The cigar lit easy enough and I was rewarded with a nice taste with plenty of smoke. I tasted hints of the regular Tatuaje Havana line, but with a bit more peppery spice and creaminess. I don't like the Havana line as well as the Brown labels but the added flavors are making this a good cigar. After the first inch or so the ash fell off on its own, which surprised me a little, but it continued to deliver good flavors and the burn stayed true. The draw is fairly loose. I didn't cut much off the head of this torpedo but nonetheless, the draw is much more loose than I like it.
The above picture was taken soon after the first ash fell off. I was losing some of the creaminess I had experienced before and the flavors were getting harsh. The next picture was taken about 20min after the above picture. Notice how little the ash had progressed.
After another 15 minutes the ash falls off on its own again and I see why the flavors became harsh: the cigar is tunneling. I'm not sure why it's doing this, but the wrapper is simply not keeping up with the rest of the cigar and it is definitely affecting the taste. Here is what the cigar looks like after the next ash fell. On its own:
I apologize for the lack of hi-res photos, but you hopefully you can get what was going on. The cigar goes out twice in the next 30min as the tunneling continues. While I was touching it up to keep the cigar burning in harmony, I still get the initial flavors and they are wonderful. Unfortunately this lasts only minutes as the wrapper is next to flame retardant. This next photo is just past the half-way mark as I am battling this thing much too hard.
Again, I apologize for the crappy Blackberry pics, but if you look, you can see an indentation at the top of the cigar. This indentation goes all around the cigar and is straight and true. This indentation is the filler and binder burning evenly underneath that flame retardant wrapper. And this is the only tastes I am getting from the cigar. Soon after that last pic I toss almost half of the cigar out the window as I am through fighting it. What started out as a flavorful cigar quickly turned into a bitter hassle. What a disappointment. In contrast, here is a pic of the Anejo I smoked last week. Man, that was a real treat.
