Alrighty! I’ve been looking forward to smoking this for awhile and it’s time to get it done!! I’ve had this in the humidor for far too long and being that it’s a beautiful day to sit on my porch and light one up… well, I’m lighting up. The La Riqueza is another Don Pepin blend that’s rolled by his factory for Pete Johnson of Tatuaje. Measuring in at 6 1/2×42, the binder and filler are Nicaraguan tobaccos while the wrapper is a “naturally dark USA Connecticut Broadleaf.” Let’s get it on!!

Appearance: You can tell that it’s a Connecticut broadleaf by its roll.  It doesn’t take many wraps to get this, the biggest of the line, fully wrapped in its leaf.  There’s no tooth and slight veins.  The wrap is well done and the ever-present triple cap is smooth and flawless too.  The band is indistinct but is almost a throwback to bands of old.

Taste: This cigar is not shy.  The flavors come rolling in on the first drag and coat your palate well.  A strong leather comes first and a spice that immediately heads to the back of your throat to rest for a bit.  After the first inch and a half, it mellows out a tad and some woodiness comes forward, sending the spice and leather to the background.  About another inch into it, the leather comes back up.  It keeps changing back and forth making for a nice, interesting cigar that will hold your taste buds for a good while.  Towards the end it will turn a little bitter if you don’t ease up on it, but this is just a great tasting cigar.

Aroma: Holding this to my nose, I didn’t get much of a scent from it.  I was able to detect what seemed like a mild cinnamon when I smelled the foot before lighting.  The smoke itself has a light sweet woody scent that’s very pleasing.

Construction: Being a 42rg, it’s not surprising that the draw is a little tight.  For the flavor you get with smaller ring gauges, though, it’s worth it.  It burns well and burns slowly.  You’ll want to make sure that you don’t puff away too quickly on this, even if you want to get as much flavor out of it as you can.  Thick plumes of smoke with every draw delighted me.  The ash was flaky and I wouldn’t let it get beyond a half-inch lest I chose to wear it, but it’s a minor detraction.

Overall Impression: First, I like smaller ring gauges.  I think they’re more flavorful than their larger counterparts.  This cigar doesn’t disappoint in the flavor arena.  A medium-bodied smoke once it settles, this is still a full-flavor cigar that should be a staple in anyone’s humidor.  At $9 a stick, it’s on the higher side, but if I’m going to spend that much on one stick, this would be one I’d reach for.  Of all the sticks I’ve had from Tatuaje, this has been my favorite.

Scott had reviewed the La Riqueza No. 3 before and it scored just as high.  There’s something to be said about La Riqueza, and I figure it should all be good.

Cigar Rating:

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So the big talk of the town and all the cigar boards lately has been the new blend by Pete Johnson of Tatuaje, the La Riqueza.  I managed to get my hand on a 5 pack sampler from one of my favorite retailers, so I thought I would review it for you guys, so here you go!

Pre-Light: As I ran this cigar along my nose, as I always do, I got lots of the typical Tatuaje smells, lots of spice, some nuts and earthy flavors.  As I cut it with my trusty Palio, and took a pre-light draw.  I got the very nice typical Tatuaje spice, with lots of leather, and nuts.  I could tell I was going to enjoy this smoke!

1/3: As I toasted up this cigar and took a few puffs on it, I knew this was a cigar that I was going to really enjoy.  As I was smoking, it took all my strength to puff slowly, as I just wanted to suck it down.  As most of you know, I am a huge Tatuaje fan, and this cigar was no exception.  I got a lot of leather, nuts and peppery spice, with some earthy aftertones on the finish.  The burn was just about perfect, and the smoke was billowing perfectly.  I was in heaven with this cigar so far!

2/3: As I continued this cigar the spice kicked up a notch and the earthy flavors were also pronounced.  The nuts and leather sort of faded into the background.  At this point, the cigar is still burning perfectly, and the smoke was very abundant.  I was really enjoying this cigar.  Still in heaven, and this is on its way to becoming one of my favorites!

3/3: As I finished up this cigar, I was wishing that it was twice as long so I could enjoy it longer.  At the end of this cigar, the leather and earthy flavors came back and the spice faded just a bit.  It was still burning as straight as an arrow, and the smoke was perfect.  I am LOVING this cigar, and I hated to finally put it out.

Overall Impression: Overall, I would venture to say that this could possibly become one of my new favorite cigars, I am just not sure I could afford to buy these a box at a time   I really loved this cigar, and it was just about perfect to me.  I smoked it until my lips burned, and I still wanted more.  I know there are some of you out there thinking this cigar is a lot of hype, but I can tell you that Pete Johnson really hit one out of the ball park with this smoke.  This cigar WOULD be the first one of mine to get a full 5 stars, but it will only get 4.5, simply because the price point on this cigar is not perfect.  It’s a bit expensive for any cigar, but well worth it.  I suggest EVERYONE try this cigar… Not once, but MULTIPLE times.  I love them so much that I had to spread the wealth and I am sending a couple to Ricky to enjoy.  Hopefully he will chime in here and let me know what he thinks!

Cigar Rating:

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Hey Guys,

I am out of the country but thought I would take the time to give some info on La Riqueza. Sipping on a glass of Bordeaux makes me think of all the wealth of life that is out there to enjoy and that what this cigar is all about.

This is a new cigar that I am making with Pepin and Jaime. I am using a brand new wrapper for the factory and by far one of my all time favorites. Conn. Broadleaf to me is one of the most flavorful wrappers in the world.
The blend is more medium and has no Ligero. The wrapper gives it some of the biggest flavors you could imagine and I can’t even explain how beautiful the aroma is. Fills up the room with chocolate, coffee, and earthy notes.

Blend is classic and traditional Cuban. I think the wrapper will confuse the strength level for people. The wrapper is rich (like the name) and gives flavors that would make people think that it is a strong blended cigar. This cigar is just balanced with tons of flavor. Full flavored for me is always better than strong for the sake of being strong.

I hope to have these out is a few months and I hope you will enjoy them.
I guess if no one likes them, I will have many cigars to smoke that I love. So it works out both ways…….

Enjoy,
Pete

I, for one, am excited about it, but then again, I’ve never met a Tatuaje product I wasn’t instantly in love with. I love everything from their inexpensive P series line all the way up to the Conoju and beyond. Good luck to Pete and Tatuaje with this new cigar!

And if you’ve never been to CigarLive.com, I suggest you check it out. It’s a great place to learn about cigars and meet other cigar lovers like yourselves.

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