Tatuaje Seleccion de Cazador - Regios vs. Black IPA (Homebrew)

I knew when I put these two items in the ring together that it was going to be a knockdown drag out, punch me in the teeth until I cried "Mama" type of smackdown. I have to say, I wasn't disappointed. Of course, three-days later, I'm still recovering.

All kidding aside, I was really looking forward to this pairing. The Black IPA is one of my favorite brews. I brew it every chance I get and I drink it every chance I get, too. To put it bluntly, it's a good damn beer and it deserves to be paired up with a good damn cigar. Well ladies and gents, the Tatuaje Regios is the perfect match up. From its dark habano wrapper to it's big strength in a small package attitude, this Tatuaje stands its ground with ease.

I also want to give a huge thanks to our good friend Ron aka "Shuckins" over at Puff.com, who was kind enough to send me my very first bomb. A bomb, which included this little maduro mouth grenade. And one thing I want to say about Shuckins before we get into this review is that he is an incredibly generous person and when I told him about one particular aspect of the cigar that really surprised me, he laughed and said, "Now you know why I bomb people with cigars."

Brew Background: The Black IPA is assuredly a U.S. concoction. According to NorthernBrewer.com, the Black IPA's roots are firmly planted in West Coast craft breweries. It's a hugely hoppy beer with a great malt finish. When you're drinking this brew, it's truly a passive-aggressive experience. On the one hand, it's kicking you in the teeth with its hoppiness, but when it finishes, it soothes you with it's gentle caramel-coffee malt caress across your tongue.

The ingredients come in either an all-grain or kit brew. For this brew, I used the kit. Price ranges from $36.99 - $48.23 depending on what yeast you use.

The Kit Includes:
.25 lbs Dehusked Carafa III
.25 lbs Chocolate Malt
.5 lbs Briess Caramel 80
3.15 lbs Dark Malt Syrup (60 min.)
6 lbs Dark Malt Syrup (15 min.)
1 lb Corn Sugar (Flameout)
1 oz. Summit (60 min.)
1 oz. Chinook (15 min.)
1 oz. Centennial (10 min.)
1 oz. Cascade (5 min.)
1 oz. Centennial (Flameout)
1 oz. Cascade (Dry Hop)

Wyeast 1272 American Ale Yeast II
Safale US-05

I used the Safale US-05. It's a clean-fermenting dry yeast that gives reasonable attenuation, even on big beers like this one. And yes, you read that right: There are SIX hop additions to this brew. Can you say pump up my IBUs?

My O.G. was about 1.078, which is a bit higher than the kit sheet predicts (1.075), however, I'm using five-gallon carboys, so I can only put about 4.75 Gallons of wort in without worrying a lot about blow-off. My final gravity was 1.018, which gives an ABV of about 8%.

This is NOT a session beer.

And the Tatuaje is not a session cigar. It's a cigar that makes no bones about wanting to kick your ass. But guess what? Remember how our Black IPA has this passive-aggressive thing goin' on? Tatuaje has the same type of issue as you'll see.

Tatuaje Seleccion de Cazador - Regios Background: Tatuaje is Spanish for Tattoo. Regios means regal, magnificent, kingly, etc. So yeah, it's like a king with a tattoo and an attitude. The Tatuaje brand was originally developed by Pete Johnson and Don Pepin. The cigars are manufactured at the El Rey de los Habanos factory in Miami, Florida and at Tabacalera Cubana S.A. in Esteli, Nicaragua.

Tatuaje Regios Facts:
Country of Origin: Miami, FL
Wrapper: Habano Ecuador
Binder: Nicaragua
Filler: Nicaragua
Length: 5.5 in.
Ring: 50
Box Count: 25

The price of this cigar is between FREE (thanks to Shuckins!) and about $9.00 for a single at AtlanticCigar.com or maybe just a bit higher at your local B&M. 5-packs from Atlantic are $42.95 and boxes are roughly $230.00 for a box of 25 (at the time of this review).

The Review:


Pint
The appearance of this beer is amazing. It's like an oil slick in a pint glass. The beer is tar black with a gorgeous tan head that tickles the top edge of the glass. For a kit brew, the head is nice, but it dissipates too quickly for my taste. If I saw this beer without knowing what it was, I would guess Imperial Stout or possibly a Bourbon Barrel Porter.

Puff
The Tatuaje is a gorgeous cigar in its own right. It does have a few veins, but they don't detract from the cigar. I mean, think about it, this cigar was named Tatuaje because of Pete Johnson's tattoos. I look at this cigar and I actually enjoy the idea of the veins being similar to tattoos. The seams are nicely disguised. I did have an issue with my guillotine, so I ended up with a minor tear at the shoulder of the stick. I love the simplicity of the band. In my mind, I'm thinking, okay, this cigar doesn't have any pretense. It says, I'll let the smoke speak for itself. And it does.

Pint
The overall taste of this Black IPA is amazing. The hops nail your tongue to the bottom of your mouth and don't let it up for a full five-seconds. However, shortly after that initial hops smackdown, the caramel of the malt soothes your wounds and lets your tongue back up for another round. Which is a good thing, because one drink is never enough.

Puff
The cold draw on the Tatuaje is perfect. Not too loose and not too tight. Nice taste of tobacco and just a hint of pepper. Just wait, though, this is only the beginning. When you first toast the Tatuaje Regios, you're met with oak and tobacco. The foot toasts quickly and the cigar lights up easily. There's just a slight aroma of catnip after the initial purge. It's actually a nice smell when it's combined with the oak and tobacco. My first retrohale made me wonder if I'd made a mistake. There's a definite hit of hot pepper. The secondary smoke smells delicious, but it definitely lets you know that there's some serious tobacco in this cigar. It says, "Hey, I'm not hiding anything, are you?" Of course, later on, we'll find out that it was indeed hiding something.

Pint
The mouthfeel on this beer is light and smooth. No chewing necessary. The libation goes down smooth once the hops have cleared the way. Each drink has that beautiful caramel finish with just an aftertaste of hops that makes you smile. What's interesting about this beer is how well it matches up with the Tatuaje.

Puff
This cigar really never lets you forget that it's a cigar. The smoke is so thick you can chew it. It's almost like silk in your mouth. The second-third begins with nutmeg. The pepper and spice are gone and the ash is dense and razor sharp. The smoke really billows out of this thing. Despite its size, this cigar is not a morning smoke. It's a sit back and enjoy the buzz type of cigar. I can almost hear it speaking, "Yeah, y'all best eat before ya' smoke me, bitchezzzz...." And yes, I think it is definitely trying to make me into its bitch.

Pint
My overall impression of the NorthernBrewer Black IPA is face-punching hops and rich caramel finish. To be honest, I'd never serve this beer to my buddies. Why? Because I'm a selfish bastard and I want it all for myself. The pint finishes smooth and silky with a bitter punch in the mouth. I like it.

Puff
So, I'm sitting enjoying a slight nicotine buzz and I lose about an inch and a half of ash. However, I'm not too upset, because a cool front just went through and I know it's going to rain and after 105-degrees for several days straight, I'm good with that. I've got an even burn going and now leather has joined the party. So far, I'm roughly 45-minutes into the cigar and I'm enjoying it.

So, I'm sitting and minding my own business and my thoughts revolve around the idea that this cigar is like a prize fight. It starts off wanting to kick your ass. Roundhouses and uppercuts of pepper, spice, and oak. Then, it sits back and rests a bit. The spice and pepper leave and it takes a few jabs here and there as the smoke progresses over several rounds. It's almost as if it's building up energy for the later rounds. To be honest, I was a bit concerned that it was going to knock me on my ass during the last third.

Nearly 2/3 through and there are no issues with relights or touch-ups. This is a strong-bodied cigar. However, when it finally hits you with that knock-out punch, it's so unexpected that it's like Micky Ward in the 12th round. You think you've gotten him beaten back and all of the sudden, out of nowhere...

Chocolate.

Yes, you read right. Beginning that last third, the chocolate was so strong. There was just a hint of pepper around the edges, but the chocolate was predominant. It was like finally getting to the center of the tootsie pop. Oddly enough, this blend just really works. And when I mentioned this to Shuckins, that was when he posted back to me that this was the reason that he cigar bombs people. It's that first-time smoking something and getting surprised by it.

The cigar loses its ash about every 1 1/2 inch, but it recovers nicely and the smoke is never harsh. The finish is great. You can nub this cigar with no regrets and no bitter harshness.

Final thoughts: I can't imagine pairing this cigar with anything but my Black IPA or a Bourbon Barrel Porter. It has to be something that will stand up to the stick and vice versa, the stick has to stand up to the brew. I like this combination a lot. The Tatuaje is well worth nubbing (and yes, I did). Getting through the first 2/3 of the cigar is so worth it to get to that amazing chocolate.

This cigar, like the Black IPA, is a full-bodied stick. Neither of these are for the faint of heart and you definitely should eat before you smoke it.

Rating:
Tatuaje Seleccion de Cazador - Regios - Excellent. I give this cigar a resounding 5 out of 5-puffs.

NorthernBrewer Black IPA - Easily one of my favorite beers and easily 5 out of 5-pints.

That's all for now...