Cigar Review: Tatuaje Belle Encre Reserva
The Tatuaje Reserva line is a dearly beloved release to any aficionado who is a fan of Tatuaje Cigars, and those who enjoy a dynamic medium to full bodied cigar. While the Reserva line has become a precious cornerstone in humidors everywhere, 2014 saw the release of the Reserva’s Connecticut Broadleaf goodness in a new size. The Bella Encre Reserva capitalizes on one of the new sizes released by Tatuaje to celebrate a decade of crafting fantastic smokes. Wrapped with Connecticut Broadleaf and using Nicaraguan tobaccos for its binder and filler, the Belle Encre Reserva is a perfecto cigar sporting Tatuaje’s 10 year commemorative band with the well known gold and black design of the secondary Reserva band.
Pre-light: The Belle Encre Reserva’s Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper consists of a reddish brown shade and feels smooth with a hint of toothyness. The cigar’s construction falls right in line with Tatuaje’s hallmark of producing perfectly crafted sticks. Looks aside, Belle Encre Reserva’s pre-light draw is equally flawless with a rich tobacco note and subtle sweetness lingering from the cold draw.
1/3: My journey with Belle Encre Reserva begins with notes of earth, a peppery zest and a lingering semi sweet note. This profile is short lived though as the cigar quickly falls into its true profile with flavors of cocoa, coffee bean with a hint of cedar. Belle Encre has a powerful retrohale profile with boisterous notes of spice and leather. The burn of the cigar is ideal allowing me to focus solely on the cigar’s wonderful flavors and aroma.
2/3: Belle Encre Reserva makes a gradual transition into the second third with the first third’s note of cocoa and pepper softly drifting into the background as earthy and cedar elements become prominent. Mid way into the second third of this delightful experience, I notice the addition of a slight leather note. The retrohale has also changed considerably from robust spice notes to a balanced array of cedar and leather with pepper notes only being noticeable at the very end.
3/3: Belle Encre Reserva ends with much of the same notes found in the second third. By this point in the cigar, the profile consists of leather, cedar and a fleetingly vague note of cinnamon. The note of cinnamon is very mild and barely noticeable, only appearing in the last third of the cigar. I found the Bella Encre Reserva to be an extremely well constructed cigar. The draw is perfect, the wrapper is phenomenal and the flavors work well together. One unique element I noticed about this particular cigar is how the flavor transitions occurred. While some cigars can have abrupt changes in flavor and profile, Belle Encre Reserva’s transitions were very gradual and natural. Tatuaje Belle Encre Reserva is available in 22 count travel cases at all five Hampton Roads Emerson’s Cigars location as well as online at emersonscigars.com.
