Originally released as a 7 x 49 Churchill in October 2015, the Hyde is the 8th Monster after Frank, Wolf, Drac, Face, Mummy, Jason, and Jekyll. Unlike previous years, this Monster release was known well in advance because of it being the other half of the Jekyll that was released the previous year. This cigar shared the same shape and size as the Jekyll, however with a change to an Ecuadorian Sumatra wrapper in exchange for the Sancti Spiritus. This is fitting as it gives the Hyde a darker appearance which fits the contrast between Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. I am looking forward to this member of the Monster Mash series because this may have been my favorite of the original Monsters I have smoked. I also typically enjoy other Tatuaje cigars with these blend characteristics.
Country of Origin: Nicaragua
Factory: My Father Cigars S.A.
Wrapper: Ecuadorian Sumatra
Binder: Nicaragua
Filler: Nicaragua
Vitola: 5 ½ x 49 Robusto
Release Date: September 2021
Company Website: https://www.tatuajecigars.com/
Expectations
I am hopeful for classic Tatuaje Sumatran goodness. Lots of baking spices, wood, cream, and subtle sweetness. I’m sure there will be moments of earth and pepper as well. I am very hopeful this Hyde does not have the performance issues of the Jekyll.
Prelight Characteristics
The wrapper is fairly dark and clean with minimal veins. I really like the green band and off white font against the darker wrapper. As with the Jekyll, the Hyde has the Cuban 109 cap, which I enjoy the look and feel of. This cigar is fairly light weight. The cold draw is like pecan pie and it smells earthy with subtle spices.
First Third
The first light is full in flavor and body with bursts of wood, earth, and baking spices. There is a bit of a pepper kick right off the bat. The draw is perfect to start. The retrohale is showing spices, pepper, and brown sugar. This is off to a great start. About a half inch in there’s some of the brown sugar from the retrohale coming in on the finish of the draw. There’s a slight citric note as well that adds a nice touch. There’s a creaminess coming in on both the draw and the retrohale. The performance has been flawless. The end of this third sees a bump in citrus and cream. It has remained full flavor and body with no noticeable strength. The pepper, wood, and earth have dropped off but the brown sugar is still present and plays nicely with the citrus and cream.
Flavor - 3.5/4
Performance - 3/3
Experience - 2.5/3
Overall - 9/10
Second Third
The beginning of the second third continues with cream, citrus, and brown sugar. There are some subtle baking spices present as well. Some pepper is showing up again on the retrohale with a little sting. Approaching halfway the woods and earth are coming back. The brown sugar, citrus, and cream are becoming subtle and secondary. At halfway the wood has taken on a slightly bitter char, but the brown sugar has become more of a cane sugar and is coming up to match and balance the bitterness of the charred wood. Ending this third, the sugar is primary with the charred wood and citrus as secondary notes. The performance and draw are still perfect. The flavor and body have remained at a full level.
Flavor - 3/4
Performance - 3/3
Experience - 2.5/3
Overall - 8.5/10
Final Third
This third begins with a bump in citrus and wood. The char has been dropped. Fairly quickly into this third it is starting to require more frequent puffing and showing an increase in pepper, wood, and earth. For the first time I am experiencing some burn issues but it appears to be remedying itself. Nearing the band the cigar is getting spongy, smoke output has dropped off, and the pepper is washing out the palate a bit. At the band point there’s a bit of sweetness coming back in, which is welcome. The ash dropped and I needed to touch up the burn a bit. The flavors are becoming harsh and are still primarily pepper, earth, and char. The cigar comes to an end feeling quite spongy with minimal smoke output and with a canoe going. The flavors remained relatively unchanged. Some strength started to show around medium to medium-fullFull body & flavor throughout. maybe, however it was hard to tell given the overall harshness of flavors.
Flavor - 1.5/4
Performance - 1/3
Experience - 1/3
Overall - 3.5/10
Overall Experience
The first two thirds of this cigar were great in all categories. They were everything I love about Tatuaje’s work with Sumatra. There was always a great balance of flavors and the cigar performed wonderfully. The final third really took a turn for the worse. The cigar got hot and spongy very soon in the final third and this created a harsh flavor profile and unpleasant smoking experience. The final third had the earth, wood, and pepper found throughout the first two thirds, but they were unbalanced and abrasive to the palate. There also weren’t the cream, citrus, or sugars there to add depth. I believe the performance was really the driving factor for the final third issues, however this, unfortunately, happens quite often with the Sumatran and Habano blends I smoke from Tatuaje. All of that said, the first two thirds were so good that I personally would put this against the Mummy for my favorite thus far. However, this is an example of why I am scoring the cigars in this Monster Mash Series by each third because the numbers indicate the overall experience. Whereas it would be easy for me to just negate the one bad third for the two amazing ones if I only gave a ranking at the end.
Final Score - 7/10
This Monster Mash box was purchased by me through UpDown Cigar in Chicago. Feel free to reach out to me with questions, concerns, criticisms, or just to talk at @guitarsandcigarsfarm on Instagram, or via email at trevor@whiskeyandwhitetails.com.