Origin : Miami, Fl.
Wrapper : Nicaraguan Corojo
Binder : Nicaraguan
Filler : Nicaraguan
Source : gift from Barbalet
Today I have a bit of a treat for you as I am going to take on the Tatuaje Cojonu 2003. I was gifted this cigar from Barbalet on Twitter and to be honest, I have been a little nervous about giving it a go due to some reports of the body being full. After repeated requests on Twitter to help me determine if this would kill me, I decided I am going to give it a go in front of the camera.
There is not a whole lot to say about these, other than they come in one size, 6.50 x 52, and they are a Nicaraguan Puro.
I also wanted to point out the year, 2003, is not the year of these being rolled but rather the year it was blended.
One last thing before we get to light this nice looking stick. I believe Barbalet had these in his humidor for a few years. I wanted to point that out in case some of you have a different experience than I do with smoking a fresh one.
Pre-Light
Upon inspection of this Tatuaje Cojonu 2003, it feels like it is packed well with no soft spots anywhere to be felt. I call most of Pete’s sticks “rustic” mainly because they just are not made to be perfectly smooth and such.
After sniffing the wrapper and foot, I mostly can smell a cedary spice. I think it smells wonderful.
I proceeded to snip the cap a bit and was met with a very nice open draw that had a bit of spice to it.
First Third
I sparked up this Tatuaje Cojonu 2003 with little effort and I was met with a spicy taste that had a background note of something sweet.
As I near the end of this first third, I am really getting some nice flavor. I can taste some leather, some dark chocolate, I got a bit of a nutty taste and still get that bit of sweetness in the background every now and again. I am really impressed at how much the flavor changes and intermingled with each other just in this first third.
Body is a definite medium right now. I am not minding it at all but I hope it does not climb too much further.
I just can’t get over how many flavor changes there have been. Almost every puff would give a different taste.
Ash is also holding on for about an inch.
Second Third
Really looking forward to getting into this second third of my Tatuaje Cojonu 2003, as the first third was just wonderful.
Rounding out this second third and I am getting mostly the same flavors, chocolate, leather, bit of sweetness and some nutty tastes. I still think the flavors are very nice due to the fact they keep changing up on one another. I do think the nutty tastes have gone to the back as I have not gotten them as much as I was in the beginning.
Right now this stick would be high medium or low full for me. I am feeling no ill effects from the stick, but I can tell the body has picked up a smidge.
Burn has been excellent to this point with the ash holding on for up to an inch before falling off.
I have noticed the smoke seems to have a creamy texture to it which just makes the experience that much better in my book.
Final Third
It had to come to this. I am now getting ready to finish off this Tatuaje Cojonu 2003. At this point I would not mind this stick smoking for another 4 hours. I absolutely love how the flavors keep changing.
Ending out the final third and most of the flavor has gone away and left a charred meat taste behind. It really reminds me of a ligero taste.
I corrected the burn a couple times but that may well be because i left it sit a bit too long in the ashtray between puffs. I never had it go out on me, but it seemed like it wanted to start tunneling, so I touched it up.
Wrap-Up
Main question you will probably ask is if the Tatuaje Cojonu 2003 is worth the price. I would say yes. I can see smoking these for a special occasion or if you have the funds, even a nightly smoke after dinner.
I was really blown away with the flavor and how it changed up on me constantly. I can not recall another cigar that has given me the amount of flavor changes that this one has.
Let me know what you think in the comments below!
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Fantastic cigar. Good review 🙂 I really agree with your experience on the cigar.
Mike – great review, thanks. I didnt see in the text you mentioning how much they go for, just that it was worth the price.
brings up a great point about aging cigars – i think you should do some kind of discussion on aging them!
They are around $13 each and $325 for a box of 25. You can find them cheaper online than that though. I know I said it in the video. My brain must have went on vacation and just didn’t type it.
Here is a discussion on aging cigars – put them in your humidor, don’t smoke them for a while.
hahahahahahha
Might have to keep that in mind for an upcoming YQMA session. If I remember 🙁
Mike
Gonna have to try these if I ever see them. My local B&M has the 2006 and possibly the 2009, but I haven’t touched them yet as they are pricey.
Repeat after me: Ta-tu-AH-hey Co-HO-new
Growing up in SoCal I picked up a little (along with 2 years of classes in High School)–the rules of the Spanish language are fewer and stricter than for English. A few are: every letter is pronounced (“creer” is “cray-air”), vowels are always pronounced the same, “J”s are pronounced like “H”s in English. There are a few exceptions but far fewer than English which is just a nightmare for non-native speakers as I understand it.
Great review Mike. It is pronounced CO-HO-NU from the word COJONES. Enphasis in the NU= cojonú. The j in spanish is like the h in english
one of my all time favorite smokes, and my favorite Tat to date (although I now have a Verocu Tubos to smoke after my trip to New Orleans!)
Great review.
The three Cojonu’s aka “ball buster” are some on my favorite smokes. They are very complex and you pick up different flavors all the way through. I find the 2003 to be the richest. The 2009 is my favorite. It’s sweeter but still fantastic. You definitely need to give that one a try.
(And yes, cojonu means ball buster)
Mike I enjoyed your review. I was smoking one of these while I watched it. I found this cigar to be medium bodied with some cocoa and spice notes and the notes do get stronger in the 2nd and last thirds. I also had some burn issues, but I think the burn issues were my fault because I did not let it rest in my humidor.. All in all I did enjoy the smoke. By the way when you say “cojonu”, The J is suppose to sound like an”H”. So it would be “co – ho – nu. Thanks for the review.
Reading through the comments it seems someone else also gave you a spanish lesson. My bad. 🙁
I had this cigar last week at a cigar bar in Boca – what a wonderful experience it was. I was taken on a journey similar to yours and didn’t want it to end… Brilliant stick.