Cigar Review by Steve Royston (guest)
Cigar Photography by Jay L (cigarphoto.net)
This week we are photographing and reviewing the Tatuaje Avion 2013 ‘Habano’ prerelease. Back in May of 2013 Pete Johnson of Tatuaje reported mid production change to the Avion 2013. Instead of using the Habano Ecuador wrapper, the official Avion 2013 will be wrapped in the Connecticut Broadleaf. For those who were excited about the Habano wrapper, there is good news. The Tatuaje Avion 2013 ‘Habano’ is now arriving at your local B&M as ‘limited’ release. Here is the breakdown:
Avion 13 Habano Ecuador (aka. Avion 13 FFs):
- Habano Ecuador (wrapper), Nicaraguan binder & filler
- 6 7/8 x 52
- bundles of 10 (total of 7,500 cigars)
- LIMITED band
Avion 13 Connecticut Broadleaf Reserva:
- Connecticut Broadleaf (wrapper), Nicaraguan binder & filler
- 6 7/8 x 52
- Boxes of 20
- 2 bands – Standard Avion & Reserva
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The Tatuaje Avion 2013 ‘Habano’ is aesthetically perfect and the roll is firm to the touch. Wrapper is gorgeous with just a touch of a mottled look. Cutting a little more than a 1/4 inch reveals an impeccable draw. The cold draw allows flavors of strong tobacco and cayenne pepper to come on strong. Cayenne flavor without the spice. The initial light up gives off bold spice notes across the palate and in the retrohale. The aftertaste turns to a sweet, slightly creamy, cedar flavor. A full inch in, I am amazed how smooth this cigar is for being as fresh as it is. The spice really backed down quickly. (side note: As was expected with the perfecto shape, the burn started a bit crooked but evened out nicely.) The dominant flavor now is sweet, creamy cedar with a touch of toastiness in the aftertaste. There is also a wonderful effervescence on the retrohale. I’ve noticed this a lot in Tatuaje cigars. The way I’ve described it before is – menthol without the mint, just the cooling sensation.
Passing the 1/3 mark, a spice note has picked back up, both across the palate and in the retrohale. But more like a softer, white pepper spice. At the halfway mark, the spice is creeping up and intensifying. A subtle richness is starting to develop and is very enjoyable in the aftertaste, especially after the spicy retrohale. It’s a really enjoyable combination to get a creaminess across the palate, while getting an intense spice on the retrohale.
Coming into the final 1/3, there is a slight tingle on the tip of my tongue and a spicy heat in the back of my throat. I should have mentioned this sooner, but the cedar flavor basically disappeared going into the halfway mark. I would have liked to see it stick around, but I’m not complaining about the direction the smoke went. The effervescence I mentioned earlier has really intensified. It is certainly not unpleasant, but I might attribute it to the freshness of the cigar. Coming into the finish, the profile has remained fairly consistent. Spicy retrohale, creamy across the palate, and a nice richness in the aftertaste.
Final thoughts:
I was amazed at how smooth this cigar was for how recently it was rolled. It was complex enough but with very discernable flavors. I see no issue with smoking these right out of the box upon release. However, I believe that putting some age on these will reward you handsomely. I know I will be smoking a lot of these! Happy smoking my friends!
- click on photographs (slideshow)-
