Info
This Tatuaje Black Label Corona Gorda 2013 is a special re-release of the original Black Label to honor Tatuaje’s 10th anniversary. This particular Corona Gorda vitola came out back in 2007 and is considered to be the favorite vitola for this blend. So Pete Johnson (of Tatuaje) decided to jazz it up a little with the packaging and honor the company with their first 10 years in the business. As far as I can tell the blend is the same as it was back in 2007. So if you’ve smoked it before hopefully, this 2013 release will bring something that is similar to what you experienced in the original line.
Looks
I love the look of this Tatuaje Black Label Corona Gorda 2013. Its band is a nice step up from Tatuaje’s usual more subtle look. Most of their bands are small and use a flat color and don’t offer much in the way of ‘pizazz’ for packaging. This band doesn’t have that much more to it, but it is different which I like. A little bit of flair has been added to the band. There are silver embossed strips on the top and bottom of the band. This brings a bit of shine to the cigar and helps it pop a little more.
The other thing I love about this cigar is the way the cigars are packaged and displayed while sitting on the shelf at my local B&M. The cigars come bundled in sets of 19. They fit into a dark matte black tin canister. They are all contained in a soft silverish material inside the canister. I like that he stayed away from the box on this line. Maybe he’s trying to ‘think outside the box’? Who knows.
One of the new features of this Tatuaje Black Label Corona Gorda 2013 is the closed foot. The other vitolas have not opted for this in the past, and it’s interesting to see it used here. The head of this cigar also features a unique look. There is a slight bump, some might call it a nipple at the top of the head. A few little tweaks to the cigar make it stand apart from its previous release.
Function
I began feeling up and down the barrel of the cigar to see if there were any trouble areas that I could find before nipping the cap. There was a slight soft spot in the 1st third, but nothing I was too worried about.
Once I nipped the head off I tried to test the dry draw. I noticed nothing was happening… Yeah, I’m an idiot, the foot is closed on the cigar, remember that? So testing the dry draw is futile at this point. I just put the flame to the foot and began puffing. The cigar took off quickly without any hesitation.
Smoking
The first third of the Tatuaje Black Label Corona Gorda 2013 smoked beautifully. Perfect draw, a good dose of smoke coming through the barrel. The burn line gets a little wavy at times, but it continues to correct itself moving into the 2nd third. That slight soft spot that I mentioned above didn’t cause an issue that I could notice.
The cigar continues burning perfectly all the way through the 2nd and final thirds. Never have an issue with the smoke or draw. I did purge the cigar in the final third. It was starting to build up a slight bitterness. I ended up smoking it in just under a 1 hour. Pretty quick burn for this nice little Corona Gorda.
Flavor
Before I put the fire to the stick I began nosing the barrel and the foot to see what sort of notes they were giving off. I noticed quite a bit of hay and grassiness initially. Because the foot was closed it was hard to get any notes through the dry draw, as I mentioned earlier.
Once the Tatuaje Black Label Corona Gorda 2013 was lit I picked up spice right off the bat. It was a nice rich black pepper note. There were good doses of this savory meaty note as well. Some notes of toasted bread I found lingering around as well. But the main one I’m picking up is that savory almost barbecue-esque note.
Throughout the smoke, the flavors stayed very consistent to me. The backbone of flavor for me was the spice and nutty/savory notes. Along the way, I did pick up some hints of citrus. They weren’t the dominant flavor though. It was a nice addition that added some complexity to the overall flavor profile.
For me, this cigar hit a very favorable zone on my palate. It is by far the best Tatuaje that I’ve smoked. For some reason, Tats haven’t ever hit my palate that well, but this one did. I would put this cigar in the Medium-Full range. During the 2nd third, it really built up some power, but it never went full bore. Overall, fantastic smoke. Well done Pete.
Would I Buy It Again?
Absolutely.
Is It an Every Day Smoke?
Probably not, given the price.
Would I Buy a Box?
Easily, assuming I could find a decent deal.
Conclusion
As I said above, it’s easily the best Tatuaje that I’ve ever smoked. This Tatuaje Black Label Corona Gorda 2013 is full of complexity and consistency both of these are right up my alley. This cigar hit my palate in an exciting way. I love the packaging behind it and the flavors that I experienced along the way. I would easily recommend everyone to go out and pick up one of these if you can find them. Just don’t hoard them like so many others tend to do.
