Tatuaje Havana VI

Another Tatuaje gift from a friend in the Saints & Sinners club. The Tatuaje Havana VI has been around for 20 years, but this is my first venture. It’s actually a Pete Johnson-Pepin Garcia Nicaraguan collaboration. The binder and filler are Nicaraguan and covered in an oily, toothy, veiny Ecuador Habana wrapper.

Spice kicks in immediately – a Pete Johnson trademark including a fair amount of pepper followed by ginger, cedar, creamy caramel and lemon peel. Interesting. The pepper is pronounced but not overwhelming. By the second third, you can add some dark roast coffee, bread notes, cashews & peanuts and earthy leather. It’s medium to medium-full bodied and strength.

Good open draw, solid volumes of smoke, a fairly even burn line that went off-kilter only once, and ash that held reasonably well.

Like the little girl in the Longfellow poem, when they’re good, Tatuajes are very good. Glad I finally tried the Havana VI. Chalk it up at a 5.

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