Cigar Reviews
Tatuaje Jackal Cigar Review
Another hot weekend her in El Paso. While the weather is clearing up, my reviews should come more naturally. This week, I take a look at Casa De Montecristo’s exclusive Tatuaje Jackal paired with a bottle of Stone’s Xocoveza Charred.
The Good Stuff:
The Tatuaje Jackal is a limited edition cigar created exclusively for Casa De Montecristo in Countryside, Illinois. Casa De Montecristo states that the cigar has been in the making for 3 years, while it features an ancient Egyptian theme based on the god Anubis who was half man, half jackal. Right away the packaging, and even cigar format reminded me of some of the Tatuaje Monster Series making this release even more exciting. The blend starts with the rare Sancti Spiritus that Pete Johnson has relied on heavily as the main wrapper in many of his L’Atelier Imports blends. Keeping with the monster theme the Jackal then utilizes a mixture of various Nicaraguan filler tobaccos used in Tatuaje Monster series blends. The cigar is offered in one size, a 6.75 x 54 torpedo which sports an unfinished foot similar to the Wolfman. Only 2,000 boxes of 10 were produced and the cigar runs $13.99 per stick which you can only get at Casa de Montecristo in Illinois. Huge thanks goes out to the Casa de Montecristo staff for sending these our way.
Size: 6.75 x 54
Wrapper: Sancti Spiritus
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan
Body: Medium/Full
Strength: Medium
Price: $13.99
Pairing: Stone Xocoveza Charred (Imperial Stout 10% ABV)
Prelight:
The Tatuaje Jackal starts out with a beautifully consistent, milk chocolate brown wrapper. You really have to strain to see any color variations throughout the wrapper. The texture of the wrapper leaf is very rough and toothy, with only some very slight oils. The stand-out characteristic of the Jackal is the unfinished foot which revels a good amount of the binder and filler tobacco extended through the foot of the cigar. There are only a few medium sized veins running through the course of the Jackal’s body leading up to a very sharp, torpedo cap. The wrapper feels very dense, and very firm as the entire cigar is packed very tightly with no soft spots at all. The Jackal is polished off with a simple black and gold band with Pete Johnson’s logo on the front with the words “The Jackal” and “Tatuaje Exclusive Series” printed along the sides.
The wrapper on the Tatuaje Jackal gives off some slight spice and tobacco aromas while the foot of the cigar carries much more spice, pepper, and earthiness. The cap cut clean and easily using my Palio double bladed cutter. The cold draw carries over a ton of spice, sweetness, cocoa, and earthiness.
First Third:
The Tatuaje Jackal starts out with a great little black/cayenne pepper zing that’s heavy enough to leave my lips tingling for a moment. The pepper quickly fades and a much sweeter profile of cocoa, cinnamon, spice, and coffee take over. As the foot burns up to the wrapper much more sweet spice is poured into the equation along with some really nice toffee notes. The draw is flawless, each tiny puff kicks out a great amount of thick smoke while the cigar releases almost no stationary smoke as it rests in my ashtray. the burn line is dead even and razor thin which is always a concern of mine with unfinished feet. The ash left behind is medium and light gray and pretty well compacted as it held on for about and inch before falling into my ashtray.
Second Third:
Into the second third of the Tatuaje Jackal and some of the sweetness has started to take a step back and is now being replaced by some great tea/pine flavors mixed in with the cocoa, coffee, and spice. The retrohale showcases some really bold cedar and sharp spice that you don’t really pick out of the standard smoking experience. It’s a bit too sharp for me though so I don’t find myself retrohaling this cigar too often. The burn line is becoming slightly wavy as I close out the second third, but nothing concerning while I feel nothing in terms of nicotine yet.
Finish:
Into the final third to the Tatuaje Jackal the body and strength have really started to ramp up. The cigar now resides in the medium/full range while the flavors are leading with a bold dark chocolate, spice, and sweetness over the soft coffee, toffee, and pine. A bit of sap built up in the very tail end of the final third causing my to clip a little more off the cap. When I did this, a decent sized crack went through just the wrapper. While this was totally my fault, it didn’t actually change the experience one bit. The cigar still finished nice and clean, creamy, and tasty. It took my about an hour and forty five minutes to take this cigar down to the nub and I experience no harshness, no extra heat, nor did I ever have to reach for my torch to relight or touch this bad boy up.
Overview:
The Tatuaje Jackal is another solid release from Tatuaje and an interesting take on the exclusive series. The flavors are solid, the cigar preformed very well, and the experience was great. This cigar hits on all cylinders without being overpowered by strength. I personally really enjoyed the flavor profile as it is exactly what I look for in a cigar. Due to pricing, and marketing I’d have to compare this cigar to some of the monster releases, and in doing so it fits right in and probably sits right in the middle in terms of favorites. The price is a bit steep, but again, you get what you pay for and in the case of the Jackal its a great, limited edition cigar that preformed from the light of the foot, up to the very last bit of the nub. Since these come in convenient boxes of 10, and are very limited, I’d recommend snatching up a full box from Casa de Montecristo while you still can.
Pairing:
I was all about Stone’s Xocoveza last year, in fact it was probably one of my favorite seasonals. This year, they announced they were making a few variants of the beer and the Charred version was amongst them which quickly turn the idea light on above my head for a cigar pairing. The Stone Xocoveza Charred Mocha Stout is a ale brewed with cocoa, coffee, & spices aged in bourbon barrels. This imperial stout brewed in San Diego, California comes in at a whopping 10%. The stout leads in with some intense sweetness, milk chocolate, cocoa, coffee, and malt with a heavy mouthfeel before finishing even sweeter with creamy milk, chocolate, coffee and a good deal of spice/chile that you only get in the back of your throat on the after taste. As it warms the bourbon starts to come out a bit more, but they hid the booze in this beer very well. The charred chocolate, coffee, and spice paired perfectly with the Tatuaje Jackal. I’d also pair this cigar with a solid Belgian strong ale, quad, or smoked porter.
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