Today we review the Tatuaje 7th Corojo. Back in 2022, Tatuaje Cigars founder and owner Pete Johnson introduced his Tuxtla series. The Tuxtla Series involved taking existing Tatuaje cigars in the portfolio and replacing them with a Mexican wrapper. A couple of years later, Pete Johnson set out to work on a Corojo project. This time, instead of simply replacing the existing wrapper on several Tatuaje cigars, he opted for a Nicaraguan Corojo wrapper grown by the Garcia family. Nicaraguan Corojo is not a new addition to Tatuaje; it was used in the company’s early days and also featured in the Tatuaje Verocou Blue project.
The Tatuaje 7th is one of the more popular cigars in Tatuaje’s history. It traces back to the Tatuaje Seleccion de Cazador (Brown Label) series. It got its name from being the seventh vitola in the original Brown Label series. That cigar featured a Habano wrapper. Other variants of the blend were produced, including a 7th Reserva (Connecticut Broadleaf), a 7th Reserva Capa Especial (Sumatra), and the 7th Tuxtla. Now the 7th Corojo has become the latest variant.
So, let’s break down the Tatuaje 7th Corojo and see what this cigar brings to the table.
SPECIFICATIONS
Blend and Origin
In addition to the Mexican San Andres wrapper, the Tatuaje 7th Tuxtla consists of all Nicaraguan tobaccos for the binder and filler. The Garcia family handles production at the My Father Cigars factory in Estelí, Nicaragua.
- Wrapper: Nicaraguan Corojo
- Binder: Nicaraguan
- Filler: Nicaraguan
- Country of Origin: Nicaragua
- Factory: My Father Cigars S.A.
Vitolas Offered
The following are the six cigars in the Tuxtla Series. Normally, we list all of the sizes of a particular blend in this section. In this case, each of these is a separate blend.
- Tatuaje 7th Corojo: 5 5/8 x 46
- Tatuaje Cohete Corojo: 4 x 50
- Tatauje T110 Corojo: 4 3/8 x 52
- Tatuaje Avion Corojo: 6 7/8 x 52
- Tatuaje Cojonu 2012 Corojo: 6 1/2 x 52
The 7th Corojo is a classic Corona Gorda measuring 5 5/8 x 46. These come in 21-count boxes. Production comes out of the My Father Cigars factory in Estelí, Nicaragua.
Appearance (*)
The wrapper of the 7th Corojo can be described as a “light rosado” or what I like to refer to as a “pink wrapper.” While it isn’t a traditional pink, it resembles a shade of pink that I find appealing. There wasn’t much oil on this wrapper, and it had a slight texture with very subtle mottling. Any visible veins were minimal, and most of the seams were unnoticeable.
PERFORMANCE
Pre-Light Draw (*)
A straight cut was used to remove the cap of the 7th Corojo. Once the cap was removed, it was time to commence with the pre-light draw. Overall, the pre-light draw delivered a mix of wood and natural tobacco. This wasn’t the most exciting pre-light draw I have had. Since the pre-light draw is not factored into our numerical score or value ratings, there was no loss of points here. At this point, it was time to toast up the 7th Corojo and see what the smoking phase would have in store.
Tasting Notes
The 7th Corojo opened up with more notes of natural tobacco and wood. There was also some fruit sweetness present. As the cigar burned through the early phase, earth and black pepper joined in. The natural tobacco eventually emerged as the primary note with the wood, fruit, earth, and pepper secondary. The natural tobacco notes delivered both sweet and bitter notes, with the bitters having a slight edge. Meanwhile, there was an additional layer of black pepper on the retrohale.
The second third of the 7th Corojo saw the natural tobacco notes remain primary. During this stage, there was a gradual increase in the pepper. Meanwhile, the wood, fruit, and earth notes continued to round out the profile from the background.
The final third continued to see the natural tobacco notes grounded in the forefront. There was still some increase in pepper intensity, but by this stage it was slow. There still were fruit, earth, and wood notes from the background. This is the way the 7th Corojo came to a close. The resulting nub was soft to the touch and cool in temperature.
Burn
The 7th Corojo maintained a relatively straight burn path and had a jagged burn line. At the same time, this cigar still required multiple touchups along the way. While the touchups kept the burn on track, it felt a bit like pulling on a rope with the burn line, which seemed to want to stay jagged. The ash had a near silver color to it. This ash was skewed toward the looser side. In terms of burn rate and burn temperature, both maintained ideal levels.
Draw
Overall, the draw of the 7th Corojo performed excellently. It had what Ben Lee terms from The Smoking Syndicate as a “milk shake draw” – namely a touch of resistance. If you have read my assessments over the years, you know this is the sweet spot for me. At the same time, this was a low-maintenance cigar to derive flavor from.
Strength and Body
Overall, the 7th Corojo delivered a medium-strength, medium-bodied smoking experience from start to finish. In terms of intensity, I didn’t see this cigar increase or decrease in either strength or body. When it came to strength versus body, the body had the edge.
BANDING AND PACKAGING NOTES (*)
The concept of the Corojo series is similar to how the Tuxtla series works. Namely, the cigars use the same primary band of the original cigar the Corojo is based on – and then add a maroon band with the text “COROJO” in gold. The scheme works great – and makes it really easy to identify this cigar as a Corojo series blend. The cigars also keep to the cabinet-style boxes the other 7th cigars use – which is something that I like.
OVERALL ASSESSMENT
Final Thoughts
I’ve had fun going through the Tuxtla series, and now I am having fun going through the Tatuaje Corojo series. The 7th has always been one of my favorite cigars. While the Corojo wrapper still delivered a nice smoking experience, I feel it fell short of some of the other wrapper options this line has to offer. One thing that stood out to me was the price – at $9.50, it is almost a bargain in today’s market. While I would personally lean toward another 7th cigar, or one of the other Corojo cigars, I wouldn’t discourage one from trying this. It’s an easy Try a Sample value rating in my book.
Summary
- Key Flavors: Natural Tobacco, Wood, Fruit, Earth, Natural Tobacco
- Burn: Very Good
- Draw: Excellent
- Complexity: Medium
- Strength: Medium
- Body: Medium
- Finish: Very Good
Rating
Value: Try a Sample
Score: 88
REFERENCES
Photo/Video Credits: Cigar Coop
(*) Indicates this is not factored into the score or value rating
