To commemorate the five year anniversary of Cigar Mas Fino (CMF5) back in February of 2011,  Pete Johnson of Tatuaje Cigars made approximately 100 boxes for them based off of the Havana VI cigar line.  The biggest difference right off the bat is the color of the wrapper as you can see from the pictures.  The CMF5 release is much darker and more rich in oils because of the increased amount of sunlight received compared to the Havana VI regular production cigar.

4/25/2012

Tatuaje CMF5 ‘Celebracion de Cinco’ 

Wrapper:  Ecuadorian Habano

Binder/Filler:  Nicaraguan

Size:  5 x 50

Vitola:  Robusto

MSRP:  $10.00

Days in Humidor: 415

Smoke Time:  1hr 30min

Drink:  Water

Location:  Tasty Tobacco Shop

Construction/Appearance:  

Rich and oily with a wonderful toothy wrapper.  That’s exactly what I thought when I first looked at the cigar.  It is more noticeable when you do a side by side comparison of the Havana VI Nobles as you can see the lighter wrapper and smoother texture, as least to the eye.  I really love the dark chocolate color of the wrapper as the firm feel without any soft spots at all. The closed foot is rigid and not flaky or delicate as I’ve seen on other cigars.  The double bands has the Havana VI red band though the lower label is similar to a Verocu although this is not the same blend.  The bands came off very easily as I was smoking without damaging the wrapper.  Lastly, there is decent weight behind the cigar and I’m overall, very impressed with the construction and appearance.

Burn/Draw:

I made a very clean cut across the head with my Xikar and the cold draw feels pretty good.  It requires a small bit of effort and isn’t airy at all.  It’s always fun lighting up a closed foot as it tends to go up brilliantly in flames for a bit.  The burn was slightly jagged in the beginning and then became more tolerable as I applied a few touch ups during the review.  The draws felt very similar to the cold draw and the smoke was plentiful.  It had a certain fullness to it especially on the draws.  The grayish ash lasted a tad bit over an inch though it wasn’t flaky.  The overall experience with the burn and draw was pretty good except that I did need a relight.

Flavor/Aroma:

The wrapper has a strong aroma of cedar, sweet aged tobacco and a bit of graham cracker notes.  The foot is essentially the same.  The aromas are definitely strong on the CMF5 compared to the Havana VI Nobles vitola.  The initial draw was of rich roasted nuts and spice.  It’s gone down a bit since these were first released but the flavors are still strong. The first third starts off with some espresso, wood and pepper notes.  There is some underlying fruity flavors but are very subtle.  The flavor profile starts to smooth out becoming creamy in the end of the first.

In the second third, I’m picking up similar flavors although the pepper has moved further in the background.  In the later half of the second part, I tasted very small amounts of caramel.  The wood feels more like roasted wood.  Overall, the medium bodied CMF5 has a delicious second third.  In the last part, I pick up notes of leather and the impressive flavors in the last part aren’t as noticeable.  Finally, in the last 1/2 inch, the cigar has become more earthy with coffee.

Final Thoughts:

• The CMF5 is a medium complex cigar filled with some very inviting flavors.  Even though the cigar could have done a bit better in the final rating with more of the flavors from the second part, the overall flavor profile was still enjoyable and interesting
• I think the darker wrapper does make a difference.  While the cigar looks more appealing, the flavors are more robust and vary slightly.  While I’m glad to have a box of these, I don’t know if I would be disappointed just smoking the regular production Havana VI as I find those almost as enjoyable.
• The presentation of the cigar is beautiful though I had a few burn issues in the second and third sections of the cigar.  While I can’t say it affected the overall performance of the cigar, one doesn’t really want to deal with issues as such on a limited release run.
• The cigar has improved on the overall flavor profile.  Even though the score is the same as when it first was released, I don’t think the positive changes are dramatic enough to warrant a point higher.  I still believe these will be improving over the next 2 years when I revisit it.