Tatuaje TAA 2022

I’m not sure what there’s left to say about the Tatuaje TAA Series.

Somehow, this is only the third Tatuaje TAA cigar I’ve reviewed since the series debuted in 2011. When the original Tatuaje TAA 2011 was announced, it was probably celebrated for being based on the Pork Tenderloin. Following a high rating from Brooks Whittington at Smoking Stogie, one of the predecessors to halfwheel, the Tatuaje Pork Tenderloin quickly went from a single-store exclusive for a shop in Boston to a must-smoke for Tatuaje’s most ardent fans.

Pete Johnson, Tatuaje’s founder, revealed shortly thereafter that the Pork Tenderloin blend—described as a Connecticut broadleaf wrapper over a Nicaraguan binder and Nicaraguan fillers—would be used for another single-store exclusive Tatuaje, this time for Barclay Rex in New York City. Steve Valle, who wrote for Smoking Stogie, rated that cigar quite highly and the 2010 hype train for new Tatuaje cigars with Connecticut broadleaf wrappers had fully left the station. Fortunately for those that missed out on those two cigars, the Tatuaje TAA 2011 was sold at more than 40 stores; and perhaps best of all, this was the first in what has become a long-running series.

As the name implies, the Tatuaje TAA is made for the Tobacconists’ Association of America (TAA), a fairly small group of some of the country’s top tobacconists, about 80 retailers, as well as 40 or so manufacturers. The association gathers annually to discuss issues facing the industry and retailers, as well as to have its annual trade show, a unique event that works on a group buying format in order to secure exclusive deals for these generally high-volume merchants.

During the event—the 2022 version of which took place in late March in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico—the organization holds two selling events, one known as the Dream Machine, where the retailers collectively order to secure larger discounts, while the other is a more traditional trade show. Typically, around a dozen manufacturers release new and exclusive cigars for the retail members of the organization under the TAA Exclusive Series Program banner. Those manufacturers agree to give a portion of the proceeds to the organization, a minimum of 50 cents per cigar.

This is the 11th Tatuaje TAA release and the eighth to use a Connecticut broadleaf wrapper. As you can see above, the 11 different releases have generally followed a similar format: Connecticut broadleaf wrapper, a box-pressed vitola sized between a robusto and toro, and a covered foot. Because there was no Tatuaje TAA 2021, this is the first time Connecticut broadleaf has been used since the 2018 release.

The 2022 version is perhaps most notable because Tatuaje added a sister cigar of sorts, the Tatuaje PCA 2022. Both cigars use a Nicaraguan binder—like many cigars made at My Father Cigars S.A.—it’s described as a double binder—and Nicaraguan fillers. They are both 5 3/8 x 52 box-pressed robusto extras, with an MSRP of $14.50 per cigar and limited to 20,000 cigars. The differences are that the PCA 2022 uses an Ecuadorian Sumatra wrapper, the PCA 2022 was offered to retailers who placed orders during the 2022 PCA Convention & Trade Show, and the packaging differs.

One other wrinkle for the TAA 2022, it showed up later than Tatuaje’s TAA cigars typically arrive. In this case, it was January of the following year.

There will be a Tatuaje TAA 2023 and a Tatuaje PCA 2023. The size will be 6 3/8 x 54 and the two cigars will have different wrappers, though those wrappers have not yet been announced.

Tatuaje donated 50 cents per cigar to each organization, meaning the Tobacconists’ Association of America, Ltd. and Premium Cigar Association each received $10,000 from the sale of these cigars.

• Cigar Reviewed: Tatuaje TAA 2022
• Country of Origin: Nicaragua
• Factory: My Father Cigars S.A.
• Wrapper: U.S.A. (Connecticut Broadleaf)
• Binder: Nicaragua
• Filler: Nicaragua
• Length: 5 3/8 Inches
• Ring Gauge: 52
• Vitola: Robusto Extra
• MSRP: $14.50 (Box of 20, $290)
• Release Date: January 2023
• Number of Cigars Released: 1,000 Boxes of 20 Cigars (20,000 Total Cigars)
• Number of Cigars Smoked For Review: 3

If you took the band off, told me this was a Tatuaje and asked me to guess “what Tatuaje,” the response would be “TAA of some year.” The Tatuaje TAA 2022 looks like most of the TAA releases that have come before it: a dark reddish-brown wrapper with a rustic look, an above-average box press and a covered foot. The wrapper has many veins, but they integrate themselves well thanks to the rustic appearance. Getting closer to the wrapper reveals some mottling as well as some minor tears in various places. When squeezed, the cigars are pretty dense. The aroma from the wrapper is medium-full with lots of barnyard and acidic flavors. There’s some leather and bergamot behind that duo, but there’s not much lurking outside of those four flavors. There’s a small amount of filler that is visible through the covered foot and it seems to make a big difference in terms of what I smell. The foot’s aroma is much sweeter with hickory and graham cracker, though I still smell quite a bit of the wrapper’s profile. Cold draws have chocolate, leather, acidity and sweet wood flavors. It’s medium-full and has an edge to it that suggests this cigar has a decent amount of nicotine. While I didn’t notice much ammonia when I deliberately smelled the wrapper, when the cigar is in my mouth for a cold draw, the ammonia aroma is present.

The Tatuaje TAA 2022 starts with damp woods, quickly replaced by a multi-dimensional earthiness and then leather, creaminess and red pepper for the finish of the very first puff. It settles into a mineral-laden earthiness over some watered-down barnyard, black pepper, a more intense red pepper, toastiness and some leather. While bread flavors are present every once in a while, there’s nothing strong enough and different enough to provide contrast to the spicy earthy profile. The finish is milder in terms of intensity, though it’s still quite sharp. Earthiness, black pepper and sweet bread flavors coat the inside of my mouth, while there’s red pepper on the back of my throat. Lavender is present on some puffs, but not regularly. The third cigar is decidedly different with creaminess over earthiness along with some chilled white wine flavor and a small amount of pepper. Retrohales are more straightforward than the main flavor, and I think it’s for the better. Red pepper and a reduced amount of black pepper are the first things I detect, followed by woodiness and some mild green grape flavors. There’s not much of a change until five seconds after the smoke has left my nose, then I find some generic crackers and burnt flavors. Two cigars have an inconsistent toasty herbal flavor on the rertrohale’s finish. Flavor is medium-full or full, body is medium-full and strength is medium-full. Construction is excellent during the first third of each cigar.

Fortunately, there are noticeable changes in the second third. It’s not to say that the Tatuaje TAA 2022 sheds its spicy earthiness core, but there’s finally some distinct areas of contrast. The spicy earthiness is joined by varying levels of a tortilla chip-like crisp bread flavor. In addition, the woody flavors seem sweeter and more pronounced than they were in the first third, which makes a big difference. I also find some pickled cucumber flavors, sawdust, more mineral flavors and a bit of leather, the latter showing up towards the end of the second third. The woodiness comes alive in the finish of the second third, though at times it adds toastiness and bitterness that produces a combination that is a bit like the flavor of a cigar that has gone out. Creaminess, peanut butter, saltiness, damp earthiness and that cucumber flavor are present on some puffs, though they aren’t as consistent and vary widely in how intense they are. Retrohales are toastier than in the first third with leather challenging the earthiness for the top spot. Black pepper, white pepper and a semi-sweet apple flavor are all present as well. Unlike the main flavor, which tends to be intertwined, the retrohale is more sequential; one or two flavors are present for a period of time, then replaced by the next one or two flavors. The finish rearranges the flavors a bit, though the bread flavors are stronger than before. I also find that consecutive retrohales produce a harsh earth flavor on the middle of my tongue as a finishing note. Retrohales tend to produce more salivation, which seems to increase my enjoyment of the flavors. Flavor is full, body is medium-full and strength is medium-plus or medium-full. One cigar needs a single touch-up in the final third, another cigar needs two burn corrections and the final cigar continues to have great construction.

Two cigars see their flavor profiles dry out in the final third. That seems to make things sharper as the toastiness is now leading earthiness and bread. At times, it can get too sharp for me, with black pepper on the front of the tongue and toastiness everywhere else. The finish tends to have a sharp black pepper and woodiness. Retrohales on those two cigars are milder than the other parts of the profile—more medium—but have an enjoyable mixture of earthiness, peanut butter and a spicy habanero-like pepper before finishing reminding me of some habanero beers I’ve had over the years. The final Tatuaje TAA 2022 I smoke is quite different and for the better. Earthiness, toastiness, leather and black pepper are the standout flavors but minor amounts of saltiness and sweetness help to accent and bind everything together. It’s incredible how those two minor sensations help to take the other flavors—quite similar to the first third—to a completely different level. The finish has earthiness, leather, white pepper, creaminess and some dry bread, but everything is a couple of notches more vibrant than before. Whenever I want some added contrast, retrohales deliver a sweet bread flavor—though not sweetbreads—along with accents of nuttiness and leather. Flavor is full, body is medium-full and strength is medium-full. One cigar needs help from the lighter to deal with combustion issues, but the other two cigars smoke great in the final third.

Final Notes

• Very few series of cigars have performed as well as the Tatuaje TAA Series has on halfwheel’s annual Top 25. Six of the first 10 cigars in the series made it onto the respective Top 25, which is particularly impressive given we only reviewed nine of the first 10 cigars. The years that made it are: 2012 (#18), 2014 (#3), 2015 (#1), 2016 (#8), 2019 (#6)  and 2020 (#9).
• I don’t think every cigar needs contrast, but the cigars that are dominated by one flavor or type of flavor tend to have some differences between that flavor. This cigar struggled, particularly in the first half, because the earthiness wasn’t all that dynamic. It was a pretty stagnant earthiness surrounded by other flavors that didn’t change all that much. If you like that profile, great. Most people—especially if you replicate my experience of not drinking anything during smoking—are probably going to find it to be too stagnant.
• After the first cigar, I wrote in my notes: what would this cigar taste like with water? I imagine just a bit of water would have changed what I was tasting enough to make me enjoy this cigar a lot more. Given that I know that a sip of water will change what I taste from a cigar, I avoid doing it unless I physically need water during a review. This is not how I smoke cigars when not reviewing them, but I’d recommend trying it occasionally, especially if you want to get the purest representation of how a cigar tastes.
• That said, cigars are made to be enjoyed. I would recommend smoking cigars in whatever is the most enjoyable manner possible. In this particular case, a carbonated or sweet beverage would probably make a major difference regarding my issues in the first third.
• I found this cigar tasted differently depending on how I shaped my mouth. Once the smoke got to my mouth, if I opened my jaw while leaving my mouth closed, I could taste different flavors compared to if I just kept my mouth in the same shape as how I’d normally puff on a cigar. I don’t think it made the cigar better or worse, but it did present different flavor sensations. I’m curious to see if this makes a difference on other cigars.
• The final third of the third cigar I smoked showed that the profile present in the first third of each cigar could be excellent, it just needed a bit of help from the minor amounts of saltiness and sweetness. Much like how you add salt, sugar or lemon (acidity) to food, those minor accents do a great job of accentuating the existing flavors. Had the first third of each cigar tasted like the final third of the third cigar, this review would conclude very differently.
• That third cigar was also the one cigar that had zero construction issues.

• The second cigar I smoked got very squishy once lit. Most cigars get squishy once half-smoked, but this was to a different level. The other two cigars did not do this.
• Final smoking time ranged from one hour and 45 minutes to just over two hours.
• Site sponsor Corona Cigar Co. carried the Tatuaje TAA 2022, but it is currently sold out.

Update — The original version of this review stated that the Tatuaje PCA 2023/TAA 2023 would be 6 3/8 x 48; they will be 6 3/8 x 54.