Pre-light Experience

Seth: The Tatuaje PCA 2025 is a lovely cigar that is pressed well. The foot is closed off some, and it is nicely done. The cigar looks good, and there is a nice cap on the cigar as well. There are aromas of tobacco, spices and wood. Texture is that of leather with few veins. Very nice Colorado coloring. Classic tobacco leaf coloring.
John: The Tatuaje PCA 2025 has a Colorado color wrapper and a soft box press shape, with a closed foot as an artisanal complication. I weighed the cigar at 16.9 grams and measured the humidity with the Humidimeter Pro at 60.9%. Aromas from the wrapper included a sweet, almost spirit-barrel-like sweetness along with bread, mossy wood and earth. The foot aroma was not detectable due to the closed foot.
Jiunn: The Tatuaje PCA 2025 has a wrapper on the lighter side of Colorado Red where it’s more brighter red than copper. The wrapper looks of good quality as there’s a nice oily sheen and even traces of toothiness. Veins are well pressed, seams tight, bunch and roll even and the head is well wrapped and capped. Pre-light aromas give floral jasmine tea and barnyard.

Tatuaje PCA 2025

First Third

Seth: The first third begins with wood, hay, leather and cream qualities. There are some nuts and seasoned wood aspects, salts and herbal qualities, but they are subtle with the blend. Right around medium in strength and body.
John: The first third opens with sweet tobacco, bread and mild wood, with a mild leather note to finish. The retrohale brings light-plus baking spices, and tannins quickly join the wood on the post draw as the cigar settles in. As the first third continues, the post draw wood evolves into more of a green wood at light-plus strength. Chocolate joins the retrohale at light-plus strength by the halfway point.
Jiunn: The first third shows good balance. Equal parts toasted mixed nuts, baking spices and minerals. Retrohaling introduces dried red pepper spice and creamy mixed nuts. The finish is clean but short with aged cedar. Strength and body is medium.

Tatuaje PCA 2025

Second Third

Seth: The second third delivers a similar profile. I am getting leather, cream, nuts, salted wood, hay and herbal qualities. Like the first third, the cigar continues to smoke at a medium level for strength and body.
John: The second third gets going with bread and wood leading off. Sweet tobacco comes through in the finish with mildly tannic wood that lingers through the post draw. As the cigar approaches the halfway point, the tannic wood moves to the forefront at medium-minus strength. Toasted, medium-strength earth joins the post draw through the bottom half.
Jiunn: The first half of the second third mimics the first third. However on the second half back end, the profile struggles. It’s reduced to just minerals and cedar, lacking complexities and overall enjoyment. Strength and body is still medium.

Tatuaje PCA 2025

Final Third

Seth: The final third is in line with the first two thirds. No change.
John: The cigar moves into the last third with creamy baking spices leading off, followed by wood and mild bread, as baking spices and tannic wood combine into the post draw. The baking spices recede to a supporting note as the cigar reaches the halfway point. Tannic wood leads off through the bottom half at medium-minus strength.
Jiunn: The final third struggles more than the second third. The minerals and cedar from the second third now have a palate caking harshness, which extends the finish but in the worst way possible. Strength and body finishes the same medium.

Tatuaje PCA 2025

Burn

Seth: The burn has been great throughout the smoking experience.
John: The burn was razor straight through the first third and started straight in the second third. Some minor waviness developed and required a touch-up to correct. The burn was straight through the last third.
Jiunn: No concerns on the burn. Even burn, tight ashes, cool burning temperatures and ample smoke production.

Tatuaje PCA 2025

Draw

Seth: The draw has been great from beginning to end.
John: I measured the draw at 60 inches of water with the Cigar Medics draw machine. Subjectively, I found the draw to be between 3 to 4 notches resistant. Initially, I thought this might be due to the closed foot, but the draw resistance did not improve.
Jiunn: No concerns on the draw as well. Ideal air flow and resistance.

Overall

Seth: The Tatuaje PCA 2025 is an average cigar, and not a blend I would purchase in the future. I may smoke the cigar if it is handed to me, but it really depends. It is rather one dimensional and lacking in depth and complexity. It’s not a bad a cigar, but there is not much with the cigar. It’s a cigar that is easy to forget after smoking. Other than that, decent looking cigar with a nice burn and draw.
John: This was a cigar that started with some intrigue but ultimately settled into a more linear and wood-driven experience. The first third showed the most promise, with a nice mix of sweet tobacco, bread and evolving wood characteristics, along with some added depth from chocolate and baking spices through the retrohale. That early balance and progression hinted at something more dynamic than what followed. As the cigar moved into the second and final thirds, the profile shifted toward a more tannic, wood-forward direction, with earth gradually building in strength. While not unpleasant, it lost some of the nuance and balance that made the opening third interesting. The baking spices and sweeter elements faded into supporting roles, leaving a more straightforward and somewhat drying experience. Construction was solid from a burn standpoint, requiring only minor correction, but the draw was noticeably average. The resistance remained higher than ideal throughout, and while the closed foot may have contributed early on, it didn’t improve enough to elevate the smoking experience. In the end, this Tatuaje PCA 2025 is an average performing cigar that shows flashes of complexity early but doesn’t fully capitalize on them. It’s a decent smoking experience overall, but one that feels like it left some potential on the table. Total smoking time was 2 hours and 7 minutes.
Jiunn: This Tatuaje PCA 2025 started off good, but it took a dive deeper and deeper into the dumpster the more I smoked it. Initial offerings of toasted mixed nuts, baking spices and minerals were nothing short of a good cigar, but as the cigar progressed, the flavor complexities weakened and by the end the harsh caking on my palate ultimately confirmed this is not something I’d turn back to.

Seth Geise

SCORE

5.50

Cost/Point

$2.73

Scoring System

John McTavish

SCORE

5.55

Cost/Point

$2.70

Scoring System

Jiunn Liu

SCORE

5.75

Cost/Point

$2.61

Scoring System

Team Cigar Review: Tatuaje PCA 2025