Agile Cigar Reviews are cigar assessments where we use a lightweight, shorter format. These will never take the place of our comprehensive reviews. They are only used on blends we have previously assessed. This might be a blend we are re-scoring or giving a score for the first time. It might be a blend we are looking at in a different size. Today we look at the Tatuaje Monster Mash Michael. This is a cigar blend previously assessed back in May 2018 in the “The Michael” size.
Wrapper: Ecuadorian Habano
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan
Country of Origin: Nicaragua
Factory: My Father Cigars S.A.
Monster Mash Michael: 5 x 52
Today we continue our look at the Tatuaje Monster Mash Sampler taking a look at the Tatuaje Monster Mash Michael. The Monster Mash Series is based on Tatuaje Monsters Series. The foundation of the Monsters Series is that each year from 2008 to 2018 (around Halloween), Tatuaje would release a cigar blend that paid homage to a classic or contemporary horror film character. In addition to the annual Halloween releases, there have been various samplers released containing different sizes of the various Monsters blends and the Monster Mash sampler was one of them. For the Monster Mash, each cigar would be the same ring gauge as the Halloween-released “monster,” but each Monster Mash cigar was 1 1/2 inches shorter than the Halloween release. Today we look at the Tatuaje Monster Mash Michael.
Some of the Monster characters have been based on classic horror film characters and others are based on more contemporary characters. In the case of the Tatuaje Michael, it is based on the character of Michael Myers from the Halloween Series. The Monster Mash Michael is actually the first offshoot of the full-sized Tatuaje The Michael released in 2017.
The chart below shows the complete history of the Tatuaje Monsters series and what is offered in one sampler. Note the Tatuaje Monster Mash includes a new “monster” known as “The Creature.” It does not have a corresponding Halloween character and at press time is exclusive to the Monster Mash series.
| Character/Collection | Full Monsters (The +) -Annual |
Little Monsters |
Pudgy Monsters | Skinny Monsters | Skinny Monsters Cazadores |
Skinny Monsters Lancero |
MBS | Monster Mash |
| Frankenstein (2008) | Frank (*) | Frank Jr. | Frank | Frank | Frank | Frank | Frank | |
| Dracula (2009) | Drac (*) | Lil’ Drac | Drac | Drac | Drac | Drac | Drac | |
| Leather Face (2010) | Face | Baby Face | Face | Face | Face | Face | Face | |
| The Wolfman (2011) | Wolfman | Wolfie | Wolf | Wolf | Wolf | Wolf | Wolf | |
| The Mummy (2012) | Mummy | Mini Mum | Mummy | Mummy | Mummy | Mummy | Mummy | |
| Jason Voorhees (2013) | JV13 | Jason | Jason | Jason | Jason | Jason | ||
| Dr. Jekyll (2014) | Jekyll | Jekyll | Jekyll | Jekyll | Jekyll | |||
| Mr. Hyde (2015) | Hyde | Hyde | Hyde | Hyde | Hyde | |||
| Freddy Krueger (2016) | Krueger | FK | Krueger | |||||
| Chuck (2019) | Chuck | Chuck | Chuck | Chuck | Chuck | Chuck | ||
| Tiff (2019) | Tiff | Tiff | Tiff | Tiff | Tiff | Tiff | ||
| Michael Myers (2017) | Michael | Michael | ||||||
| “The Bride” (2018) | Bride | Bride | ||||||
| “The Creature (from the Black Lagoon)” (2021) | Creature |
* Re-released as Redux in 2021
The Monster Mash Michael uses the same tobacco components as the original Tatuaje The Michael blend. This consists of an Ecuadorian Habano wrapper over all-Nicaraguan fillers. The Monster Mash Michael measures 5 x 52. The Michael is also the third Monsters Blend to use Ecuadorian Habano for the wrapper. The other two releases that use this wrapper are The Drac (an Ecuadorian Habano Maduro) and Chuck (a Natural Ecuadorian Habano).
The Tatuaje Monster Mash Michael opened with notes of natural tobacco, citrus, black pepper, cedar, and floral notes. The natural tobacco and citrus notes went to the forefront early on. There was also a mix of black and white pepper on the retro-hale. By the midway point, the floral notes dissipated and were replaced by earth notes. During the second half, the black pepper on the tongue increased and moved toward the forefront taking a prominent role of the secondary notes.
The flavor notes were on the bolder side, delivering a medium to full-bodied experience countered by medium to full strength. There was a slight increase in intensity throughout the smoking experience, but the Monster Mash Michael fell short of reaching the “full” range of the spectrum for strength and body. The cigar did require multiple touch-ups to maintain a straight burn path and straight burn line. The draw of the Monster Mash Michael had a slight touch of resistance – making it ideal in this author’s book.
OVERALL ASSESSMENT
Final Thoughts
It was good to see the Tatuaje Michael blend in another format – which in this case basically was a Robusto. The Monster Mash Michael maintained a lot of the boldness that its full-sized counterpart had. If I had to rate my favorite part of this smoke, it would definitely be the second third. Looking at the Monster Mash Michael on its own, because this comes only in a $150.00 sampler, it’s still a “Try a Sample” for the individual cigar. However, after smoking 10 of the 14 blends in the sampler, the sampler is something I would recommend purchasing as a whole.
Summary
Key Flavors: Natural Tobacco, Citrus, Black Pepper, Cedar, Floral, Earth
Burn: Very Good
Draw: Excellent
Complexity: Medium Plus
Strength: Medium to Full
Body: Medium to Full
Finish: Very Good
Rating
Value: Try a Sample
Score: 88
References
Previous Review: Tatuaje – The Michael
News: Tatuaje Monster Mash Introduced at 2021 PCA
Price: $150.00 for a sampler that includes 14 different Monster Mash cigars (which includes one Monster Mash Michael)
Source: Purchased
Brand Reference: Tatuaje
Photo Credits: Cigar Coop
