Vitola: Cazadores- 6.375” x 43 ring gauge
- MSRP $90, set of 10 cigars
- Purchased at Burns Tobacconist
Background
In 2016, Tatuaje released the first Skinny Monsters collection, 10 Petite Lanceros in the blends released in the full-size Monsters that had come out to that point, plus the two that had debuted in the Pudgy Monster collection. The set included Frank, Drac, Face, Wolf, Mummy, Jason, Jekyll, Hyde, Chuck and Tiff. 2017 saw the release of two new sets of the same blends, a Lancero Edition that featured full-size Lanceros, and a Cazadores edition, featuring the Lonsdale vitola made popular in the original Brown Label release.
While the original Little Monsters and Pudgy Monsters collections had a set number made and were discontinued after those numbers were sold, Skinny Monsters seem to be a limited production, regular release in all three versions.
I picked up a box of the Skinny Monsters Cazadores Edition and decided to evaluate it a couple cigars at a time here on these pages—backwards, because…why not? And also, I believe the Frank will probably be the best stick in the bunch, so I want to save it for last.
Both Small Batch Cigars and Cigar and Pipes have the collection listed on their pages, though they are both out of stock as of this writing.
Mummy
Forget the cheesy Brenden Frasier action/adventure movies of the late ‘90s…especially forget the Tom Cruise action/adventure flick from last year. Think Boris Karloff in another of his remarkable roles in the 1930s. Back when “The Mummy” could actually invoke fear because they were actually horror films. The Tatuaje Mummy was covered in a lighter-colored wrapper leaf that tried to mimic the appearances of dusty, centuries-old bandages that wrapped up the ancient Egyptian walking dead.
The Mummy is a Nicaraguan puro that is actually a version of the venerable Tatuaje Black Label (Private Reserve). When the full-size version came out the Black Label was something rarely seen, but nowadays we have several vitolas on the shelf at the shop at any one time. This Skinny Cazadores Mummy was medium-bodied with notes of cedar, mildly-sweet citrus, and a mellow pepper burn. Rounding out the flavor profile was a bit of funk and some lip-numbing novocaine that I usually get from Cuban cigars.
This is also the only time in this series I forgot to take a single-stick photo of the cigar I was smoking…oh well…
Jason
The villain/anti-hero of the Friday the 13th series of movies—Jason—is probably the most popular horror movie character of the last half century. With somewhere in the neighborhood of 12 or 13 movie appearances, his hockey mask has become synonymous with creative ways to kill the sexually active teenagers at Camp Crystal Lake. JV13 was the name given to the original Tatuaje Jason release and it was my favorite Monster release that I have ever smoked in the full-sized version (I had smoked every full-sized release except the Frank).
Jason has a Nicaraguan filler/binder core, surrounded by a Connecticut Broadleaf Maduro wrapper. Word is that the blend is the same as that used for the Avion Reserva 13, which was a Maduro version of the Avion, which was a Perfecto-shaped version of the Fausto blend. So, basically, this is a strong, full-bodied blend…and I’ve enjoyed every single size I’ve had (original, Pudgy, Petite Lancero, Cazadores…and the Perfecto of the Avion).
I had a great draw from the Skinny Cazadores Jason, with flavors of earth and dark chocolate-covered dried blueberries, along with a kick in the mouth amount of pepper spice and touches of cinnamon. Not a good choice for fans of mild cigars, but for those who love stronger, sweeter, spicier sticks this is The One! If I could buy a box of 25 of any of the Skinny Cazadores Monsters, it would be this one.
