Pre-light Experience

Seth: The Tatuaje Sextooth Holiday is a nice cigar in hand. It appears to be some sort of robusto, and is finished with a lovely Colorado wrapper that has some tooth and very small veins throughout. It has a nice firmness as a cigar, and is rolled well. The aromas on the cigar are that of barnyard, earth, warm spices and tobacco.
John: The Tatuaje Sextooth Holiday features a Colorado-colored wrapper. I weighed the cigar at 12.1 grams and measured the humidity at 58.4% using the HumidiMeter Pro. Aromas from the wrapper were quite mild, offering tobacco and wood, while the foot delivered similar notes with a touch more sweetness from the tobacco.
Jiunn: The Tatuaje Sextooth Holiday has an even Colorado wrapper shade with a fine grit sandpaper like texture. Veins are well pressed, seams tight, bunch and roll even and the head is well wrapped and capped. Pre-light aromas give strong cedar presence on the nose and cold draw.

Tatuaje Sextooth Holiday

First Third

Seth: The first third starts out with lovely barnyard notes that are paired with spices, manure, coffee and tobacco. Rich earth notes are present as well, and the cigar is between medium and medium-full in strength and body.
John: The first third opens with bread and light-plus spices combining, while tannic wood defines the finish. A few puffs in, delayed earth appears on the post draw, building to medium-minus strength as the third settles in. Through the bottom half, green wood emerges in the center of the retrohale, adding a slightly fresh, vegetal edge to the profile.
Jiunn: There’s an immediate cedar wood bitterness that is caking my palate. This overtakes the good notes of sweet cream and dehydrated vegetables. Retrohaling gives toasted cedar and soft dried red pepper spice. The finish is incredibly long in the worst way as the cedar bitterness seems never ending. Medium strength and body.

Tatuaje Sextooth Holiday

Second Third

Seth: The second third is in line with the first. Rich earth, barnyard and manure notes lead the cigar with some tobacco, coffee and spice notes on the finish. In terms of strength and body, the cigar is between medium and medium-full.
John: The second third begins with creamy green wood and earth, with tannic wood carrying through the finish. As the cigar progresses, a bread note enters the retrohale, combining with dry wood. The profile remains steady but leans increasingly toward dryness.
Jiunn: The second third’s cedar bitterness is less invasive but there’s now an addition of tinny metallic notes. It’s the same as the first third such that the better flavors of sweet cream and dehydrated vegetables are still being overshadowed by the bitterness and metallic notes. Strength and body remains medium.

Tatuaje Sextooth Holiday

Final Third

Seth: The final third encompasses the qualities of the first and second. Rich earth, barnyard, tobacco and manure notes. Touches of coffee and warm spices present on the finish, and the cigar has a clean and smooth finish. Medium to medium-full in strength and body.
John: The final third opens with bread and tannic wood, with the tannic wood lingering through the finish. By the halfway point, mild bitterness joins the finish, adding a slightly harsher edge to the profile.
Jiunn: The final third is unchanged from the second third. Still the same dominant waves of cedar bitterness and tinny minerals overtaking the good flavors of sweet cream and dehydrated vegetables. Strength and body is still medium.

Tatuaje Sextooth Holiday

Burn

Seth: The burn is very good throughout the cigar.
John: The burn started straight, with ash holding just under one-inch increments. It became uneven in the second third, requiring a touch-up, and remained mildly wavy through the final third.
Jiunn: Burn performance was great, capturing an even burn, tight ashes, ample smoke production and cool burning temperatures.

Tatuaje Sextooth Holiday

Draw

Seth: The draw is perfect from beginning to end.
John: The draw measured 28 inches of water on the Cigar Medics draw tester. Subjectively, it sat between one-and-a-half and two notches toward the open spectrum, providing an easy and consistent draw.
Jiunn: The draw was also great, giving ideal air flow and resistance.

Overall

Seth: The Tatuaje Sextooth Holiday is a nice little smoke. It delivers a flavor profile that is fairly complex, and while there is not much transitioning throughout the cigar, the core profile is complex enough to carry the cigar. It’s nice in appearance, and has a great burn and draw. The earth, tobacco and manure notes are really enjoyable. I have a feeling this is just a classic Nicaraguan puro, but I am curious to know all the information.
John: This cigar opens with a fairly balanced and approachable profile, with bread, spice and earth working together in a way that feels cohesive, if somewhat restrained. The introduction of green wood through the retrohale adds a bit of character early on, giving the first third a slightly fresher dimension that sets it apart from a more traditional wood-forward profile. As the cigar moves into the second and final thirds, the profile becomes increasingly dominated by tannic and dry wood. While the flavors remain consistent, they lose some of the subtle interplay that made the opening more engaging. The addition of bitterness in the final third further narrows the experience, introducing a harsher edge that detracts slightly from the overall balance. From a construction standpoint, the cigar performs well, with a solid burn aside from a single correction and a draw that sit just outside the ideal range. The shorter smoking time also makes this a quicker experience compared to others in the rotation. In the end, the Tatuaje Sextooth Holiday delivers an average performance with reasonably good construction and a consistent profile, but one that is ultimately limited by a progression trending toward dryness and reduced complexity in the latter half. Total smoking time was a bit on the quick side at 1 hour and 16 minutes.
Jiunn: If there was a cigar of the year for wrecked palate, this Tatuaje Sextooth Holiday will win it. The aggressive cedar bitterness and tinny minerals were immediately off-putting and there was no redemption from it. It was one of those scenarios in which I couldn’t wait to get through the cigar. No thank you.

Seth Geise

SCORE

7.07

Cost/Point

$1.06

Scoring System

John McTavish

SCORE

5.85

Cost/Point

$1.28

Scoring System

Jiunn Liu

SCORE

4.33

Cost/Point

$1.73

Scoring System

Team Cigar Review: Tatuaje Sextooth Holiday