In my quest over the past summer to try everything Tatuaje, I almost overlooked the flagship line, Tatuaje Miami.  Also known as Seleccion De Cazador, the brown label Tatuaje line was, at the beginning of the summer, the only of Pete Johnson's offerings I had tried....and that one, smoked way back in 2003 when Tatuaje was brand new, did not impress. The noellas size I smoked just seemed harsh - with me having a less refined cigar palette, I suppose.  As a result, I had been avoiding Tatuaje for several years.  I can thank Cigar Aficionado for their top 25 of 2011 list pointing me on the right track.  Tatuaje has permanetly cemented itself as my all-time favorite cigar line.  That being said, I am stoked to try Pete Johnson's new L'Atelier line....as soon as I have one in-hand there will be a review posted.  But I digress....

I have tried both the regios and unicos sizes and have found that the torpedo size, the unicos, is the more consistent in construction, flavor, and draw.  After a couple of splayed wrappers and tight draws with the robusto-sized regios, I have fully switched to the unicos.  So how does this cigar smoke?  Let's find out....

Construction: The unicos is draped in a leathery chocolate brown wrapper that is really a thing of beauty.  This is one of those cigars that shows off the artistry of the torcedores that Tatuaje employs.  This cigar is rolled, I believe, in Miami, Florida rather than at the Nicaraguan My Father factory.  Perfectly rolled and oily, this cigar looks like you could take a bite out of it and get a mouthful of chocolate.  I wouldn't advise doing that, however.

Pre-light Aroma and Draw: The unicos has a nice aroma.  It's not packaged in cellophane, so cigars in the opened box marry flavors and usually absorb some of the cedar from the humidor.  Clipping the unicos is easy thanks to the taper and of course there is the perfect Tatuaje draw.  I have only had maybe three Tatuaje cigars with what I would call tight draws.  Finding one of Pete Johnson's cigars with poor construction or a bad draw is like finding a needle in a haystack.

Light and Burn: The unicos is an amazing smoke.  It lights easily and burns with a perfectly even light gray ash.  You know you have a found a good cigar when you keep looking at it and saying " man this is a good cigar" - case-in-point for the unicos.

Tasting: The unicos is not for the faint of heart.  New cigar smokers should avoid it until they can stomach strong cigars.  The flavors are black coffee, leather, lots of cedar, and earth.  While not an exceptionally rich cigar, the unicos really does pack a punch.

Value: Here is the only rough point to an otherwise perfect cigar....the unicos comes in at around $13.  That is nearly twice my limit for a daily smoke.  I consider this a cigar to treat myself with on payday....and worth every cent.

Final Thoughts: The unicos is the most consistent of the brown label Tatuaje cigars I have tried.  Flavors from cigar to cigar do not deviate, burn and construction are always flawless, and I am always sad to put one out.  If you are new to Tatuaje and like a full bodied, full flavored cigar then this one is highly recommended.

Wrapper: Habano Ecuador
Binder: Nicaragua
Filler: Nicaragua

Strength: Full

Size: 6 1/8X52

You can tell just by looking that the unicos is something special

An interesting side note here.  The differences between the pyramid, torpedo, and belicoso sizes are as follows:
In a Pyramid the taper extends most or all of the legth of the cigar.  With a Torpedo the taper only extends past the head of the cigar.  Lastly, a Belicoso is almost identical to a Torpedo but the taper is not as pronounced.