Tatuaje Announces Tuxtla Series, Schedules for May Release

Pete Johnson is giving a new spin to three cigars in the Tatuaje portfolio by way of a Mexican San Andrés wrapper and a project he is calling Tuxtla.

Given the nature of the project, it is a fitting name as San Andrés Tuxtla is the name of the city and municipality that is home to the vast majority of Mexico’s premium cigar industry, including its tobacco growing region.

Johnson is kicking off the project with three cigars that will get a Mexican San Andrés wrapper: the Avion 13, Tatuaje 7th, and the Tatuaje T110, all of which will be limited editions, will come in 25-count boxes, and are scheduled to ship in May.

The Avion 13 Tuxtla is a 6 7/8 x 52 perfecto that will have an MSRP of $12.50 per cigar and is limited to 2,000 boxes. The original Avion 13 came out in August 2013 and was the fifth in a series of annual releases of box-pressed perfectos which was born out of Tatuaje’s Fausto line. That original version used a Connecticut broadleaf wrapper and a Nicaraguan double binder and filler.

The Tatuaje 7th Tuxtla is a 5 5/8 x 46 corona that will have an MSRP of $9.50 per cigar and is also limited to 2,000 boxes. It is a variant on the Tatuaje Seleccion de Cazador 7th, which dates back more than a decade and has previously been offered in three wrapper options: an Ecuadorian habano, an Ecuadorian Sumatra, and a Connecticut broadleaf, all of which use a dual binder of Nicaraguan tobacco and a Nicaraguan filler.

Finally, the Tatuaje T110 Tuxtla is a 4 3/8 x 52 petit robusto that will have an MSRP of $10 per cigar and will be getting 4,000 boxes. Dating back to 2009, the T110 line returned to store shelves in 2021 in three wrapper variations, an Ecuadorian habano, an Ecuadorian Sumatra, and a Connecticut broadleaf, each with a Nicaraguan dual binder and filler. The Ecuadorian Sumatra-wrapped version, known as the Tatuaje T110 Capa Especial, finished #3 on halfwheel‘s Top 25 Cigars of 2021 list.

“I’m excited for people to try these cigars,” Johnson told halfwheel. “The San Andrés wrapper really shows how much the wrapper can change the flavor of a cigar. We are very particular when using San Andrés making sure we use it on blends that can stand up to the heavier flavor. I think these blends work perfectly.”

While Tatuaje’s blends largely focus on Nicaraguan tobacco with frequent usage of Ecuadorian-grown and Connecticut broadleaf wrappers, Johnson is no stranger to using Mexican tobacco, having released the Tatuaje Mexican Experiment and Tatuaje ME II lines in 2019, both of which were follow-ups to limited releases he created using Mexican San Andrés wrappers in 2012. He also used a Mexican-grown wrapper on The Face, the third installment of the Monster Series, and has used the wrapper on releases for the Tobacconists’ Association of America, including the Tatuaje TAA 51th that was released in 2019.

Johnson told haflwheel that he is planning to add more cigars to the Tuxtla series in the future, and that some of the releases could end up becoming full production offerings.

Update — Shortly after this story was published, Pete Johnson shared some additional information about the Tuxtla series, which has been added to the story.

Image courtesy of Tatuaje Cigars.