Hi guys, its been awhile since I last posted here. I had a little surgery to fix my sleep apnea problem. I couldn't smoke anything the first 4 weeks and the subsequent months I lost my taste buds. Only like a few weeks ago, I felt like I am getting my taste back and any cigars I smoked tasted "normal". IMO, for you cigarette smokers out there, it is a good way to force yourself to quit. LOL

Anyway, I recently received two boxes of the tatuaje lil monsters. They look really good in the presentation box. I know I am supposed to rest them a few weeks, but I couldn't resist. FYI, I've never smoked any of the regular monster releases, so this should be very unbiased. So I decided to start with the mini mum, which is a corona size and the lightest of the bunch. I am not the biggest fan of Tatuaje but I've enjoyed most of the ones I smoked except for the havana line.

I gave the lil cigar gentel squeeze and it felt really well pack with some give which was how its supposed to be. I decided to use a punch with the smaller hole due to the apparent good construction. The cold draw was perfect. The air came through effortlessly without any sense of breathing air. It didn't give me too much of any preliminary taste, which is not a big issue.

I lighted it up and bam the usual spiciness of tatuaje just hit you in the face. After a few puff it settled down but continue to be a part of the flavor all the way. Its not particularly strong, medium all the way I would say. It tasted much like the miami line but there was this peculiar sourness that I couldn't describe in detail. It wasn't terrible but it added some funkiness to the smoke. What a change of flavor. I particularly taste this in the retro hale. The flavor stayed pretty much the same but built up stronger as you progress towards the last third. The construction was near perfect, no issue whatsoever. I nub it easily.

I really like it a lot for an everyday smoke, if I can get them regularly. I can smoke this all day long. I can't wait to smoke the rest and see what they have to offer. If I have to score it, I would give it an 89.

Ya I know that sourness you mentioned, I read a review that described it as graham cracker, which I can kind of see. Maybe. But it reminded me of paper or cardboard, if that makes any sense. The last 2 thirds of the cigar was completely different for me though. Sourness was gone and it was awesome from there on.

I had one of these last Sunday. I liked it a lot. 89-90 points as well. My favorite of the bunch was the Little Face, though. I wish i could buy a box of them.

I liked the Babyface best also, then the Wolfie,
havnt smoked the rest yet.
The LIL Boris beat them all but i only have 3 of those left.

I already smoked the lil drac and wolfie since, but didn't have time to post reviews. I like the lil drac better of the two. I would score it a tie with the lil mum. If I am pressed, I would probably take the lil mum. But the wolfie I had was one dimensional, kinda bland. And, I really didn't like the after taste. It felt like sandpaperish. The next one will be frank jr.

quote:

Originally posted by pyramidsam:
I already smoked the lil drac and wolfie since, but didn't have time to post reviews. I like the lil drac better of the two. I would score it a tie with the lil mum. If I am pressed, I would probably take the lil mum. But the wolfie I had was one dimensional, kinda bland. And, I really didn't like the after taste. It felt like sandpaperish. The next one will be frank jr.

The Baby Face is the best of the box.

quote:

Originally posted by maven:
The Baby Face is the best of the box.

Most definitely.

baby face is good but I like the lil mum better.

I finally got through all 5 of these yesterday (which was the mini mum)... I have to agree, the mini mum is the best, followed very closely by the baby face. After that, I would say the Wolfie is followed by the Lil Drac, and last is the Frank Jr. All in all, I enjoyed every one of them, minus the Frank Jr. (which wasn't that bad, just different).

I agree with most of that. The Frank Jr. is by far the worst.

quote:

Originally posted by Scroni:
I finally got through all 5 of these yesterday (which was the mini mum)... I have to agree, the mini mum is the best, followed very closely by the baby face. After that, I would say the Wolfie is followed by the Lil Drac, and last is the Frank Jr. All in all, I enjoyed every one of them, minus the Frank Jr. (which wasn't that bad, just different).

had a assorted bunch of lils in a herfador travelling with me, after about a week, it stunk pretty bad in my herf. Wondering if these might be going through some ageing.

Mum was like smoking cardboard, wolfie was a bit sour and uneventful.

quote:

Originally posted by Kryptic4l:
had a assorted bunch of lils in a herfador travelling with me, after about a week, it stunk pretty bad in my herf. Wondering if these might be going through some ageing.

Mum was like smoking cardboard, wolfie was a bit sour and uneventful.

Do you think they could have gotten over humidified possibly (about the only thing I can think of), or maybe a bad few sticks? I didn't have any of mine ROTT, so I'm not sure on that end.

Going to look for one of these