Tatuaje Havana VI Verocu No. 2 (Exclusivo Zona del Este)

Todays review is of the Tatuaje Exclusivo Zona de Este. This cigar is an addition to the Havana VI line for Tatuaje, aka red band Tatuajes, and was released exclusively on the east coast. (if you hadnt gathered that by the name yet) There is a slightly larger version that was also released for the west coast. Pete Johnson took a page out of the Cuban marketing book for this cigar, this being his version of the Cuban regional edition cigars in my opinion. If i remember correctly, these were released in 2007 in boxes of 50, and were made in limited quantities. Unfortunately these aren't easy to come by now since they haven't been made for a while. I was gifted this cigar by my friend Rich while i was on vacation out east.

This is a Nicaraguan Puro, with a special Cafe Rosado Oscuro wrapper. The construction and wrapper look fantastic on this cigar, as I would expect with the Tatuaje name on it. This measures in at 5.5 inches x 54 ring gauge. This ring gauge is larger than i prefer, but I'm going to smoke it anyway! The other difference between this cigar and the regular Havana VI line (the first difference being the wrapper) is that there is additional Ligero leaf blended into this cigar to give it a bit more oomph.

The predraw shows a slightly loose draw, which doesn't surprise me with the ring gauge on this cigar. The flavor is lighter than i expected, with mainly clean tobacco and a little bit of cedar showing up before lighting. After lighting, this cigar is woody, with a bit of leather and earth, and a touch of spice I expect in Tatuaje's. After getting into this cigar a bit more, I am definitely picking up a slight honey like sweetness, and a bit of a floral characteristic that works really well with the dark, leathery core flavors. The body is medium/full, and very smooth.
Nice bunching!

Normally I am not a huge fan of Havana VI Tatuajes, but i really enjoy the Verocu series. Thankfully there is still one Verocu being made, but exclusively for Holts. I smoked a few of these after visiting Holts when i was out east, and they are pretty much the same as this smoke, just smaller. (which makes sense since its the same blend). If you happen upon these, which is doubtful, pick them up! You will have a cigar that not only tastes pretty damn good, but one that has become a collectors item for Tatuaje fans like myself.