IPCPR 2019 Spotlight: Tatuaje Cigars

At the last IPCPR Trade Show, once again the brands of Tatuaje and L’Atelier were under one roof. This year Pete Johnson kept most of what he planned to showcase at IPCPR under wraps until the Trade Show opened. When it did, there was nice assortment of offerings to keep Tatuaje fans quite happy. There is a new line, an old line, some line extensions, and a twist on the Monsters Series.

In 2011, Pete Johnson released a limited edition project called the Tatuaje Mexican Experiment. For the most part, the cigar was done as regional and small batches depending on the size (the most commonly known size was the Robusto, which went to the Southeast). The Mexican Experiment went on to become a cult favorite, but after 2011 it hadn’t been released again. This year Johnson announced a limited return of the original Mexican Experiment blend known as Tatuaje ME. The cigar features a San Andres Mexican wrapper available in Robusto, Toro, Belicoso, and Churchill.

In terms of the return of the Mexican Experiment, there is another twist. Johnson also launched a different blend with a San Andres wrapper known as Tatuaje ME II. ME II is available in the same four sizes as the Tatuaje ME. It will be a regular production offering as opposed to the limited release of ME. While ME is packaged in 15-count bundles, ME II is being packaged in 15-count boxes.

Tatuaje Monsters will have not one, but two installments for 2019 and these are the two full-sized installments of the Tatuaje Chuck and Tiff. Tatuaje Chuck and Tiff made their debut as a part of the Pudgy Monsters Series. These blends carried over into the Skinny Monsters, but had not had full-sized offerings until now. These have been dubbed Monster #11 and #12 installments in the series.

Like all of the other full-sized Monster, these will feature dress boxes options that will be unveiled to select “unlucky” retailers.

There are a couple of 4 x 50 line extensions called “Favoritos” that have been introduced to the El Triunfador and Tattoo lines respectively. The El Triunfador Favoritos is described as a different blend from the rest of the El Triunfador line on the market, while the Tattoo Favoritos is built based on the blend used in the line. Both cigars come out of Tabacalera Cubana (TACUBA), a factory also owned by the Garcia family in Estelí, Nicaragua.

There are a couple of line extensions under the Cojonu Series – the Tatuaje Gran Cojonu Series A and the Tatuaje Cojonu 2003 Series L. Series A introduces a 5 x 60 offering under Gran Cojonu while Series L introduces a 4 x 50 offering under Cojonu 2003. Both line extensions pay tribute to Pete Johnson’s dogs Arnold (A) and Loki (L) who passed away over the past year. Production for both of these cigars comes out of Miami.