Cigar Review: Tatauje Monster #4, "The Wolfman"

Torpedo, 7.5" x 52 ring gauge / MSRP $13
The Tatuaje Monster Series has shown its ugly face again, this time in the form of the Wolfman. With people clamoring every year to get their hands on these, brand owner, Pete Johnson, has been expressing some frustration with the entire concept lately, opining that it is just not fun anymore; I would guess that most of the fans would disagree. Pete has given us options this year and last that we did not have previously...dress boxes of 13 sticks for those fanatics that are collecting the boxes (and probably smoking very few of the cigars since those boxes are worth much more full) and plain boxes of 10 for those of us that are more tobacco fans than tobacco collectors. I acquired a box of 10 from our new sponsor, Maxamar/BuyMoreCigars; this review stick is the second I've smoked from that box. The filler and binder is all Nicaraguan, and there was one mention on acigarsmoker.com that it might have been based on the Gran Cojonu blend. The wrapper is an Ecuadorian Sumatra leaf, the same varietal and country used on the 7th Capa Especial, which I was not a huge fan of.

Pete was looking for an "ugly" look for this cigar, utilizing an unfinished, "shaggy" foot and a band that is truly hard on the eyes...bright red type on a brownish band. The band also has "Monster" and "Halloween" on it which I believe is the first time in the series' history. Other than those two details, though, the Wolfman was a thing of beauty, featuring a smooth, oily wrapper with mostly small to medium veins and a nice medium brown color with a little darker mottling. Construction appeared to be typical of the My Father factory...in other words, excellent. Holding the cigar to my nose, I got a leathery aroma from the wrapper and a rich earthiness with hints of cedar and cocoa powder on the foot. The cold draw was perfect and featured a sweet tobacco flavor along with a distinct woodiness of cedar.

 

The slightly looser foot that a shaggy finish brings helped this stogie get all fired up really quickly. The interesting thing is to taste the filler/binder blend as it is without the wrapper influence, then see what the wrapper brings to the party as it is fashionably late. I got mostly a very strong cedary note from the filler, along with just a little earthiness. As soon as the wrapper started burning, the cedar was tempered with a rich molasses sweetness along with an increased earth note. Like I said before, I was not a huge fan of how this wrapper varietal behaved on the 7th blend, but I do enjoy how it interacts here. By the end of the first third, a fairly astringent cedar note had become dominant again, along with a nice pepper burn on the nose and a building spiciness at the back of the throat.

 

The second third continued with strong flavors of cedar along with an underlying earthiness and the continued building of spice. Construction for the Wolfman was great; the draw was dead-on perfect, the burn line was as even as you would want, and the ash was solid and held on for up to an inch each time.

 

Shortly after the final third began I detected a nice sweetness to balance out the cedar that had been prevalent up until this time. Aside from the molasses note early on, there just had not been that much, but now I was getting a dark chocolate undertone. The rest of the Wolfman continued with that mix of sweetness and woodiness. Some are calling this the best Monster cigar since the first one, the Frank; for myself, I have to disagree. I thoroughly enjoyed The Face and it has only gotten better with a year of age on it. This one was very good, but the woody flavor it imparted was just not at the top of my list for great cigar flavors. I liked it, but just didn't love it. I did buy enough, though, that I'll be able to revisit it in a year...or two...or both...and see how I feel about it then. Like almost all the cigars to bear a Tatuaje label, I believe these have enormous aging potential. The body was medium to full and there was enough of a nicotine hit to ward off newer smokers, but neither should be problematic for more experienced herfers. A note on the Value part of my score: I only gave half a point because the flavor was not in my wheelhouse; if it is in yours, the $13 asking price is very fair for a cigar of this size.

 

Body: 7/10
Strength: 7/10
Complexity: 6/10

AFP Scale
Prelight: 2/2
Construction: 2/2
Flavor: 3.5/5
Value: .5/1
Total: 8/10