Tatuaje Havana VI Verocu No.2 | Cigar Review

Wrapper: Ecuadorian Habano (The limited production blend used Nicaraguan Habano)
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan
Size: 5.5 x 54 Verocu No.2 – Robusto Grande”
Body: Medium/Full
Price: $10.00 MSRP

Today we take a look at the new version of the Tatuaje Havana VI Verocu No.2.

Before I begin, I must admit I had trouble researching this blend. As it appears to have changed as of mid-2015 from the earlier limited edition runs, the information was broad and overwhelming. Trying to split the chaff from the wheat…old reviews and news from the new reviews and news; was a chore. At one point, I thought I would just say screw it. I do believe that I’ve gotten the very small amount of information correctly thanks to Cigar Coop’s posting dated July 1. 2015.

BACKGROUND:
Factory: My Father S.A. Nicaragua

From Cigar Coop’s web site (Thank you, sir):
“It has been talked about for some time, but Tatuaje Cigars is releasing its Tatuaje Verocu line as a regular production line. Verocu has its roots back in 2007 when it was created as a limited edition offshoot of the Tatuaje Havana VI (Red Label) line. The Tatuaje Verocu will be available in six sizes. The company is now taking orders and currently is shipping the cigar. The cigar is expected to be showcased at the 2015 IPCPR Trade Show.

“Tatuaje Verocu is a modified blend which is pretty much said to be an amp’d up version the Tatuaje Havana VI line. The origins of the Tatuaje Verocu line go back to 2007 when Tatuaje Cigars’ founder Pete Johnson created two limited edition cigars that were based off the original Tatuaje Havana VI line. One of those limited edition cigars was a 6 1/4 x 52 regional release to the West Coast of the U.S. called Verocu No. 1 (Exclusivo Lado Occidental). The other was a 5 1/2 x 54 regional release to the East Coast called Verocu No. 2 (Exclusivo Zona del Este).”

This is the most complete explanation. Thanks Coop.
There are plenty of reviews of the limited production run, from 2007 on, but only a few of this new blend that was released recently.

DESCRIPTION:
A very rustic looking stick. An oily, dark baking cocoa colored wrapper. Toothy in some places and very smooth in others. Tight seams. Lots of veins. A perfect triple cap. And extremely solid.
A nice double cigar band.

SIZES AND PRICING:
Verocu #1 Toro Grande: 6.25 x 52 $10.00 MSRP
Verocu #2 Robusto Grande: 5.5 x 54 $10.00 MSRP
Verocu #3 Corona Larga: 6 x 46 $9.00 MSRP
Verocu #4 Robusto: 5.25 x 50 $9.00 MSRP
Verocu #5 Petit Corona: 4 x 40 $4.25 MSRP
Verocu #9 Petit Robusto: 4.5 x 49 $8.00 MSRP
The cigars come in 20 count boxes except for the Petit Corona which comes in 50 count boxes.

AROMAS AND COLD DRAW NOTES:
The shaft aromas are very subtle. I can smell sweetness, spice, nuts, cocoa, and coffee.
From the clipped cap and the foot, I can smell dark chocolate, spice, leather (Yes! I’ve said it: Leather!), dried fruit, black tea, coffee, and earthy tobacco notes.
The cold draw presents flavors of hay, spice, powdery baking chocolate, nuts, creaminess, coffee, raisins, and tea.

FIRST THIRD:
Takes a while to toast the foot of this mamajama.
The draw is good. And the heavy cigar is held tightly between my lips.

Flavors blow the pot of the kettle from the get go: Red hot spice, Chocolate, lots of malt variation, coffee, nuts, dried fruit, and cinnamon.

Whenever Pete Johnson works closely with Pepin Garcia, one thing is usually guaranteed: A very spice meat’a’ball.
The malts really jump in early with Chocolate Malt, Chocolate Rye Malt, Coffee Malt, Crystal/Caramel Malt, Flaked Oats Malt, and Maris Otter Malt. (See Malt Chart).

Strength is medium/full.

That is a lot for so early in the cigar. I’ve had the cigars a couple weeks or more. I believe Darryl Martin gifted it to me..but to be honest, I’m having a terrible time keeping track of the few care package donations. So my apologies. I feel some heavy Jewish guilt. I also feel bad that I may have pissed off some wonderful people who spent some bucks on sending me the new blends and then I go ahead and diss the cigar. I have to be honest whether the cigar is bought by me, or given to me by a friend, or a manufacturer. That’s why you read me…I think. Or maybe just to watch me make an ass of myself. Either way works for me.

I get a big crack at the foot of the cigar. Hopefully, I will blow right through this without any attention given to it.

The sweet juicy raisins are showing off now. Transitions have begun and so has the complexity.
Flavor explosion. Like stuffing an entire movie theater sized box of Mike and Ike in your mouth at once.
Sweet Spot 1.0.

I saw more than one review that gave this cigar a PERFECT score! That kind of excited me in an old man sort of way.
I’m burning through that large crack now and its wreaking havoc with the char line. But a little touch up and things calm down. The cigar has a couple tree trunk sized veins and one goes all the way down to the foot. This may have been the source of the crack. I don’t know what the fuck I’m talking about.

SECOND THIRD:
Smoke time is 35 minutes.
Did everyone watch the debate? That Governor Chaffey gentleman reminded me of a Dr. Seuss character. Chaffey I am.
I also loved that they had a lunatic Jew (Bernie Sanders) on stage that night going nuts and berserk. My kind of Jew. That’s me in 9 months. I have more hair though.

And away we go: Spice, creaminess, raisins, chocolate, mocha java, malts, sweetness, cinnamon, and black tea.
Strength is medium/full.

Sweet Spot 2.0. The Tatuaje Havana VI Verocu No.2 is doing some heavy duty carpet bombing to my palate. Wonderful cigar. Über flavorful. Rich and complex and smooth as my tush. Balance is perfect. A long and winding road…er..finish.
The 2” ash gently disembarks the mother ship.

I now read Kaplowitz every day. He is the brother I never wanted. Such a clever and funny guy. He loses me on the pipe tobacco stuff but even that is funny. He is much smarter and much more clever than me. I’m so happy to have discovered him before I slipped into total brain fog. It feels like I’ve passed the torch. I’m guessing that Kap may be pushing 40 or something like that. So he could be my love child from my rock star days. Hello son. I dated a young girl back then named Schmata Kaplowitz. Concidence? I think not.

Before I went to England, I dated one of the few Jewish girls in my life. I didn’t like how pushy little Jewish girls were. I stuck with the Shiksas. Anyway, this girl was drop dead gorgeous. She had long beautiful hair that went all the way down to the top of her butt. Slim with big boobs.

But then a smack of reality. My first time in bed with her was a nightmare. She had thick pubic hair that started at her belly button and ended at her knees. I dated her once more and then moved on. I get the chills just thinking about that.

Oh yeah, the Tatuaje Havana VI Verocu No.2. Slipped into an alternate reality for a moment.
This is a goddam perfect blend. I’m wallowing in it. I’m savoring every nano second.

There is a gritty quality to the smoke. Rough cob but yet super smooth in its approach. The best of both worlds.
Strength becomes full bodied. No nicotine but crash helmet at the ready.

I got Charlotte an early B Day present. A new CD called “The Essential Van Morrison.” Came out this year. Charlotte and I are both huge fans of Morrison.
I’m playing the almost 40 song CD right now. What a difference in sound from my cable TV classic rock channel. Even with the sound bar.
I’m listening to the first disc of his early stuff from the mid-60’s. I remember playing all of his new stuff back then in my rock bands. Even “Gloria.” My band did what we called a “Freak Out” version. I bought the first bass fuzz ever made. You plugged it into the amp and plugged your cable into the silver unit. It had an off and on button only. So in the middle of the song, I would switch it on and go crazy playing weird solos which included lots of feedback. We played lots of Love Ins. They loved it. I got huge applause for making my bass sound strange.
For birthdays, we basically tell each other to go out and buy what you want. The days of romantic, imaginative gifts are long gone. This way, we are both happy.

Another crack forms. Drat. I glue this one before it spreads. I believe I let it dry box too long at 72 hours. I just forget.

HALFWAY POINT:
Smoke time is 55 minutes.
Time flies because I’m so enjoying the Tatuaje Havana VI Verocu No.2.

The cigar is going to get a very high rating despite the wrapper issues which are my fault.

The malts and creaminess take over. Spice moves to middle ground. Along with the chocolate and coffee and raisins.
The Tatuaje Havana VI Verocu No.2 is so rich I want to punch myself in the face and mangle my naughty bits.

Smoke pours from the foot like a Pittsburgh chimney.
Sweet Spot 3.0+++.

It is going to be very hard to be objective with my rating. I could easily give it a 100.
“Moondance” (1970) is playing. This is the song that taught me to walk the bass line.

Goddam the Pusherman. The transitions are a wild man. The spiciness has returned with a vengeance and now leads the pack. A strong, boastful red pepper.

I check the usual suspects online. SBC only carries the 4.5 x 49 size. A 5 pack goes for $36.00. then minus your 10% promo code and the stick is $6.48 instead of the MSRP of $8.00. CI is the only online store that carries the entire line. This cigar goes for $8.00 instead of the MSRP of $10.00. Couldn’t find any of the line on Cbid.

LAST THIRD:
Smoke time is one hour 20 minutes.
Damn fine cigar. Johnson and Garcia hit this one out of the park with the new wrapper.
I read my 2013 review of the original Tatuaje Havana VI Red Label. Totally different experience.
The Tatuaje Havana VI Verocu No.2 is a better blend.

Boy, it’s going to be hard to follow up this review tomorrow. I can’t think of another cigar that has given so much pleasure consistently throughout the entire cigar experience.

Transitions come hard and fast.
The creaminess is so lush that the blend becomes a chocolate-coffee-malted.

One of the greatest songs of all time is playing now: “Tupelo Honey.”

If you haven’t tried this new blend, you need to. The good news is that this is now a regular production blend. So all you greedy bastard online stores…go suck it.

Just be careful when you search for it and don’t mistake it for the original limited edition.
These two hours have flown by.
What I wouldn’t give for a box of these cigars.

The Tatuaje Havana VI Verocu No.2 is a true masterpiece.
The flavor profile never lets up. Each sip of water is nirvana as your palate is cleansed.
I have one stick left, I believe. I think I want it put in my casket with me. LOL.
If you gander at the sizes, I couldn’t have wished for better planning. True boutique sizing.
I consider the Tatuaje Havana VI Verocu No.2 a big cigar. Yet it smokes like a Corona..in terms of flavor intensity.

RATING: 96

PRICE POINT:
$10 bucks. No rage against the machine this time. Worth every shekel. Plus you can get them cheaper if you shop around.