Tatuaje
- Founded in
- 2003 — Estelí, Nicaragua
- Factories
- My Father Cigars, Estelí, Nicaragua
- Countries
- Nicaragua
Tatuaje was born of a meeting between a passionate Californian and a Cuban family of rollers. Pete Johnson was selling cigars in a Los Angeles shop when he persuaded José Pepín García, who was then rolling in Miami, to blend one for him. The first Tatuaje came out of a tiny workshop; production followed the Garcías to Estelí, where their factory became one of the most respected in the country.
The brand mattered because it arrived at the right moment with the right idea: a cigar made by Cuban methods, with Nicaraguan tobacco, sold to an American smoker who had no access to the Havana. It does not imitate the Cuban, it borrows its grammar — the formats, the construction, the rhythm of the burn — and fills it with a franker material.
The name means tattoo, and the founder wears several. This is a brand that adopted a personal aesthetic very early, against the grain of a trade then much attached to crests and crowns. Part of the attachment it inspires comes from that: you know who is behind it.
Range Depth
Brown Label
The original line, which has carried the brand since 2003. Cuban grammar, Nicaraguan matter: pepper, leather, and a slow, even burn that owes everything to the Garcías' rolling.
Robusto · Corona
Havana VI
The gentler register of the house, meant for the daytime rather than the evening. Less pepper, more wood and toasted bread.
Corona Gorda
Cabaiguan
Pete Johnson's mild side — Ecuadorian Connecticut over Nicaraguan tobaccos, named after a town in Cuba.
Black Label
2007 — first sold in jars, Pete Johnson's Cuban-style line.
La Riqueza
2008 — broadleaf wrapper over Nicaraguan tobaccos.
Monster Series
The annual Halloween edition since 2008 — Frank, Drac, Face, Wolfman —, in numbered coffin boxes.
Ambos Mundos
2010 — both worlds, a moderately priced cigar.
🥃 Pairings
Rye whiskey
The spice of the rye joins the pepper of the blend rather than contradicting it.
Cuban coffee
Short, tight, sweet: the traditional counterpoint to the profile the brand lays claim to.
Source : en.wikipedia.org « Tatuaje » et cigaraficionado.com (Pete Johnson, 2003, la collaboration avec Pepín García et la fabrication chez My Father) ; tatuajecigars.com (Cabaiguan, cape Connecticut d'Équateur sur tabacs nicaraguayens — la ligne douce de Pete Johnson) ; tatuajecigars.com (Black Label, 2007, d'abord en jarres ; La Riqueza, 2008, broadleaf ; Monster Series, l'édition annuelle d'Halloween depuis 2008 ; Ambos Mundos, 2010)