One of the review subjects I’ve been eager to get back to since restarting Leaf Enthusiast has been my annual look at the cigars that are part of the Tatuaje/L’atelier Saints & Sinners Club collection. As I’ve done in the past, I’ll be looking at last year’s releases…because this year’s likely won’t show up until October-ish. Little is known about these cigars with no officially published details on any of them, so I’ll be making my guesses as to wrapper leaf (filler and binder of pretty much all Tat and Lat releases are all just classified as “Nicaraguan” without any regional or varietal details) and size. This time around I’ll go through them in 1 to 5 order and publish once a week.
S&S 2024 #1 is a Lonsdale-looking cigar…about a 44 ring gauge by 6 or 6.5” length. The wrapper leaf was light, a dusty golden brown with a bit of oiliness. I compared it to #5, which seemed to be an obvious Connecticut Shade leaf and the #1 was just a touch darker, so I think it’s probably a Conny, as well, although it could be a very light Ecuadorian Habano. The nose didn’t give much more of a hint, with just a hay and cedar quality to it.
Believing to be a milder cigar, I opted for a lower-proof bourbon, Evan Williams Single Barrel Vintage, bottled at 86.6 proof. I clipped the end and took a cold draw; the hay and wood and bell pepper notes did nothing to convince me that I was wrong on initial impressions. And neither did lighting it up…definitely Connecticut Shade and among the mildest cigars I’ve ever had from the My Father factory…judging from others I’ve had it could be a Cabaiguan, a blend I’ve never been all that fond of. The other regular release Conny is the Négociant, which I have developed quite a liking for and I’d be surprised if this is that blend, based on the light hay, almost papery notes I was getting.
It did go well with the Evan Williams Single Barrel, though…a nice and not overwhelming complement to the cigar. The mildness of the cigar actually seemed to accentuate the sweeter and spicier aspects of the bourbon, making me appreciate it more than I would with a bolder cigar blend.
