Tatuaje Havana VI Verocu Blue

By Tony Casas | August 29, 2022

In an attempt to keep up with all the new releases that have been hitting the market I am back on the review game this afternoon taking a look at the new Tatuaje Havana VI Verocu Blue paired with Bow & Arrow Brewing’s Magic Desert Shop Imperial stout beer.

The Good Stuff:

The Tatuaje Verocu took the cigar community by force back in 2007, with me included. It was always a blend that I rather enjoyed and have consistently smoked through the years. At this year’s annual PCA show Pete Johnson of Tatuaje showcased the newest update to the blend, the Tatuaje Havana VI Verocu Blue. The Tatuaje Havana VI Verocu Blue features a Corojo 99 rosado shade grown wrapper which should be the same wrapper featured on the Escasos line, and all Nicaraguan binder and fillers which are all grown by the My Father Cigars Garcia family. The blend is offered in only two sizes: No. 1 (6 1/4 x 52) and No. 2 (5 1/2 x 54). Both come packaged in both boxes of 20 and cabinets of 50 and both sizes run $12 per stick. I purchased mine over from our good friends at Fox Cigar.

• Size: 6 1/4 x 52
• Wrapper: Corojo 99 rosado
• Binder: Nicaraguan
• Filler: Nicaraguan
• Body: Full
• Strength: Medium/Full
• Price: $12
• Pairing: Bow & Arrow Magic Desert Shop (Imperial Stout 12% ABV)

Prelight:

The Tatuaje Havana VI Verocu Blue starts out with a consistent, light, yellowish brown wrapper. The wrapper feels very delicate and thin with a rather smooth texture and lots of oils coating it. The wrapper showcases some mild veining and natural webbing in the tobacco leaf as it is laid seamlessly over itself leading up to the cigar’s round, double-wrapped cap. Like all cigars in the Verocu line the cigar features a red and white bland with the “Tatuaje” logo, however unique to this blend the secondary band that carries the “Verocu” crest is a deep, dark blue to match it’s name.

The wrapper on the Tatuaje Havana VI Verocu Blue gives off bold musk, caramel, and pecan aromas while the foot of the cigar is much more earthy with notes of natural tobacco and spice. The cap cut like butter using my Xikar XO double bladed cutter. The cold draw produces notes of caramel, honey, and musk.

First Third:

The Tatuaje Havana VI Verocu Blue starts out with starts out with a pretty impressive burst of cayenne pepper which really sent my tongue on fire for a few seconds but faded just as quickly as it started allowing the cigar to release bold notes of pecan, caramel and honey over musk, vanilla, and earthiness with some light piney/floral flavors surrounding it. The draw is absolutely perfect as each puff kicks out a huge cloud of thick white smoke which dissipates very quickly while the cigar releases almost no stationary smoke while it rests in my ashtray. The burn line is razor thin and dead even leaving behind a trail of tightly compacted white and light gray ash which held on for about an inch before falling into my stupid lap cause I waited too long to knock it.

Second Third:

Into the second third of the Tatuaje Havana VI Verocu Blue and the spice has really kicked it up a notch here. While the spice is taking over the pecan, caramel and musk are still pouring it on, especially the caramel. Backed by vanilla, musk, and earthiness the floral flavors have all but dropped out. The retrohale pours on the spice and even brings out some of the pepper I picked up at the start so I don’t find myself doing it too often.

Finish:

Into the final third of the Tatuaje Havana VI Verocu Blue and the flavors remain much of the same, but are really kicking it into high gear. Loads of pecan, caramel and musk lead the way with lighter notes of vanilla, spice, musk and a real subtle yet tasty coffee flavor has snuck its way into the mix. It took me almost 2 hours to take this down to the nub and I didn’t want it to end. There was no extra heat, no harshness, and absolutely zero burn issues as this cigar performed flawlessly from start to finish. The Tatuaje Havana VI Verocu Blue left me with a small little nicotine kick as I close out.

Overview:

I really love the Verocu line and let me just say, the Verocu Blue blows it out of the water. I am a HUGE fan of the Escasos line and what I am learning is just how incredible this wrapper is. It completely changes the entire experience by adding this incredible caramel and honey-forward flavor profile which married up extremely well with the Verocu blend. While these are selling like hotcakes right now I hope that I can add many more to my humidor so that I can get them into my regular rotation.

Pairing:

Magic Desert Shop is an imperial stout brewed with coffee, almonds, vanilla and amaretto aged in Rabbit Hole bourbon barrels. Brewed at the Bow & Arrow brewery in Albuquerque, New Mexico this 12% ABV beer leads with loads of sweet chocolate, brown sugar, vanilla, malt, and almond with a very sticky and heavy mouthfeel before finishing with even more vanilla, brown sugar, and malt over a great coffee flavor and amaretto aftertaste. It tastes like tiramisu. This paired great with the nutty flavors found in the Tatuaje Havana VI Verocu Blue and added another level of sweetness that brought this pairing to a whole new level.