Tatuaje Lomo de Cerdo

Today, we take a look at the Tatuaje Lomo de Cerdo. The Lomo de Credo was the fourth installment in Tatuaje’s Tuxtla series. Tuxtla is a region in Mexico and Tuxtla is an appropriate name for this series as it involves taking some of Tatuaje’s most popular cigars and replacing the wrapper with a Mexican San Andres wrapper. In the case of the Tatuaje Lomo de Cerdo, it replaces the wrapper of the Tatuaje Pork Tenderloin. Once upon a time, single-store releases meant something in the cigar industry. Pork Tenderloin was a shop exclusive for Gloucester Street Cigars (which has since shut its doors) and achieved legendary cult status. The name Lomo de Cerdo is Spanish for “pork tenderloin.” Lomo de Cerdo was offered to retailers at the 2022 Premium Cigar Association (PCA) Trade Show and was met with great demand.

The following are the seven Tuxtla releases that would fall under the Tuxtla umbrella.

Without further ado, let’s turn our attention to the Tatuaje Lomo de Cerdo and see what this cigar brings to the table:

Tatuaje Lomo de Cerdo – Cigar Review

SPECIFICATIONS

Blend and Origin

The Lomo de Cerdo recipe features Nicaraguan tobaccos for the binder and filler in addition to the Mexican wrapper. It comes from the My Father Cigars factory in Estelí, Nicaragua.

Wrapper: Mexican San Andres
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan
Country of Origin: Nicaragua
Factory: My Father Cigars S.A.

Vitolas Offered

Lomo de Cerdo comes in one size – a 5 1/2 x 52 parejo. This is the same size as the Tatuaje Pork Tenderloin. The cigars were presented in 25-count bundles wrapped in butcher paper.

Packaging of the Tatuaje Lomo de Cerdo

Appearance (*)

The Lomo de Cerdo’s Mexican San Andres wrapper had a medium-roast coffee color with a rosado tint. There was a light coating of oil on this wrapper. Upon closer examination, some mottling and toothiness can be seen on the surface of the wrapper. There were some visible veins. On the cigars I smoked, the surface of the wrapper seemed void of any noticeable wrapper seams. A short, thick pigtail was affixed on the cap of the cigar. The footer of the cigar was partially covered.

Partially covered footer of the Tatuaje Lomo de Cerdo

PERFORMANCE

Pre-Light Draw (*)

Instead of pulling the pigtail off of the Lomo de Cerdo, I used a straight cut to simultaneously remove both the tail and the cap. Once the cap was removed, it was immediately on to the pre-light draw ritual. The dry draw delivered an assortment of flavor notes, including chocolate, coffee, fruit, and earth. Overall, this was an excellent pre-light draw experience. At this point, it was time to toast the footer of the Lomo de Cerdo and move on to the smoking phase.

Tasting Notes

Upon lighting, the Lomo de Cerdo also had no shortage of flavors. The cigar opened with notes of black coffee, cedar, earth, wood, and black pepper. Early on, the black coffee note moved to the forefront. The cedar, wood, earth, and pepper notes settled in the background. A mixed fruit note also emerged in the background. Meanwhile, an additional layer of pepper was present on the retro-hale.

During the second third of the Lomo de Cerdo, the intensity of the wood notes increased. The wood notes eclipsed the black coffee notes and took over as the primary note. The black coffee joined the cedar, earth, pepper, and fruit notes. As the cigar progressed into the second half, the sweetness significantly diminished. Toward the latter part of the second third, there was an increase in the pepper notes on the tongue and the retro-hale.

In the final third, the wood notes remained grounded as the primary note. The pepper notes moved into the forefront and joined the wood notes in the latter stages. The black coffee, cedar, and earth notes rounded things out. At the same time, the fruit sweetness had dissipated entirely. As the experience of the Lomo de Cerdo came to a close, a soft, cool nub remained.

Burn

For the most part, the Lomo de Cerdo maintained a straight burn path and a straight burn line. This was a cigar that required minimal touch-ps. The resulting ash had a salt-and-pepper complexion. This wasn’t an overly firm ash, but it was neither loose nor flaky. As for the burn rate and burn temperature, both maintained ideal levels throughout the smoking experience.

Burn of the Tatuaje Lomo de Cerdo

Draw

The draw of the Lomo de Cerdo also delivered a stellar performance. This was a draw with a touch of resistance, which I have mentioned many times is ideal. At the same time, the Lomo de Cerdo was a low-maintenance cigar from which to derive flavor.

Strength and Body

There is some boldness to the Lomo de Cerdo. This cigar delivered medium to full-bodied flavors out of the gate and had medium to full strength. During the smoking experience, there was a slight increase in both the strength and body. Ultimately, the Lomo de Cerdo was still medium to full in strength and body, but both attributes inched close to the full zone in the spectrum.

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

BANDING AND PACKAGING NOTES (*)

Most of the Tuxtla releases mimic the original cigar they are based on —namely, the primary band remains, and a Tuxtla secondary ban is added. In the case of Lomo de Cerdo, there was no primary band, so Tatuaje kept to form and didn’t incorporate the primary band. At the same time, Lomo de Cerdo incorporates the secondary Tuxtla band, but it’s the only band on that cigar.

Folks know I am not a fan of paper-wrapped cigar bundles. The butcher paper is a cute touch, but it doesn’t have me doing handstands. At the same time, I understand the butcher paper has some historical significance to the brand and the Lomo de Cerdo line, so I can live with it.

OVERALL ASSESSMENT

Final Thoughts

The original Pork Tenderloin indeed received many of the accolades. Based on this, I was pretty excited to smoke the Lomo de Cerdo. Simply put, the Lomo de Cerdo fell short of expectations. I never felt the flavors balanced, as they seemed pushed toward coffee, wood, and earth notes. I was waiting for the flavors to pop, and it just didn’t happen. Instead, the flavors became mundane and unbalanced.

At press time, the Lomo de Cerdo is still on some retail shelves, so it can be obtained. My recommendation is to try a sample first and see what you think.

Summary

Key Flavors: Black Coffee, Wood, Cedar, Dark Chocolate, Fruit, Earth, Pepper
Burn: Excellent
Draw: Excellent
Complexity: Medium
Strength: Medium to Full
Body: Medium to Full
Finish: Very Good