Tatuaje Limited Edition Follows in the Footsteps of Wine

by Tom Johansmeyer (RSS feed)
Feb 6th 2010 at 9:01AM

I met with Pete Johnson, the man behind the Tatuaje cigar line, after he and I met at Jose "Pepin" Garcia's cigar factory in Esteli, Nicaragua. His right arm, sleeved with ink, made Pete easy to pick out of a crowd. Since Tatuajes are among my favorites when I'm away from home, I was excited to learn what's on tap for 2010. Unsurprisingly, Pete has something in mind that's a bit different form the norm in the cigar industry.

Tobacco manufacturers strive for consistency above all else. They want the cigar you smoke next year to taste like the one you're smoking today. This is a sentiment I've heard from Pepin's operation and across the cigar industry. And, this makes sense. If you manufactured a high-quality product of any kind and sought repeat business, wouldn't you strive for consistency?

Cigar smokers may find variations from one year to the next to be an unsettling concept, but it's one they accept readily with wine. The date displayed on the bottle means something to wine drinkers. There are good years and bad, mild years and bold. It's part of the experience associated with buying and drinking a bottle.

Pete is taking this exact concept to the cigar business. His new line is being made only with tobacco grown on Pepin's farm in Esteli. The entire process, from seed to shrinkwrapped box, occurs over only a few miles, making the new Tatuaje product a special, local affair – wherever you ultimately take it to ash. This process will be repeated annually, highlighting the consistency of provenance over that of taste. A change in the rains or soil could make next year's product different from this year's, but the parts will still come from the same place.

This is an exciting development in an industry that needs a few fresh ideas. Even though there is no shortage of brands coming to market, a lot of old ground continues to be covered (again and again and again). Pete is shaking things up with his unusual approach, in which vintage is the driver. Look for this new cigar in May, which is when Pete tells me it's expected to hit the shelves.

Tags: cigar, cigars, nicaragua, nicaraguan cigars, NicaraguanCigars, tatuaje, tatuajes, tobacco, tobacco industry, TobaccoIndustry

Filed under: Cigars

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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

TimD Feb 7th 2010 3:11AM

I really like the idea of a 'vintage' for cigars and can't wait to try these. People are quite opinionated on what Pete does with his cigars from a marketing perspective but there's no arguing that he's breaking the mold with his ideas... and backing that up with some great cigars.