Tatuaje MBS FK

If you thought that Tatuaje’s Monster Series ended with the release of The Chuck and The Tiff late last year—numbers 12 and 13 in the series, respectively—you would be no longer correct, sort of. While the original Monster Series might have ended with 13 releases, the Monster Series family received another addition earlier this year.

But first, a bit of background on the Monster Series from my review of The Tiff last year:

The Monster Series started in 2008, right around the time that Tatuaje essentially became a household name in the American cigar world. The concept centered around Halloween, more specifically the monster characters from both films and books. Pete Johnson of Tatuaje decided to make cigars based on some of those characters. The cigars would be large, would come packaged in boxes shaped like coffins and decorated to coincide with the specific monster.

In keeping with the Halloween theme, there was also a darker theme to many of the numbers associated with the release. Those boxes would contain 13 cigars, each priced at $13. Tatuaje would only release 666 of those boxes to retailers, the bulk of which went to 13 retailers who received 31 of each box. Most importantly, there would be 13 releases as part of the Monster Series.

While the 13 cigars would share many of the same details, the blends are different. Some are based on existing Tatuaje lines, while others are believed to be unique.

When Tatuaje released The Frank in 2008, there was an expectation—confirmed at various times through the years by owner Pete Johnson—that there would be a total of 13 members of the Monster Series. After the release of the Little Monsters sampler in 2012, that tenet has morphed into the idea that there would be only 13 “full-sized” Monsters, as evidenced by the huge number of subsequent smaller, thinner and sometimes thicker releases incorporating the same blends that have been sold. 

Enter the MBS FK—which stands for Monster Bomb Squad-Freddy Krueger—a 4 x 50 petit robusto that features both a covered foot and a long pigtail protruding from the cap. As the name suggests, the blend is similar to The Kruger, released in 2016, which carried a moniker that was based on the Freddy Krueger character from Wes Craven’s A Nightmare on Elm Street movies.  That specific blend is made up of a Mexican San Andrés wrapper covering a double binder and filler tobaccos from Nicaragua, although Johnson told halfwheel that this version of the blend is a bit more powerful than the original version.

Unlike any of the previous Monster Series releases, the MBS FK was packaged in bundles of 10, with each cigar carrying a retail price of $8.50 per cigar before taxes. There were only 18,000 cigars produced and they started shipping to retailers in mid-June.

• Cigar Reviewed: Tatuaje MBS FK
• Country of Origin: Nicaragua
• Factory: My Father Cigars S.A.
• Wrapper: Mexico (San Andrés)
• Binder: Nicaragua
• Filler: Nicaragua
• Length: 4 Inches
• Ring Gauge: 50
• Vitola: Short Robusto
• MSRP: $8.50 (Bundle of 10, $85)
• Release Date: June 18, 2020
• Number of Cigars Released: 1,800 Bundles of 10 Cigars (18,000 Total Cigars)
• Number of Cigars Smoked For Review: 3

A dark espresso brown wrapper adorning the Tatuaje MBS FK that is both rustic and relatively smooth to the touch, but there is very little oil to be seen. The cigar is quite firm when squeezed and features a closed foot as well as a long pigtail, both of which are nice visual touches that look extremely attractive. Aroma from the wrapper and foot is a combination of strong dark chocolate, earth, leather, cocoa nibs, sourdough bread, generic nuts and raisin sweetness while the cold draw brings flavors of earth, leather, hay, tree bark, peanuts, cedar and slight spice on my tongue.

Lighting up the wrapper that covers the foot of the MBS FK gives me a blast of earth mixed with caramel sweetness, both of which fade a bit as the flame hits the actual foot of the cigar. From there, the profile is easily dominated by a combination of bitter dark chocolate and dried tea leaves, followed closely by notes of peanuts, freshly roasted coffee beans, earth, leather, cocoa powder and a light floral flavor. In addition, the caramel sweetness from the initial puffs gains strength on the retrohale—mixing with quite a bit of black pepper as well as some slight spice that is still present on my tongue—while the finish is full of a distinct jalapeño pepper on the finish. The draw is excellent from the first puff with just the right amount of resistance after I do nothing but pull the pigtail off of the cap, and while the burn is decent so far, it is far from razor-sharp at this stage. Strength-wise, the Tatuaje is a bit lighter than I expected to start but does increase enough to reach a point closer to medium than mild by the time the first third is finished.

As the second third of the new Tatuaje begins, the profile is becoming a bit creamier on the palate, with flavors of cedar and dark chocolate take over the top spot. Lesser notes of earth, peanuts, espresso beans, dried tea leaves, cinnamon, hay and slight floral flit in and out, but the jalapeño pepper on the finish is relatively unchanged. The amount of caramel sweetness on the retrohale increases dramatically compared to the first third, but the level of both the spice on my tongue and the black pepper is noticeably reduced. Construction-wise, the draw continues to give me no issues, but the burn becomes bad enough to need touching up—albeit just once—while the strength increases noticeably, ending the second third firmly in the medium range.

The profile of the MBS FK shifts again during the final third, specifically to a combination of creamy peanuts and bitter dark chocolate. Additional flavors of cinnamon, coffee beans, earth, leather and hay ebb and flow in different amounts, while the jalapeño pepper on the finish starts to fade slightly. In addition, the caramel sweetness on the retrohale is at about the same level as the second third, while the black pepper reduces slightly. Overall, the construction continues to impress, with an excellent draw and a burn that evens up nicely, while the strength hits a point just past the medium mark by the time I put the nub down with less than an inch remaining.  

Final Notes

• Johnson told halfwheel that future additions to the MBS line are “up in the air but the plan is to have them.”
• Over the years, I have been conditioned to think that any cigar around this size with a long pigtail that has been glued under the band and a covered foot is an addition to New Hampshire-based retailer Two Guys Smoke Shop’s Firecracker Series. Having said that, the vast majority of the releases in the Firecracker Series have measured between 3 and 3 3/4 inches, albeit in the same 50 ring gauge.

• Speaking of the pigtail, when there is one on a cigar I am smoking, I usually just put the pigtail off instead of cutting the cap, as I find that usually gives an almost perfect draw. That was the case with the MBS as well, although I was surprised at how small the resulting hole was.
• At 4 x 50, this is actually not the shortest Monster to date: it actually shares that title with the Chuck and Tiff, both of which were released in 2014.
• As I mentioned in my review of The Krueger, each of the bands on the Monster series cigars— and especially the colors of the bands—are representative of the specific Monster Series they are attached to. In an email, Johnson told me that the red lettering on a green background is meant to invoke Freddy Krueger’s signature sweater that he wears in the movies.
• The cigars smoked for this review were purchased by halfwheel.
• Final smoking time averaged one hour and two minutes for all three samples.