With all of the Tatuaje buzz going into and coming out of this years IPCPR, especially with the all broadleaf La Casita, I thought it would be fun to go back and revisit one of Pete’s big broadleaf hits from last years show … the Petit Cazadores Reserva.

Name: Tatuaje Petit Cazadores Reserva

Vitola: Petit Corona?

Size: 4 x 40

Wrapper: Connecticut Broadleaf

Binder: Nicaraguan

Filler: Nicaraguan

Factory: My Father Cigar Factory (Esteli, Nicaragua)

Country: Nicaragua

MSRP: $5-ish

Time in Humidor: 3 Months

Cut: Xikar Multi Tool

Light: Ronson JetLight

Beverage: Bottled Water

Smoking Time: 1 hour

The Story

I asked Pete about the story behind this little, broadleaf covered Cazadore and he said it came about because they had too many pieces of scrap broadleaf that weren’t big enough to use on larger cigars. He said that he’d been wanting to make a smaller cigar and that the Cazadore lineup made sense as it was his personal favorite filler blend … and so the Tatuaje Petit Cazadores Reserva came to be.

Lighting

Pre-light observations are that the look of the cigar is great … dark, somewhat speckled broadleaf wrapper, solid body feel and unfinished foot (of which i’m always a fan!). The wrapper smells of barnyard (slighly of manure) and molasses while the clipped head has an opening of brown sugar followed very distinctly by rasin (rediculously pungent for a pre-light). Pre-light draw, although very slightly muted by the unfinished foot, was very rich and sugary and I had a good feeling that the draw was going to have the perfect amount of resistance.

The unfinished foot lights quickly and the diminutive cigar instantly puts off a lot of thick smoke. The first several puffs are very pepper heavy but after the pepper settles down a bit a dark berry flavor (almost like jam) and dark baker’s chocolate are feintly detectible.

First Third

The flavors from light-up continue through the remainder of the first third. The ambient nose is of tobacco and wood with a hint of sweetness. The burn is exellent (which is very impressive considering the humidity outside) and the smoke production is still excellent. Thus far there’s been a LOT of very high quality for the price.

Second Third

The pepper is still heavy and the dark berries and tobacco are still there but they’re being overtaken by black coffee, heavy wood and chewy leather. I’m picking up more of a jam flavor (not unlike “jammy” red wine) and pepper in the nose of the smoke and the construction and smoke production are still excellent. Midway through this third is when the nicotine started to really become evident so I’m glad I’d eaten lunch not too long before smoking.

Final Third

The final third was much the same as the middle with the only exception being that the berry disappeared and black coffee, wood, leather pepper rounded things out. The little cigar got hot and slightly vegetal at the end but the stick can hardly be blamed for that with the humidity and heat and the fact that i was puffing a bit quickly at this point for such a small rg. So, as with the previous thirds, the burn and smoke production were great.

For the Novice

I don’t feel 100% confortable saying yes, but at the same time I won’t say no. There’s a noticable nicotine kick so just make sure you eat a full meal before smoking.

In the End

Don’t be fooled by it’s size … this little smoke is packed with flavor and has a pretty solid nic kick as well. I typically prefer sweeter cigars then this but I found the flavor to be very full and the dark berry to be very nice. It’s a small cigar but at $5 I think it represents good value for money. I’m sure there are some that will argue that there are great smokes out there for a lot less then $5 but I think that the quality of this cigar really makes it worth the while.

If only all industry “waste not, want not” ventures ended as successfully as this one.

92. Full, rich flavor at a good price. It’d have come in a touch higher if there was a little more sweetness but that has more to do with personal preference then anything else.