Tatuaje Miami Noella

For many years, I seldom had any cigars in my humidor with ring gauge of less than 50, with the mid 50s being preferable. Fat cigars fit my fat fingers and fat face, so that's what I rolled with. Perdomo 10th Anniversary, check. Camacho Diploma, check. Even the tubby Nub, check.

Until the day I grabbed a Tatuaje Miami Noella. Wow. Though the 42-ring cigar felt tiny in the grip of my bratwurst-shaped fingers, the flavors and experience opened up new avenues to explore.

Tatuaje Miami Noella

One of Pete Johnson's earlier lines, Tatuaje Miami is a stalwart Nicaraguan puro rolled by Pepin Garcia. The chocolate brown wrapper is webbed with small veins, but has a silky texture with a mildly oily sheen. The draw has a perfect balance of resistance and smoke. Ash only holds on for just over an inch, perhaps due to the narrowish ring gauge.

The first half-inch is an explosion of woody spice, retrohaling will give you splinters here. The blast tones down to a steady pace of bold, woody tones with dark earth and leather. The spice subtly comes in again near the nub. Definitely a medium-bodied cigar with a muscular intro.

Tatuaje Miami Noellas are one of my frequent favorites, and I almost always leave the shop with a pair of these. If they would cost considerably less than $8, I'd walk away with considerably more of them. But, that's Life, right?