, the Tatuaje Monsters Series has been an annual release right before Halloween. For each installment of the series, a different blend with a different large-size pays homage to a monster / horror movie character. There have been several offshoots consisting of different size variations, by which the Skinny Monsters collection is one of them. Recently I’ve had an opportunity to smoke the new Tatuaje Skinny Wolf. Overall I have always found the vitolas released in the Tatuaje Wolfman blend to be solid performers – and the Skinny Wolf is no exception.

As mentioned, while the Monsters Series remains an annual release, there have been several off-shoot sampler releases, one of which is the Tatuaje Skinny Monsters series.  With the exception of the original Monsters Series, all have been made available in sampler packs. Each of the collections are (or have been) limited in production. Here is some further details:

• Monster Series:  Released annually (usually around Halloween) since 2008. These have been Double Corona or Churchill sizes.
• Little Monsters: Released in 2012, these are shorter, thinner versions of the first five Monster releases from 2008 to 2012. The sampler includes two cigars per blend. The Mini Mum was the little version of the Tatuaje Mummy and is the only case in any Monster Series collection where one of the offshoot sizes was released before the full monster sized vitola.
• Pudgy Monsters: Released in 2014, these cigars are the same length of the Little Monsters and same ring gauge of the original Monsters. This collection introduced two new monsters not previously released before, Chuck and Tiff. Each sampler contains two Chuck and two Tiff cigars as well as one Pudgy size for each of the Monster Blends released from 2008 to 2013.
• Skinny Monsters: Released this year, this includes one 6 x 38 petite lancero of each of the first eight full monster releases as well as 6 x 38 versions of the Chuck and Tiff. At this year’s IPCPR each of the Skinny Monsters were made available in 25 count boxes consisting of a single blend.
• Skinny Monsters Cazadores Edition: This includes a 6 3/4 x 43 vitola of each of the first eight full monster releases as well as 6 3/4 x 43 versions of the Chuck and Tiff. This format was introduced at the 2016 IPCPR Trade Show.
• Skinny Monsters Lancero Edition: This includes a 7 1/2 x 38 lancero of each of the first eight full monster releases as well as 7 1/2 x 38 versions of the Chuck and Tiff. This format was introduced at the 2016 IPCPR Trade Show.

The Tatuaje Wolf is one of five blends that is included in each of the six Monster series collections. The other four are: Frank, Drac, Face, and Mummy. The recently announced Tatuaje – The Krueger  has only been made available in a full Monster size.

The grid below maps each monster / horror film character blend to the cigar that was released in each of the Monster Series collections. A blank indicates the blend was not released in that collection.

Character/Collection	Full Monsters (The +) -Annual	Little Monsters – 2012	Pudgy Monsters	Skinny Monsters	Skinny Monsters Cazadores	Skinny Monsters Lancero
Frankenstein (2008)	Frank	Frank Jr.	Frank	Frank	Frank	Frank
Dracula (2009)	Drac	Lil’ Drac	Drac	Drac	Drac	Drac
Leather Face (2010)	Face	Baby Face	Face	Face	Face	Face
The Wolfman (2011)	Wolfman	Wolfie	Wolf	Wolf	Wolf	Wolf
The Mummy (2012)	Mummy	Mini Mum	Mummy	Mummy	Mummy	Mummy
Jason Voorhees (2013)	JV13		Jason	Jason	Jason	Jason
Dr. Jekyll (2014)	Jekyll			Jekyll	Jekyll	Jekyll
Mr. Hyde (2015)	Hyde			Hyde	Hyde	Hyde
Chuck (Child’s Play)			Chuck	Chuck	Chuck	Chuck
Tiff (Child’s Play)			Tiff	Tiff	Tiff	Tiff
Freddy Krueger (2016)	Krueger

 

Without further ado, let’s break down the Tatuaje Skinny Wolf and see what this cigar brings to the table.

Blend Profile

As mentioned, the blend for the Skinny Wolf is based on the blend of the Tatuaje Wolfman. The Wolfman, along with the Tatuaje Hyde are the only two in the Monster Series and its offshoots to use an Ecuadorian Sumatra wrapper.

Wrapper: Ecuadorian Sumatra
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan
Country of Origin: Nicaragua (My Father Cigars SA)

Vitolas Available

With the new Cazadores and Lancero line extensions, it brings the total number of vitolas using the Woflman blend to six.

The Wolfman: 7 1/2 x 52
Wolfie: 5 1/2 x 48
Wolf: 5 1/2 x 52
Skinny Wolf: 6 x 38
Skinny Wolf Cazadores: 6 3/4 x 43 (*)
Skinny Wolf Lancero: 7 1/2 x 38 (*)

* Showcased at the 2016 IPCPR Trade Show, wider distribution coming soon

As mentioned, in addition to being a part of the Skinny Monsters sampler, the Skinny Wolf has also been made available in 25 count boxes:

Appearance

The Ecuadorian Sumatra wrapper of the Tatuaje Skinny Wolf had a medium to dark brown color. Upon closer examination there was some darker marbling that was present. There was a light coating of oil on the surface along with some visible veins and visible wrapper seams.

There are three significant changes with the Skinny Wolf compared to the Wolfman, Wolfie, and Pudgy Wolf. First the Skinny Wolf is a rounded cigar and is not box-pressed. Second, the Skinny Wolf is a parejo and not a torpedo. Finally, the Skinny Wolf does not feature the shagged footer that the previous three vitolas have.

The band is also different on the Skinny Wolf when compared to the Wolfman, Wolfie, and Pudgy Wolf. The pewter background found on the bands of the previous three vitolas was replaced by a dark brown, almost black looking background. The band still features orange script font. To the left of the “Tatuaje” scripting is the text “SKINNY” in the a gothic style orange font. To the right of the scripting” it says “MONSTERS” – also in orange font. To the far right is a orange Tatuaje “Tattoo” stamp. The band is finished with a orange pinstripe across the top and bottom.

Preparation for the Cigar Experience

Prior to lighting up the Tatuaje Skinny Wolf, I went with a straight cut to remove the cap. Once the cap was removed, it was time to commence the pre-light draw. The dry draw delivered a mix of natural tobacco, cedar and a touch of floral. Overall I considered the pre-light draw of this cigar to be satisfactory. At this point I was ready to light up the Tatuaje Skinny Wolf and see what the smoking phase would deliver.

Flavor Profile

The start to the Tatuaje Skinny Wolf delivered some notes of cedar out of the gate. In the background there was a mix of white pepper, natural tobacco, and orange rind. Meanwhile while I got white pepper on the tongue, I found the retro-hale delivered more in the way of black pepper.

As the Tatuaje Skinny Wolf moved through the first third, the orange rind notes joined the cedar in the forefront. Throughout this stage of the smoking experience, the cedar and orange rind alternated in intensity as to which was the dominant note. Meanwhile the natural tobacco and white pepper notes remained in the background.

During the second third, I found the cedar notes remained grounded in the forefront. The early part of the second third saw the orange rind still present in the forefront. As the Tatuaje Skinny Wolf progressed through this phase, the orange rind diminished and moved into the background. Meanwhile the natural tobacco was also present in the background. The pepper notes remained in the background, but increased in the later part of the second third.

By the last third of the Tatuaje Skinny Wolf, the pepper notes had moved into the forefront joining the cedar notes. I still picked up touches of orange rind and natural tobacco in the background. This is the way the Tatuaje Skinny Wolf came to a close. The resulting nub was firm to the touch and cool in temperature.

Burn and Draw

The Tatuaje Skinny Wolf scored nicely when it came to its burn. The burn maintained both a straight burn path and a straight burn line. I didn’t find this to be a cigar that required an excessive amount of touch-ups. The resulting ash had a silver-gray color to it and skewed toward the firmer side.  Meanwhile the burn rate and burn temperature were both ideal.

The draw to the Tatuaje Skinny Wolf also scored nicely. I found this cigar had the right amount of resistance to it – and it was a low maintenance cigar to derive flavor from.

Strength and Body

When looking at the various iterations of the Wolfman, Wolfie, and Pudgy Wolf, I didn’t find the Skinny Wolf to deviate too far from these previous vitolas. I assessed the Skinny Wolf as being a medium to full strength, medium to full-bodied smoke from start to finish. Overall the Skinny Wolf had a little more strength than the Wolfie and Pudgy Wolf (which were more medium strength smokes), but matched closer to these sizes when it came to body.

In terms of strength versus body, I found both attributes balanced each other nicely with neither attribute overshadowing the other.

Final Thoughts

Much like the Tatuaje Mummy blend, I have also found the Tatuaje Wolfman blend is one that performs well in the various sizes. While I do miss the box-press, shagged foot, figurado format that was a part of the other sizes in the Wolfman blend, I still did appreciate what the Tatuaje Skinny Wolf brought to the table. Of all of the Tatuaje Monster releases, I found the flavors of this blend to best coincide with Halloween season – and the Skinny Wolf is no exception. If you have liked the previous iterations of this Monster blend, you will most likely enjoy the Skinny Wolf. It’s a cigar I’d recommend to an experienced cigar enthusiast or a novice looking to “graduate” to something medium plus. As for myself, this is a cigar I’d smoke again – and it’s worthy of a box split.

Summary

Burn: Excellent
Draw: Excellent
Complexity: Medium
Strength: Medium to Full
Body: Medium to Full
Finish: Very Good
Assessment: 3.5-Box Split
Score: 91

References

News: Tatuaje Skinny Monsters Coming Soon
Price: $85.00 (Skinny Monsters Sampler)
Source: Purchased
Stogie Geeks Podcast: Episode 205
Stogie Feed: Tatuaje Skinny Wolf
Brand Reference: Tatuaje