Tatuaje Nuevitas Jibaro Staff Review
I’m smoking Tatuaje Nuevitas Jibaro in a 5-by-54 format called No. 1, which cracked the ‘Top 10 Cigars of the Year’ with the critics at Cigar Aficionado in 2019. I’ve reviewed plenty of Tatuaje cigars in the past, including the original Brown Label, 10th Anniversary, 20th Anniversary, and Corojo. I’ve known Tatuaje founder Pete Johnson for fifteen years, and I’ve always been impressed with the potent Nicaraguan blends he produces with renowned cigarmakers Pepin and Jaime Garcia.
Tatuaje Nuevitas Jibaro cigars are blended from an oily Corojo ’99 wrapper leaf, cultivated in Nicaragua, and a powerful recipe of premium Nicaraguan long-filler tobaccos. Nuevitas is the name of a Cuban town 400 miles east of Havana in the Camagüey Province, home to a bay sighted by Christopher Columbus and his crew in 1492. Jibaro loosely refers to an individual from the countryside, a nod to Pete’s intention of creating a simple, farm-rolled cigar. Nuevitas Jibaro comes in an orange-and-white cigar band and is packaged in plain 25-count boxes. Strong aromas of leather, wood, and fresh tobacco emanate from the cigar the second I extract a Nuevitas Jibaro No. 1 from a new box.
Besides the cigar’s reddish-brown wrapper and orange band, the first thing you’re likely to notice is that this chunky Robusto is crafted with a shaggy foot, meaning the wrapper leaf is purposefully cut short of the cigar’s foot. Since the binder and filler tobaccos are a touch longer than the wrapper, you taste them independent of the wrapper when you first light the cigar. After a few minutes, when the burn line reaches the wrapper, you will taste a different profile as the wrapper ignites. A shaggy foot, essentially, allows you to perceive the difference in flavor that the wrapper leaf imparts.
Nuevitas Jibaro arouses my taste buds and nasal passage at once in the cold draw after I clip the cap and savor a few raw puffs before lighting up. The tobaccos are particularly peppery and aromatic. A subtle tanginess lingers around the edges, offering a Cubanesque quality. I slowly toast the foot with matches to get a good impression of the binder and filler before the wrapper burns.
Tasting notes of leather, black pepper, and wood emerge in the first five minutes, with spicy undertones intensifying as the wrapper leaf starts to combust. Deep notes of cedar, spice, and cocoa develop; however, the texture is slightly dry and charry at first. A robust bouquet, akin to a fireplace, fills the office with an enticing, dense room note. Generally, Tatuaje cigars are full-bodied, and the No. 1 unfolds with a brawny, spice-forward profile.
Nuevitas Jibaro persists with a complex core of oak, leather, black pepper, and crushed red pepper flake, with supporting notes of almond and cedar. The cigar performs precisely, leaving a firm, long ash that I tap off the end in two-inch increments. After forty-five minutes, I’m well into the second half as I prepare to remove the band and savor the nub. There’s no reason to rush through this powerful smoke. Its spicy, rugged flavor deserves a slow-smoking pace to pick up all its nuances.
As I devour the final third, Nuevitas Jibaro meets my expectations with lots of classic Tatuaje flavor and a long, resonant finish of earth, wood, and spice. Best of all, I’m treated to a juicy crescendo, offsetting the dry, charry texture that momentarily disrupted the profile in the first half. Add Nuevitas Jibaro to your humidor when you’re craving an intense, small-batch Nicaraguan cigar from Tatuaje.
