Halloween Week #1: Tatuaje The Tiff

Tatuaje The Tiff

Cigar Name: Tatuaje The Tiff
Strength: 4/5
Size: Corona (5x52)
Origin: Nicaragua
Price (local): $9.85
Wrapper: Ecuador Connecticut
Flavor Text:

            

            We're friends 'til the end, remember?

In the wide world of cigars, trends come and go in the blink of an eye. But among all of the small-batch, limited edition cigars out there, few have laid claim to the popularity and legacy of Pete Johnson’s Tatuaje Monsters series. 

Every year around Halloween, Tatuaje would release another monster upon the world to wreak havoc on cigar store shelves all over the country. These beasts were highly limited, highly sought after, and extremely delicious, and now’s your chance to get your hands on a box of the last two installments in the Monsters Series, the Chuck & Tiff.

Tatuaje Chuck: Hi I’m Chuck, wanna play!? This Good Guy comes cloaked in a dark Ecuador Habano wrapper leaf concealing an all-Nicaraguan binder & long-filler blend. Medium-full bodied, this little guy packs a punch, along with earthy & rich notes of cedar, cocoa, and spice.

Tatuaje Tiff: This little beauty comes wrapped in a silky Ecuador Connecticut wrapper covering Nicaraguan binder & fillers, and draws you in with a mellow body before captivating you with a full-flavored profile of caramel, citrus, and roasted nuts. Eat your heart out, Barbie!

If you’ve been following the Monsters Series, you’ve seen the Chuck & Tiff in the extremely limited Pudgy & Skinny Monsters samplers, but they’re finally getting their very own full-scale release. Only 2190 boxes were made of each, and since this is the last full Monsters release, don’t miss your chance to own a piece of modern cigar history!

This is the first of the Halloween-themed cigars I'll be reviewing, mostly from Tatuaje. The Tiff came to us in 2019 and is based on Tiffany Valentine from the Child's Play film franchise (my favorite horror franchise.) It is the only cigar in the line with a Connecticut wrapper, and features the most tolerable body and strength profile; it also features some really complex flavor that separates itself from the rest of the line.

This is the lightest cigar of the Monsters bunch, but there is plenty to like here for smokers who favor every strength. I typically like a strong cigar, but for my first smoke of the day with a coffee, this cigar delivers. This cigar delivers a nice flavor of butter and cream from the beginning of the cigar into the first half. The Connecticut wrapper features a mild smoke, with only subtle hints of the flavor behind this Tiff. I did not get much in the way of citrus, but I did get plenty of nuttiness and a toasty flavor. This isn't new to me when it comes to Connecticut wrappers, and the skinny design of this cigar delivers you the flavor of this stick in a direct and compact way that a larger size probably wouldn't be able to do as successfully as this one.

There is a light caramel taste to the second half of this cigar, and the flavors from the first half carry through down to the bottom third. After the bottom third is where things get interesting: there is a spicy taste to this cigar as you work your way down, all the way down to hot pepper notes at the nub. This cigar tells an interesting story; it treats you well in the beginning, and flips on you at the end, and it truly emulates the Tiffany character's bipolar tendencies. Out of nowhere, the last few drags of this cigar turn fiery and aggressive. The emboldened last half inch of this cigar really deliver an experience like few others you've probably smoked before, and the complexity of this stick shouldn't be lost on anyone. It is truly a perplex, complicated smoke that offers a rich profile that can't be found from other blends. I thought it matched its character inspiration perfectly. What a way to start! I love it and I'd recommend it to most smokers, but I would caution newer smokers to take it easy as you approach the finish with this one. Overall, I loved it and would consider it as an everyday smoke if its production wasn't so limited.

Back tomorrow with Tiff's counterpart, the Chuck! Can't wait. Great start to the series, and definitely a cigar worth looking into for anyone who wants to try something neat this Halloween.