[muziq]

Smoked one last night from a box I bought before finding the dark side--from April 2005. When I got the box I burned through 5-6 of them and then discovered Monte 2s and 4s, then Party Shorts, then...so these just rested up until last night. Grabbed one before going on a walk.

Given the direction smoking took three years ago, picking up this Tatuaje was like being a cigar noob all over again: had to accomodate myself to the spice, strength, and abruptness of this cigar. While I'll agree with the OP that the SW is a medium bodied cigar with ample smoke, the spiciness and charriness was overwhelming. Maybe my sensibilities are too delicate from having enjoyed the fruits of the verboten island, I dunno. Suffice it to say I didn't enjoy this cigar all that much and will gladly go back to Montes, PLs, Partys, HdMs, etc.

The one thing, though, that I can add is that at certain points, this cigar shared some traits with some of the strongest Cubans. In particular, I noticed that after a good purge, the flavor coming off the SW was not unlike the flavor of a Party Lusitania just *before* purging--a thick, charry, cherry tannin flavor with that heavy grassiness so common to Cubans. It makes me think that if I hold on to the rest of these SWs for 5 or 6 years, maybe they'll mellow into smokes I'd put on par with some of my favorite verboten sticks. Maybe.

I didn't hate this cigar; I just didn't enjoy it as much as my usual fare. My palette has changed.