With the heat warnings flying around the country and my discovery that many of these Monster cigars do not benefit from stifling temperatures or the humidity that accompanies them in these parts, I chose to smoke this in the early morning.
1/3: Nice peppery taste that was surprisingly not overpowering. See what early morning temperatures can do?
2/3: The pepper continues with some wood notes.
3/3: The wood has now decided that it is hickory. As this final third closes out, jalapeño bbq sauce joins in. Rather tasty bbq sauce if you ask me.
The Creature is a new one for me. I don't even think that this one was released on itself. It has a unique shape with a tapered foot, similar to the Cabaiguan Britanica Extra.
1/3: I swear I'm not saying this because of the cigar's referenced monster but ... if you were to take collard greens, and remove most (but not all) of the vinegar taste and substitute it with just enough brown sugar to give it an underlying sweet taste. That's what I taste.
2/3: The sweetness picks up a bit. Black pepper is faint but it is there in the background.
3/3: Sweetness is now the prominent flavor and...
Creature 2024 Monster Smash is up. A big milestone has happened- we have finished the Monster aspect of this review series. 28 cigars reviewed in the last 59 days!
This is the final Monster review before we get onto a mish-mash of Tatuaje cigars, most notably the Cojonu 2012 line.
1/3: A bit harsh on the light. Maybe I dry boxed it too long? The harshness is transitioning to leather and cinnamon.
2/3: The cinnamon continues and a faint vinegar note joins in.
3/3: Vinegar is joined by brown sugar, getting back to the essence of the 2021!
Final Thoughts: I am bummed that I dry boxed this too long as I was looking forward to a repeat of the 2021. Definitely one that I will seek out.
Having had a week or so to catch my breath following the completion of 28 monster cigar reviews, I reemerged with the most recent Tenderloin cigar to help get me back on the horse.
1/3: Spicy on the retrohale. Maybe even a little cinnamon sweetness. There is a smoked meat flavor coming through as well. I want to say pulled pork, but perhaps that is just the name of the cigar messing with me.
2/3: There is a bit of wood smoke in this. I also notice some raisins too, interesting! As I get towards the end of this middle third, I start to get notes of wheat toast.
3/3: This final third is...
This is toro, though it seems more like a corona extra- which is probably my favorite size but with all this talk of the Petit Corona version of the Black Label, I am going to have to try some of those. As the story goes, Pete released these back in 2007 or 2008 following a trip to Cuba where he was given a farm rolled cigar from a guy which turned out to be the best cigar he smoked while there.
1/3: Graham cracker and cinnamon. Simple but very nice.
2/3: More of the same. Sometimes this turns me off since I'm used to changes in flavors between the first and middle thirds. Those two...
Again, going back to a core line.
1/3: Tart cherry and some black pepper.
2/3: Caramel and tart cherry.
3/3: In this final third, all of these flavors came together so it was tart cherry, pepper and the sweetness of caramel.
Final thoughts: Another Tat core line that just rocks when you sip it.
Back in 2007, Pete intorduced the Verocu line with a west coast (No. 1 Lado Occidental) and the east coast (No. 2 Zona del Este). From that spurred the Verocu line. It is reported to be a stepped up version of the Red Label.
1/3: Cherries with some sort of cabinet spice and eventually some sort of sweetness that I have yet to identify.
2/3: White pepper and cane sugar dominate this middle third.
3/3: The white pepper changes to black pepper while the sugar cane continues.
Final thoughts: I don't know if its a stronger version of the Red Label but it is different. This little cigar that...
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