Tatuaje Havana VI Nobles Robusto

Tatuaje Havana VI Nobles

5 x 50 Robusto

Made in Nicaragua

Wrapper: Nicaraguan Corojo 99

Binder:  Nicaragua

Filler:  Nicaragua

Paid: Gifted

I was really excited to smoke this.  I have quite a few Tatuaje/Pepin sticks now, and have heard nothing but good things.  

This cigar has some strong flavour to it.  It was very consistent from start to finish.  I get this strong wood flavour, and used coffee grinds.  There is also some nuts mixed in the exhale.  A lot of pepper on the exhale.

This cigar was not all that smooth, and had an ammonia harshness to it that made retro-haling difficult, especially with how peppery it is.  That's too bad, because the wood, coffee, and nuts were really pronounced, but would get flushed out by the harshness.  

I found this cigar really strong, which also detracted from my enjoyment of it.  Kind of gave me a headache by the half way point.

The ash was pretty white, and held on good.  Burn was also fantastic.  Nice slow even line.

I have one more of these that looks like its from a different batch based on the band being a little faded.   I will certainly revisit this stick down the road, and hopefully not get the harshness, and be able to handle the strength.

Noris Corona

Conona 4 1/3 x 38

Made in Dominican Republic
Paid: $60 USD for a box of 25

I picked these up last year from the local shop on resort in Punta Cana (Barcelo Premium Resort).  I tried a few local brands like Vista Real, Santa Ana, and this one, Noris.  Noris is a local cigar company in the Dominican Republic, in the Bavaro area near Punta Cana.

The construction is very nice.  The wrappers are a claro color, perhaps a Connecticut shade wrapper, but I couldn't confirm that.  Some of the cigars have a blue/green tinge in spots on the wrapper, mostly seen in the vein lines in spots.  A little google research shows this has something to do with chlorophyll retention, and does not appear to affect flavour.

I've had about a dozen of these, and they burn great, and seem to get better every time I smoke one. The draw is always perfect.

For the price, these are great cigars.  Very mild.  The flavour is very sweet, with no harshness.  The aroma they give off is great.  A sweet, almost vanilla flavour is in the smoke,  like burning incense.  

Shortly after starting the last third, I find they tend to get harsh quickly, possibly from me drawing to hard on them.  Seeing as you end up paying only a few bucks per stick, it's not hard to put it down, and walk away.

If your in the Dominican Republic, and see them kick around, I suggest you grab a few for a couple of bucks, and give them a shot.  I found all the local brands I tried were decent.  The price of cubans isn't much cheaper there, and the chance of counterfeits is high, so you might as well go for something different.