Tatuaje Reserva K222 Broadleaf

At the 2016 IPCPR Convention and Trade Show, Tatuaje unveiled something big – both figuratively and literally. It was a 100-cigar master case with 10 bundles of 10 cigars from the Seleccion de Cazador line that featured a Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper, called the Tatuaje Reserva Broadleaf Collection.

The massive case retails for $1,200, using each of the original cigar’s MSRP to get to that total.

The 10 cigars used feature the original six from the line, along with four other releases under the Seleccion de Cazador, or Brown Label line.

• Tatuaje Havana Cazadores Reserva Broadleaf (6 3/8 x 43) — $11 (Boxes of 10, $110)
• Tatuaje Unicos Reserva Broadleaf (6 1/8 x 002) — $12 (Boxes of 10, $120)
• Tatuaje Noellas Reserva Broadleaf (5 1/8 x 42) — $9 (Boxes of 10, $90)
• Tatuaje Tainos Reserva Broadleaf (7 5/8 x 49) — $13 (Boxes of 10, $130)
• Tatuaje Especiales Reserva Broadleaf (7 1/2 x 38) — $11 (Boxes of 10, $110)
• Tatuaje Regios Reserva Broadleaf (5 1/2 x 50) — $11 (Boxes of 10, $110)
• Tatuaje Reserva SW Broadleaf (7 x 47) — $13 (Boxes of 10, $130)
• Tatuaje Reserva J21 Broadleaf (5 x 50) — $12 (Boxes of 10, $120)
• Tatuaje Reserva K222 Broadleaf (5 7/8 x 52) — $14 (Boxes of 10, $140)
• Tatuaje Cojonu 2003 Reserva Broadleaf (6 1/2 x 52) — $14 (Boxes of 10, $140)

• Cigar Reviewed: Tatuaje Reserva K222 Broadleaf
• Country of Origin: Nicaragua
• Factory: My Father Cigars S.A.
• Wrapper: Connecticut Broadleaf
• Binder: Nicaragua
• Filler: Nicaragua
• Length: 5 7/8 Inches
• Ring Gauge: 52
• Vitola: Toro
• MSRP: $14 (Boxes of 10, $140)
• Release Date: Feb. 14, 2017
• Number of Cigars Released: Regular Production
• Number of Cigars Smoked For Review: 3

As expected with the Connecticut broadleaf, the wrapper of the Reserva K222 is rough and has a nice oily feel to it. It’s quite firm with just a little give, falling short of what I would call hard. Off the wrapper come big barnyard notes of damp earth, hay, some musty wood and leather. The cold draw brings a very distinct but light note of cocoa, intermingled with leather, light black pepper and a bit of dried fruits.

Starting into the first third, all three samples produce mostly the same flavors with strong leather, spice, and lots of black pepper up front. Once the pepper settles down, though only slightly, earth and a touch of coffee show up in the background. The burn doesn’t start out perfect, but quickly corrects itself to a sharp, even line that is quite impressive. Dense ash holds on strong, not even wanting to let go after the inch mark. While the leather, spice, pepper, earth and coffee are all quite bold notes, they work together to produce a cohesive profile that fills the area around me with a pleasant aroma.

Starting into the second third, my experiences with the K222 start to deviate. One sample continues to produce the same bold profile with spice and black pepper leading the charge, followed up by the leather, earth and coffee notes. The second sample starts developing some harshness, potentially stemming from the very dominant black pepper note, while the rest of the flavors fade. The third sample has lost most of its profile, instead producing some harsh, metallic notes. Among all three samples the burn started to have some issues here as well, with an entire section of the cigar lagging behind and needing touched up.

As I move into the final third, the one sample that is the smoothest continues to produce a profile led by black pepper and spice, along with a stronger earth and leather note, though it I do notice the coffee is fading into the background. The other two samples seem to come back to a common theme of strong black pepper, a bit of spice and an undertone of harshness that puts a bit of a damper on the profile. All three samples need a significant touch up when more than half of the cigar stops burning, though after that they stay mostly on track. As the Reserva K222 wraps up, it never lets up on the black pepper or spice, continuing to pump out those bold notes to the very end.

Final Notes

• Normally if I have one sample that doesn’t match up with the other two I’ll add a short review of it down here in the final notes, but all three samples were so different it almost required the type of tasting notes you see above.
• Originally 5,000 cases were to be released, but back in February it was announced that the total number of 100-cigar cases would be reduced significantly, and instead packaging the remaining cigars into 10-count boxes for each size.
• The total of 500,000 cigars for the project weren’t reduced, though it wasn’t specified how many cases and boxes would be released to reach that total number. Update: Pete Johnson told halfwheel the company made around 60,000 cigars, enough to fill 600 master cases and “some” 10-count sets.
• Tatuaje Cigars and L’Atelier Imports were separate from the My Father booth this year, as the brands have grown to the point where they needed that space to themselves. You can see our coverage of the booth here.
• You can hear Pete Johnson talk about the Reserva Broadleaf collection here – which he does mention was his favorite thing in the booth.
• Tatuaje advertises on halfwheel.
• Cigars for this review were purchased by halfwheel.
• Final smoking time averaged right around two hours.
• If you would like to purchase any of the Tatuaje Reserva Broadleaf Collection, site sponsors Atlantic Cigar, Corona Cigar Co. and Elite Cigar Cafe (972.661.9136) all have various vitolas and configurations in stock.