Thanks to DR HQ (AKA S&M Smoke Shop) I’ve been able to pick up a lot of these Tatuaje Skinny Monsters to review. I’m not one to buy into hype or gimmicks but as a horror movie lover I took the bait. I started with the Frank and enjoyed it so I decided to move onto the Drac to see if it held up in quality and flavor and was happy that it did so and more.

Investigation of the cigar shows a relatively smooth wrapper with some noticeable veining. It is dark chocolate in color and has a muted oily sheen. The smell from the body reminds me of sweet milk chocolate and cinnamon, while the smell from the foot is far less sweet and more of a barnyard, tobacco and hints of spices odor. It doesn’t feel as rigid as most lanceros and gives to pressure but still feels full and rolled well with no apparent dead spots.

The cap cuts easily with no damage to the construction. The cold draw is easy and open offering the expected tobacco flavors with a hint of sweetness noticed from the body. From the first few draws it is immediately peppery with a long spicy finish.

After taking it down a ¼ inch it becomes not quite as spicy as when first started but the pepper and spice is still present. It has a good full earthy flavor with some leather notes. Plenty of heavy smoke production along with a light grey ash with a few dark hints to it. Burn remains fairly even with no trouble.

In the second half it mellows out considerably overall but retains the spicy/pepper finish. It tends to have more of a leathery cedar flavor. Ash doesn’t hang on for very long but the construction is tiptop and burns even. The smoke continues to be plentiful and pleasantly heavy on the tongue. Towards the end of the second half the flavor intensifies again bringing back more of a full flavor to the stick.

Since these guys are still pretty easy to find I’d strongly recommend picking up a few. If you like a fuller flavor cigar then this is the one for you. As far as lanceros go this has been one of my favorites so far. The flavor comes out strong and then settles into a nice rich medium flavor that for its size you wouldn’t think possible. Really an excellent job Tatuaje!

 

Wrapper: Ecuadorian Habano Maduro

Binder: Nicaragua

Filler: Nicaragua

Country of Origin: Nicaragua (My Father Cigars SA)

Website: Tatuajecigars.com

Rating: 4.6 out of 5 pints