Tatuaje Lomo de Cerdo

Last summer, Tatuaje Cigars shipped the first three releases in the  Tuxtla Series, which sees the company take one of its cigars and replace its wrapper with a Mexican San Andrés. The Tuxtla Series debuted with three different cigars: the Avion ’13, Tatuaje 7th and the Tatuaje T110.

During the 2022 PCA Convention & Trade Show, Tatuaje showed off an addition to the Tuxtla Series, the 5 1/8 x 52 Lomo de Cerdo, which translates to pork loin from Spanish. That Spanish name is appropriate since the original blend that the Lomo de Cerdo is based on is none other than one of Tatuaje’s most sought-after limited editions: the Pork Tenderloin which came out in 2010.

As with the previous Tuxtla releases so far, the Lomo de Cerdo replaces the original wrapper that was used—in the Pork Tenderloin’s case, that was a Connecticut broadleaf wrapper—with a Mexican San Andrés wrapper. Like the Pork Tenderloin did, the Lomo de Cerdo uses Nicaraguan tobacco for the binders and fillers.

• Tatuaje Pork Tenderloin (5 1/8 x 52) (2010)
• Tatuaje Lomo de Cerdo (5 1/8 x 52)

While bundles of the Lomo de Cerdo did not start shipping to retailers until early April, interested consumers were actually given the opportunity to try the blend a month earlier. That is because the same cigar—albeit named the Tatuaje Limited Robusto Especial—was released as part of the latest Cigar Rights of America (CRA) Freedom Sampler. That sampler contains 10 cigars donated by 10 different companies, and the proceeds from the sales of those samplers are used to fund the CRA, one of the three main cigar trade groups.

Out of the 10 cigars in this incarnation of the sampler, three of them appear to be exclusive releases: the Fuente Fuente OpusX The Undefeated, the My Father S Special Toro and the Alec Bradley Double Broadleaf Limited Edition Figurado. In addition, there are three other cigars that are not exclusive to the sampler but are not regular production cigars either.

The first of those cigars is the Padrón Black No. 52, which has been released in previous CRA samplers but is not known to have been sold otherwise. The second cigar is the subject of today’s review, the Tatuaje Limited Robusto Especial. Finally, the Oliva Serie V Melanio Diadema has been included in previous CRA packs and, in 2019, was offered to non-U.S. retailers as a limited edition, but it is not sold as a regular production item.

There are a total of 4,000 CRA Spring 2023 Freedom Samplers, which began shipping to stores on March 1. Rocky Patel Premium Cigars, Inc. handled the fulfillment of these packs and each sampler is sold in a custom Boveda bag that includes a Boveda humidification pack along with the cigars.

 

Each sampler pack retails for $150 and includes one of the following:

• Tatuaje Limited Robusto Especial
• Diamond Crown Julius Caeser Pyramid
• La Flor Dominicana Andalusian Bull
• Fuente Fuente OpusX The Undefeated
• My Father S Special Toro
• Padrón Black No. 52
• Alec Bradley Double Broadleaf Limited Edition Figurado
• Ashton VSG Torpedo
• Oliva Serie V Melanio Diadema
• Sixty by Rocky Patel Toro

The Lomo de Cerdo-branded version of the cigar is priced at $12 per cigar and $300 for a bundle of 25 cigars that were produced by My Father Cigars S.A. at its factory in Estelí, Nicaragua. Pete Johnson, founder of Tatuaje Cigars, told halfwheel that production ended up being just north of 8,000 bundles of cigars, as when the cigar was announced, production wasn’t known as it would be determined by how many cigars were ordered.

As was the case with the Pork Tenderloin back in 2010, the Lomo de Cerdo is notable for its packaging, as the cigars come in 25-count bundles wrapped in butcher paper designed to look like what would be handed across the counter at the butcher shop.

• Cigar Reviewed: Tatuaje Lomo de Cerdo
• Country of Origin: Nicaragua
• Factory: My Father Cigars S.A.
• Wrapper: Mexico (San Andrés)
• Binder: Nicaragua
• Filler: Nicaragua
• Length: 5 1/8 Inches
• Ring Gauge: 52
• Vitola: Robusto Extra
• MSRP: $15 (Sampler of 10, $150)
• Release Date: March 2023
• Number of Cigars Released: 204,000 Total Cigars*
• Number of Cigars Smoked For Review: 3

*There was 4,000 cigars included in the CRA Samplers and more than 8,000 bundles, so at least 204,000 cigars.

A pigtail cap and covered foot are the first things I notice about the Tatuaje Lomo de Cerdo, followed by its dark brown wrapper that has quite a bit of tooth. However, physical inspection reveals that two of the three cigars have caps that seem to be coming off, although one is noticeably worse than the other. Each of the three cigars is very hard when squeezed and features the same small bumps under the wrapper, but one cigar has slightly more oil than the other two. Aromas from the wrappers are fairly strong sweet cedar and barnyard, along with dank earth, leather tack and dark chocolate. Scents from the feet include more cedar, raisin sweetness, espresso beans, hay and tree bark. After straight cuts, the cold draws bring flavors of distinct almonds, gritty earth, nutmeg, brewed black coffee, dark chocolate and a generic dark fruity sweetness.

Significant black pepper and spice combined with cocoa nibs start the cigar off as I light the foot, and while main flavors of sweet cedar and sourdough bread quickly take over the profile, the spice remains noticeable on my tongue through the first third. Secondary notes of dark chocolate, espresso beans, dry hay, earth and cinnamon flit in and out, while the retrohale features plenty of black pepper and raisin sweetness. Flavor ends the first third just over medium, while the strength and body lag behind at just under medium and a point halfway between mild and medium respectively. In terms of construction, there is a copious amount of off-white smoke emanating from the foot and the draws on all three cigars are excellent after simple straight cuts, but the burn on one cigar does need correction with my lighter.

The main flavors shift quite a bit as the second third of the Limited Robusto Especial begins, with a combination of cocoa nibs and generic nuttiness taking over the profile. Additional flavors of sweet cedar, dry hay, toasted bread, bitter espresso and a light vegetal note make themselves known. Although the spice on my tongue from the first third has receded slightly, it is still very noticeable. The retrohale features about the same amount of black pepper on the retrohale compared to the first third, while the raisin sweetness increases a tiny amount. Flavor bumps up to medium-full, the strength increases to a solid medium and the body is slightly under medium. The draw and smoke production continues to impress me for all three cigars, but once again, one of the cigars needs a minor burn correction to keep on track.

The combination of cocoa nibs and generic nuttiness remains at the top of the profile during the final third, followed by secondary flavors of leather tack, toasted bread, espresso beans, hay, cedar and light cinnamon. There is more of both the black pepper and spice in the overall profile—and both continue to increase as the final third burns down—but unfortunately, the amount of raisin sweetness has not increased at all. Flavor remains at medium-full, while the body increases enough to hit a solid medium and the strength ends the cigar at medium-full. Excellent draws and massive smoke production continue to be the norm for all three cigars, but one cigar does need two quick corrections before I put the nubs down with less than an inch remaining to avoid larger issues.

Final Notes

• The Tatuaje Limited Robusto Especial version uses the same band Tatuaje has used for the Mexican Experiment, another series of cigars with San Andrés wrappers. That band first appeared on select Fausto releases.
• When we weighed and measured these cigars, we noticed a few different things: first, two of the cigars had their caps coming off in different ways, as noted above. Second, one of the cigars weighed quite a bit less than the other two: the weights were 11.83 grams, 14.91 grams and 15.17 grams.
• Interestingly, the cigar that weighed 11.83 grams also featured a ring gauge of 50.5, while the other two came in at 52 and 53.
• The Tuxtla Series is named after the municipality that is home to the vast majority of Mexico’s premium cigar industry, including its tobacco-growing region.
• This is not the first time that Tatuaje has used the CRA Freedom Sampler to soft debut a new cigar: the Avion ’13 Tuxtla was launched the same way last year.
• So far, I have reviewed two of the Tuxtla releases—specifically, this one and the Avion ’13 Tuxtla—and I found both of them wanting when compared to their original incarnations.
• My first cigar was noticeably different than the other two: it was stronger—medium-full compared to just slightly over the medium mark—its smoking time was quite a bit longer and the profile was not quite as nuanced overall.
• The cigars included in the CRA Freedom sampler use the Tatuaje Limited bands, which debuted back in 2012 when they were placed on the prerelease version of the Fausto FT114.
• A QR code on the bundle of Lomo de Cerdo brings up the Tatuaje website.
• The cigars smoke for this review were purchased by halfwheel.
• Final smoking time for all three cigars averaged two hours and 14 minutes, although that average was a bit skewed due to the first cigar which took quite a bit longer to smoke than the last two.
• None of our sponsors have the CRA Freedom Sampler in stock at the moment; however, Cigars Direct has singles of the Tatuaje Limited Robusto Especial on its website here, and bundles of the Lomo de Cerdo—which again, are the exact same cigar with different packaging—are in stock at Atlantic Cigar Co., Corona Cigar Co. and JR Cigar.