Confused at what year it was, confused at what show it was, revealing Dion Giolito’s uncanny resemblance to Anthony Bourdain, and Pete Hassell Johnson Jr.’s alter ego of “Dick Hassel Dick Jr.”… buckle up for a roller coaster ride of an interview at the Tatuaje booth during PCA 2021.
In terms of product, Tatuaje is prepping for the Monster Mash sampler, which is slated to ship in late Sep. or early Oct. of this year. The sampler—limited to 13,000 units—contains one of each blend in the Monster Series, with the addition of a new blend: The Creature. Each cigar in the lineup is sized one and a half inches shorter (yet using the same ring gauge) than its full-sized counterpart. The Creature may see a full-sized release later down the road, said to be based off the size of the 5⅜” x 48 Belle Encre from the Tatuaje 10th Anniversary release.
Unlike every Tatuaje booth in recent memory, there was no Monster cigar on display, though Pete mentioned the return of the first cigar in the collection—The Frank—which will be re-released in its full size, being offered exclusively in the sought-after dress box presentation.
Another release that had been teased on social media before the trade show was the Tatuaje Advent Calendar, consisting of 24 cigars to be opened between Dec. 1 and Dec. 24. This consists of 15 regular-production blends, including monster cigars, Halloween cigars, and holiday blends. Each cigar is sized at 4½” x 46, with 5,000 units tentatively scheduled for the first week of Nov. Pete first brought up the advent cigar calendar idea on a cigar forum in 2009, though it had not been tried until this year, where there will be at least three manufacturers/retailers offering similar concepts.
Other releases include the first new Cojonú cigar (Tatuaje Cojonú 2021) in nine years, two PCA-exclusive sizes of the Tatuaje Private Reserve, and the La Riqueza SE (which was being sold at the show but will not ship until spring 2022).
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