BACKGROUND: I first featured the Tatuaje Black Tubo Torpedo in Episode 205 back on Sunday, January 24, 2010. These sticks have been resting in their aluminum tube for 1 year, 2.7 months and I pulled out my last tubo this past week to let you know how an extra year of aging has affected this smoke.

The Tatuaje Black line had its roots in the travels of Tatuaje President Pete Johnson, to a famous island known for its fine cigars. Pete was spending his time in a small town and each morning, he encountered a well-dressed man riding a bicycle who would stop and give him a cigar that he carried in his shirt pocket. After smoking the cigar, he realized that it was one of the best he had smoked on the island. Pete later found out that these were very special cigars because they were cigars that the man had made for himself. As it turned out, this man, like many other men on the island made his own personal cigars at home using a blend that they personally enjoyed.

Before Pete left the island, he had cigars from a few locals who all used different tobaccos from the different growing regions. They were all great but there was one that really stood out for Pete as special. So, later, when traveling to Nicaragua to work with the Garcia family, Pete set out to reproduce this unique cigar blend and the resulting cigar was the Tatuaje Black. While not an exact duplicate of the original cigar, the Tatuaje Black came to represent that unique synthesis of place and time, and the experience of the simple life Pete found on the island.

The Tatuaje Black has a Nicaraguan Sun Grown Criollo wrapper and a Nicaraguan filler and binder. This limited release stick that was distributed in 2009, comes packaged in matte black screw-bottom aluminum tubes and in boxes of 10 cigars. This review's postscript Tubo is a 6.1 inch by 52 ring torpedo.

TASTING NOTES: After an extra year of aging, the Tatuaje Black Torpedo still charges out of the gate with full flavor and body. In the first half it was heavy on the wood and espresso with a grassy undertone. The black pepper retrohale that was prominent at the beginning, switched to white pepper at around the 1/3rd mark. The finish was long and left a lingering earthy taste in my mouth.

During the second half, the cigar displayed more sweetness to match a cedar-wood flavor. And, the final third brought an intense espresso bean flavor with a big, bold earthy finish.

As with the other samples in this batch, the burn and draw characteristics were near perfect. A razor sharp burn line gave way to a medium gray and heavy ash. The flavors are much more focused than they were a year ago and I think that this stick has another 2-3 more peak years left in it.

FINAL THOUGHTS: The Tatuaje Black Tubo Torpedo is medium to full in body and flavor. This cigar has a long finish that is sure to satisfy those whose palates long for some adventure. At $14 per stick, you have to think that some of that price is due to the aluminum tube. Outside of the fact that this was a limited edition run, I can't see why this cigar would be priced so high. Nevertheless, I would recommend that you try at least one, if you can get your hands on them.

~Doc