Cigar: Face (4 3/8 x 56)
Company: Tatuaje
Wrapper: Mexican
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan
Price: Purchased on Halloween 2014 as part of the Pudgy Monster collection ($95 for 10 cigars)
Cigars Smoked For Review: 1
Elements: O’Briens Irish Pub / Jack Daniels with club soda and lime
In anticipation of The Doctor and I’s upcoming collaborative Texas Chainsaw Massacre themed film and cigar reviews, tonight I decided to grab the Pudgy Face cigar (which had been hibernating in the back of my humidor for well over a year) and head out to the pub. It’s hot as balls out on this sweltering Texas night so finally burning up this Texcentric cigar seems like the logical thing to do somehow…
1/3
The Pudgy Face has an attractive pointed cap and the crude patchwork band composed of a jagged tobacco leaf is a nice representation of the dead skin mask the cigar’s namesake wears while carving up his victims. I torch the closed foot and am pleasantly surprised with not a blast of spice but a strong wave of earth and cocoa.
An inch in and we have some roasted coffee bean enter the scene and its playing nice with the cocoa, the earthiness has vanished. Tatuajes have always left a memory imprint of “spice” above all else with me and that is not the case here so far. A subtle creaminess is running under the surface now. So far it’s nothing like the crossdressing maniac I’ve come to love (and sadly relate to on some level) over the years…
2/3
Ok, a rustic dirtiness has entered the scene. It’s harsh and goes against all the smooth pleasing flavors I’ve been swimming in up to this point. BUT it’s very Leatherface-like so it definitely makes sense in that regard. I like a manic surprise transition in a smoke to keep me on my toes and this is that.
3/3
The creaminess is back and it’s helping the strength and harsh tobacco flavor along like Tiny Tim’s Crutch… you know ol’ Leatherface could’ve used a crutch in the end of the original film when the crazy bastard slices right through his own thigh with the saw…
God I love that film. It was my first cinematic acid trip, a literal vacation into human madness that no other film has tapped in the same visceral way. The cigar ends an interesting blend of strength and coffee. It works even if I’m not screaming for my life at the end of it. Maybe the Skinny Face will finish my sanity off in the near future, let’s hope…
THE NUB
If the idea behind Tatuaje’s Monster cigars is to capture the essence of each horror icon that the stogie is representing then this bipolar cigar may have accomplished just that. If you’re a fan of surprises and sudden left turns when smoking then I suggest seeking this interesting Monster out.
