Initial Thoughts
I picked up this Tatuaje Avion on my last trip to the B&M. It was the same group as the Ortega Serie D. I hadn’t heard much about this stick coming out of the show. I know Pete from Tatuaje announced quite a few new sticks. According to the manager at my B&M, this was one of the new sticks for the year. After doing a little research I found out this is a yearly release from the ‘Fausto’ line. So apparently this cigar is actually the Tatuaje Avion 12 I haven’t had a ton of Tatuaje cigars, but I’ve had a couple and I know their reputation is great and they have some very loyal fans. So I’m expecting quite a bit from Pete. After reading the last issue of Cigar Press and reading his interview he seems to have a lot of big stuff planned. From his wine venture to all the sticks that he’s releasing. So I’m excited to dive into this and see where it takes me.
Looks
The first thing I noticed about the Tatuaje Avion 12 is the packaging… I know, you guys are absolutely shocked by this right? NO? Ok wow, I’m becoming too predictable I’m going to have to change it up some. Seriously though this packing is pretty sweet. I was standing there trying to judge between this cigar and the La Duena, which I had never heard of, but recently I’ve seen it all over the place online. So I’m gonna have to go back and pick that one up too!
So the band on the Tatuaje Avion 12 is pretty cool. I’m still not 100% sure what it is, but to me it looks like a torpedo with wings. Or depending on the angle it looks like one of those flying fish. Little side story here for ya. I saw my first flying fish this year on Memorial Day weekend down in Destin. I went with my fiance and her family out on a fishing expedition along with about 40 other people. We went on a boat called Sweet Jody. I had a great time and caught about 15 fish, everyone else caught about 5 … Total… So needless to say I provided the dinner for that night. So yeah, the band looks like it has a gold-flying fish in the middle of it. If someone has any clarification on that I’d love to hear it. Pete, if you’re reading this feel free to leave a comment down below :).
After I noticed the band the next thing I noticed was the shape of the barrel on the Tatuaje Avion 12. I’ve never smoked a cigar in this shape before. It looks very similar to a perfecto / presidente they go by some different names. It’s a very interesting shape. I love it, it’s different and I’m just sitting here staring at it trying to figure out what to do with it. I guess the most logical thing to do would be to smoke it.
The wrapper on this cigar isn’t very dark, it’s a lighter brown a Colorado brown. There aren’t any dominant veins and you can barely see the seams of where the wrapper was applied. It’s a slightly rounded box press which I’m a big fan of. It makes it easy to hold and it doesn’t roll around too much. I have a tendency to lay my cigars down on the porch rail and they roll off into the bushes and the next thing you know I have a burning bush. Ok, that’s a lie, but it does keep it from rolling around which makes me a fan!
Function
Well I’ve been playing with this cigar looking at the shape in amazement and wondering how in the hell they make this thing. I’ve never been to a cigar factory, but I really want to go. I just need to get a passport and make the journey down there. I know this is one of the more difficult cigars to construct. Just by looking at it you know a veteran roller had to make this one.
So I rolled the Tatuaje Avion 12 between my fingers to make sure there weren’t any soft spots or anything that might be detrimental to the smoke. Nothing to phone Houston about here (NASA reference for those who are a little slow). I’ve been using my V cutter a lot lately and I have a feeling my old guillotine cutter is a little depressed. So I dug around in my drawer and found it hiding in the back corner sitting by itself listening to some depressing music. In case you didn’t know cutters have ears and feelings. Just let that be a reminder to all of you who have neglected your cigar equipment! I nipped the cap off the head and went to test the cold draw on this stick and realized. Hey wait a second I can’t really draw anything. If you notice at the foot of the perfecto it’s tapered to a small point. That point isn’t covered, but it makes it damn hard to draw air through there. So I wasn’t able to get a great cold draw so we’ll just have to light it up to see how it’s gonna draw. My fingers are crossed.
I think I’ve read about perfectos that you have to make sure and really toast the foot of the cigar. Because it’s got that very tapered end you’ve gotta make sure and get the tobacco lit so it’ll burn when you draw the smoke through there. I followed those precise instructions with this Tatuaje Avion 12. I toasted the shit out of that foot. I went into the garage got my propane welding torch, put my mask on, and sparked it up. There wasn’t much left of the cigar afterward, but by gaw I toasted the foot. Sorry, I’m exaggerating a little with this post. But I did use my torch lighter and gave the foot some extra TLC to make sure I got it started and smoking like a chimney stack.
Smoking
Due to the fact that the foot on the Tatuaje Avion 12 was tapered it took a few minutes for this cigar to really open up. Using my Sherlock Holmes-like deductive reasoning I figured it might take a few puffs to really get it going. Once the burn line got over the ‘ankle’ that’s what I’m gonna call it, because I can’t call it a shoulder because its at the foot of the cigar. I passed anatomy class albeit with a D., I still passed! Anyway, once it got passed the ankle this thing was smoking perfectly. Not an ounce of blockage in the draw.
The first third smoked fantastically and really enjoyable. The Tatuaje Avion 12 opened up and really hit its stride toward the 2nd third though. I only had to touch it up once and that’s because I was on the phone with my dad filling him in about wedding details. I got a little long-winded and the cigar started burning just a tad slow. No biggie a couple of quick touches with the lighter and it was right as rain.
I thought this stick might get a little tight in the final third due to the fact that it began tapering down towards the head. In fact I was a little confused when it opened up even more! It’s like the roller knew this would be the expectation and rolled it a little lighter toward the head to ensure that the draw stayed perfect. Little did he know it actually opened up a lot! Talk about surprising. With how well this thing smoked I’m sure you’re eager to hear about the flavor profile.
Flavor
I’m gonna say something a little different about this cigar’s flavor profile. See if you can stay with me. It wasn’t anything earth-shattering as far as complexity goes. It was a very solid very simple profile. I’m going to label it the Goldilocks profile. Nothing was overpowering, nothing needed to be powered up. Everything was just right. There were hints of creaminess, and sweetness, followed by a little pinch of pepper.
The pepper to me wasn’t a typical black pepper it was something a little different. It’s hard to put my finger on it, but it did have a nice little spice on the back end to excite your taste buds. I’ll describe it this way, the first part of the draw brought some creaminess into your mouth. After letting it sit there I started picking up some sweetness and then on the exhale it finished with a nice little tingle. It’s a great profile that was incredibly enjoyable.
The flavors on this Tatuaje Avion 12 didn’t change much throughout. The intensity picked up a little in the 2nd and final thirds when the cigar really began to open up. One flavor didn’t really become more dominant than the other they just got a little more intense. All in all, this was a great medium-bodied smoke that can satisfy just about everyone’s palate unless you’re hardcore and only smoke full-bodied cigars all day long. Then you might want to stay away from it.
Would I Buy It Again?
For sure, it’s a great smoke that you can find enjoyable anytime.
Is It an Every Day Smoke?
It definitely can be, the price point is right and as long as you’re ok with fairly simple smoke then I’d say you can smoke this every day if you wish.
Would I Buy a Box?
I might by a box just because of the packaging. Between the artwork on the box and the ‘flying fish,’ it’d be pretty sweet to have this stashed in your humidor if you have the room.
Conclusion
Overall the Tatuaje Avion 12 is a great medium-bodied cigar. It really opens up in the 2nd and final thirds delivers a good amount of smoke and holds a decently long ash. The construction was intricate and flawless and led to a really good smoke. I would smoke it again and I know I’d enjoy it. I’d even pass it out to friends who are just looking to get into cigars because I think it’s a great smoke for the beginner who is just starting to develop their palate.
