For those of you that don’t know…

About 6 months ago, the people at Tobacco Grove in Minnesota contacted Tatuaje Cigars owner Pete Johnson about having a special cigar release (much like his recent and ongoing “Singe Store” releases) for his store…The problem (as with any Tatuaje Single Store release) is deciding on a vitola and blend. After much deliberation, it was decided that the blend they wanted was the Black Label, along with one of my favorite vitolas, the Petite Lancero.

The difference between this release and most of the Single Store Releases (like the Federal 90th release, which we are reviewing here early next week) is that instead of a über limited number of cigars, this release of the Black Petite Lancero is actually a Prerelease of this vitola…Pete Johnson has said that this exact same cigar will be a regular release starting sometime after the IPCPR show in July (Las Vegas).

Having said that, this prerelease was fairly limited, with only 200 boxes of 25 released..They sold out in just under 1 hour, and Jeff, the owner of Tobacco Grove, told me that there are over 100 people on the waiting list, just in case someone did not follow through…(One thing that Jeff did that I wish other retailers would start doing is that he allowed people to purchase up to 35 cigars; that is, one box of 25 and up to 10 more singles…This allows people the opportunity to try the cigar without having to open their box, if they so choose)…

Although (according to Pete) all of the PL were rolled at the same time at the factory, the prerelease cigars have a pigtail and closed foot to diferencate them from the regular release, which will have a round cap and clean cut foot…The two releases will also have different boxes (the regular release will be “in glossy square jar looking boxes” says Pete), and the regular release version will also be wet packed in foil, while this prerelease version is not (due to them being freshly rolled when shipped)…

Over the last 3 years, there have been quite a few different Vitolas of this blend released…they are (from left to right in order of release):

• Corona Gorda (Original Bundle-Closed Foot)
• Corona Gorda (Jar Release-Closed Foot)
• Robusto (1^st Event Pack-Closed Foot)
• CRA Toro (Closed Foot)
• Tubo (Closed Foot)
• Corona Gorda (2^nd Event Pack-Clean Cut Foot)
• Robusto (2^nd Event Pack-Clean Cut Foot)
• Petit Robusto (2^nd Release Pack-Clean Cut Foot)
• Petite Lancero (Closed Foot)

One interesting side note: With every new release, cigar smokers are constantly wondering whether the various vitolas in the Black Label line have always been the same blend (which is understandable, especially considering the Black Label Tubo, which while I consider it to be underrated as a whole, really does not seem to share much in common with the other Black Label releases in terms of flavors or profile)…Well, Pete has said many times that the blend has always been the same for all of the releases…

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The cigar box the Tatuaje Black Label Petite Lanceros come in are actually left over Sodo boxes (which were a Limited Release PL version of the extremely popular El Triunfador blend)…The boxes are smaller than you might expect, and are painted with a glossy black varnish on the outside (NOT on the inside, for those wondering about another Tatuaje Drac debacle)…

The box also features the word “BLACK” stenciled (in black, of course) on the back…NOT easy to see (or easy to photograph) but it is there…

The box slides open on the top, and the cigars are resting vertically (top to bottom)…as mentioned earlier, the cigars are wrapped in wax paper, and tied together with a yellow ribbon…

And a photo of just the cigars, wrapped in ribbon…

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But enough of that, let’s get down to business, shall we?

• Cigar Reviewed: Tatuaje Private Reserve (Black Label) Petite Lancero
• Country of Origin: Nicaragua
• Factory: My Father Cigars S.A.
• Wrapper: Nicaragua (Sun Grown Criollo Estelí)
• Binder: Nicaragua
• Filler: Nicaragua
• Size: 6 Inches
• Ring Gauge: 38
• Vitola: Petite Lancero
• MSRP: $8.50 (Boxes of 25, $212.50)
• Date Released: 2011
• Number of Cigars Released: 200 Boxes of 25 Cigars (5,000 Total Cigars)*
• Number of Cigars Smoked for Review: 3

*As mentioned above, the cigar will be released with a traditional foot as a regular production in July.

The cigar itself is immaculately constructed…The Wrapper is a dark espresso brown, and is totally seamless…It also has a bit of oil on it, so that when you run your finger up and down the wrapper, it feels almost like silk…The pigtail and covered foot (both on one cigar?) are a great touch, and really add to the overall look of the cigar…The wrapper smells strongly of coffee, dark chocolate, pepper and leather…It also has a great squeeze, not too hard, and not too soft…It is truly a joy to just hold this cigar…

The predraw notes are Very interesting, a almost sweet brandy alcohol note that I have not tasted in quite a while (if ever)…Not quite strong enough to taste infused, but certainly not a standard profile from Nicaguran cigars…

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The First Third starts out with an impressive amount of spice, just below the point where it would overwhelm the other flavors, which continues through the first third (instead of dying down after a few puffs, like quite a few other Nicaraguan cigars)…Flavors come fast and furious: Leather, slightly bitter espresso, slightly sweet cedar, and dark chocolate…And underneath it all is a wonderful cinnamon spice that really sets everything else off…Just an amazing start to a cigar, (easily) the best I have tasted this year…

The Second Third starts the same as the First third, but then starts to calm down considerably, both in the amount of spice and the strength of the flavors…while the main flavors are still there, they seem to ebb and flow, sometimes stronger, sometimes quite mild…However, the cinnamon spice remains a background note, the base to everything that is happening…

The Last Third features more strength, and the profile shifts just a bit to a more spicy, nutty note that goes great with the Cinnamon in the background…Leather, cedar, dark chocolate notes as well…the profile did get stronger at the end, but never harsh…a great ending…

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Final Notes:

• An interesting side note is that Pete (of Tatuaje Cigars) has said that he is thinking about releasing not just the Black Label Petiete Lancero as a Regular Release in August, but also the Petite Robusto (which at this point, can only be found in the 2nd Event pack)…
• I did smoke these Right Off the Truck in order to meet the deadline for the review, but even with that fact, the draw was excellent, and the burn was quite good…not perfect (I had to touch it up a few times), but there is no doubt in my mind that it will improve with a bit of down time…
• The smoke coming off of this cigar was plentiful and white, and smelled great, like a spicy woodpile…
• If you want any of the Tatuaje Black Label Petite Lanceros (Prerelease), your best bet is to call up the amazing Jeff at Tobbaco Grove (website here) and offer up your first born…There might be a few stragglers left, but most likely, he is totally sold out…Their Phone number is (763) 494-6688…
• The Final Smoking Time was 1 Hour and 15 minutes…

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The Bottom Line: We ended Tuesday’s prerelase review of the Liga Privada L40 with the thought that perhaps a Lancero is not always going to be the best vitola for every blend…I will end this review with the thought that THIS blend is almost perfectly suited for the Lancero format…The multitude of flavors that were present in this cigar (especially in the first third) is impressive, even when pitted against other great Tatuaje Limited Releases…

Most likely, your main question when reading this review is some version of “Well, that is all well and good, but does it taste like/Is it better than the Original Release Corona Gorda”? Well, I smoked one of each back to back, and there are some similarities (especially the Cinnamon spice and strong espresso notes that are present throughout the entire cigar), but I think the idea that this (or any other vitola) would ever taste just like the Jar release is faulty from the start…Is it better than the OR? No, I don’t think so, but the Corona Gorda to be one of the Top 5 Non Cuban cigars ever released, so it would be hard to beat it….

Having said that, it is an amazing cigar in it’s own right, and if the regular release version tastes anything close to these, it will be one of the best regular release cigars on the market today…

Final Score: 93