The Particulars

The Review

This review for the Tatuaje PCA 2025 Exclusive - Robusto Grande (Box Press) (5.63 x 54) is based on the journal entry dated 2026-04-03

Appearance & Construction (0-3):  Good (3)

Box-pressed cigars always trip me up because the measured dimension is usually at the widest point, and depending on how aggressive the press is, it can be much thinner at the narrowest. Point being, they’re always smaller looking and feeling than the listed ring gauge, as it’s at the corners where the diameter is greatest, not the entire way around. The press here is a bit more aggressive, leading to a candy bar shape, so this feels more like a Corona than a Robusto Grande.

But it’s a beautiful Nicaraguan Corojo wrapper. A very warm medium brown with orange hues, it has a healthy sheen and heavy mottling. There’s a light assortment of tooth spread between the numerous thin veins. There’s a little bit of edge lift at the seams, a traditional closed foot, and a very clean triple cap. The bands are a bit generic, but I guess that’s to be expected with event-only releases.

Draw (0-3) & Burn (0-4):  Poor (1) / Average (2)

The draw is tight, and the closed foot means extra work to get it lit. Fuck, this one is too tight; we need the PerfecDraw. I have a love/hate relationship with draw tools. The PerfecDraw has these fantastic barbs and channels that do a great job of pulling some of the extra tobacco out, and it inserts itself easily. But I also hate violating the cigar, feeling the resistance let go, and hearing the crunch of the leaves being torn. It takes several deep thrusts to get the draw to open up, and I’m left with a pile of tobacco on the ground. Sadists must be the only ones who enjoy using their draw tools.

Other than the extra effort to light the closed foot, the burn is reasonably well-controlled. Box-pressed cigars never seem to burn perfectly, and this is no exception. It’s uneven with bits of wave, but it’s not canoeing or requiring relights in the first half. The ash is a light gray with wavy and erratic cracking patterns, and it starts to feather at points. The ash is holding past the midway point, but one section of the wrapper is pulling back and not burning. It’s too narrow to canoe; it’s just a little peninsula of wrapper that isn’t burning fully. I’d apply a correction, but I want to see how far the ash will hold as well. Can’t have it both ways! 😅

Flavor Profile (0-5):  Good (3)

Earthy, very earthy to start, with a mix of peanuts, espresso, and light chocolate. Then I start to get breadiness, a mix of wheat and sourdough with a molasses sweetness that turns into a thicker raisin. I start to get light white pepper and a really odd, WTF-inducing olive-cum-mushroom flavor with salt and vinegar. It’s all part of that earthy base, but it’s not quite barnyard or must. It’s not bad, but it’s not great, and it’s definitely different. The finish isn’t very creamy, but it’s a very smooth blend aside from some of the pepper bite.

The second third picks up some black pepper, but it’s still a supremely earthy blend. I’m getting charred wood, leather, more must and barnyard, less espresso, lightly moderate baking cocoa, peanut shells, less sweetness, and more of that mix of mineral and vegetal notes that sits somewhere between olive and mushroom. That vinegar flavor was fleeting, but it’s still leaving notes of salt and mineral-like earth. Again, it’s not bad or unenjoyable, but it is weird to my palate, though it does make things very rich, chewy, and savory. We can agree on a dry blend, but this has that damp, fallen-leaf kind of vibe to it. On the bright side, it’s decently balanced; aside from the very strong earth notes, it’s all very mid-level, so nothing is overwhelming. Somehow, I’m both enjoying this blend and put off by it at the same time.

The final third brings in more espresso, similar to the start of the cigar, while baking cocoa is falling off. The pepper mix is still more white pepper and less black, but earthy, earthy, earthy. Those vegetal notes have never disappeared, but the saltiness has let up a bit. The charred wood really mixed with the earth throughout the smoke, giving this a very dark profile overall, while the vegetal and barnyard notes make it rich and chewy. This is really an interesting blend. I don’t love it, but it’s definitely different.

Overall Experience (0-5):  Average (2)

It seemed like 2025 was the year where we Corojo’d all the things, and I find Corojo to be hit or miss. This was definitely more of a miss for my palate. If you’re a big Corojo fan or like really earthy blends, this will probably work for you. I haven’t smoked many cigars with these flavor notes, so if you’re looking for something different, that would be another reason to track this one down.

I might smoke this one again to give it another shot, as I only had the one example, but I didn’t enjoy it enough that I would actively look for it and want to stock up. Being that this is a one-time release for PCA and will be limited to only those retailers who ordered it at the show, you are probably not missing much if you don’t try it.

Review Base Rating (0-5):

2.75

Would I Buy It Again?

Reply hazy, try again (just ok, the juice isn't worth the squeeze)

Review Final Score (0-10):

5.67

Overall Score and Individual Journal Entries

While the review is based off one instance of journaling this cigar; there’s a number of reasons you can have different experiences smoking the same cigar multiple times. A blend can evolve with age (for better or worse), palates evolves, preferences change, and sometimes you just get a bad example!  This section captures the ratings from each journal entry and the related journal photo.  Below you’ll find an aggregate score based on every time the cigar has been journaled. Unless it was a gift or on-off smoke, this section will be updated every time I journal this cigar!

The Flavor Wheel

With every cigar I journal, I capture simple ratings of the basic flavor categories that I experience.  These are more generalized than what you would see in a review, but a distinct profile can still be built out.  When multiple instances of the same cigar have been journaled, the scores are averaged out in an attempt to build a reliable flavor profile based on my palate.

The values entered for the strength of each flavor range from 0 to 3.

• 0:   No flavor detected
• 1:   Mild flavor
• 2:   Medium flavor
• 3:   Strong flavor

Note: desktop / large screens will see a flavor wheel while mobile / small screens will see a bar chart.

With every cigar I journal, I capture simple ratings of the basic flavor categories that I experience.  These are more generalized than what you would see in a review, but a distinct profile can still be built out.  When multiple instances of the same cigar have been journaled, the scores are averaged out in an attempt to build a reliable flavor profile based on my palate.

The values entered for the strength of each flavor range from 0 to 3.

• 0:   No flavor detected
• 1:   Mild flavor
• 2:   Medium flavor
• 3:   Strong flavor

Note: desktop / large screens will see a flavor wheel while mobile / small screens will see a bar chart.