Tatuaje Fausto FT110 | halfwheel

They feel thicker than they should, but visually, the Tatuaje Fausto FT110s are covered in oily, dark reddish brown wrappers that have a bit of tooth when I run my finger down their lengths. Each cigar has an abundance of mottling present, and all three cigars are firm when squeezed, which makes it easier to find a small soft spot under the main band on my first cigar. Aromas from the wrappers are similar, with creamy leather leading sweet barnyard, leather, black pepper, baker’s spices, generic nuttiness and dry earth. My first two cigars feature a massive amount of coffee bean aromas from their feet, while the third one is more earthy in nature; regardless, all three cigars also have black pepper, raisin sweetness, bagel bread, chalk, creamy hay and a light vegetal note. A combination of cinnamon and orange zest dominates the cold draws, followed by

After such an interesting cold draw, I am a bit disappointed with the opening puffs, as a combination of spice, black pepper and dry earth sets the tone for the three cigars. After about 10 puffs, a combination of gritty earth and a vegetal note that reminds me of grilled asparagus takes over the top spots in the profile, followed by secondary flavors of sawdust, anise, gritty earth, cinnamon, creamy peanuts and a light charred meatiness. There is a large, yet not overwhelming, red pepper on the retrohale, accompanied by a sweet note that evokes German chocolate cake. My third cigar has a noticeable metallic note on the finish that the other two cigars lack completely, but thankfully, it is not an overly aggressive note, at least so far. Flavor ends the first third just under the full mark, while both the body and strength meet up at a solid medium. My first cigar needs a minor correction with my lighter, but other than that, the construction is fine.

The first thing I notice about the second third of the FT110 is that there is a noticeable decrease in the amount of spice on my tongue. The second thing I notice is that the main flavors have changed to a wonderful combination of charred meat and coffee beans. Additional notes of salted potato chips, dry hay, creamy cedar, cinnamon, chalk and almonds show up at various points, while the red pepper and German chocolate cake sweetness on the retrohale remains unchanged. Thankfully, the metallic note on the finish of third cigar has disappeared completely and all three cigars now feature a much more palpable lemongrass note, although it is strongest on the second cigar. Flavor bumps up to full, the body increases to a point just over medium, and the strength hits medium-plus. In terms of construction, my first two cigars give me no issues at all, but the last cigar runs into a couple of burn problems that necessitate two touch-ups with my lighter around the halfway point.

Honestly, by the time the final third begins, I am more than a little surprised that the strength—which ends up barely making it to medium-full—is not overwhelming me. The profile shifts again, this time to a combination of plain popcorn and charred meat for the first cigar, charred meat and gritty earth for the second and third cigars. Secondary flavors include barnyard, sawdust, creamy almonds, cedar, cinnamon and a light herbal note, while the lemongrass remains fairly constant on the finish. A mineral salinity shows up at seemingly random times during the final third for both the first and last cigars, but it never shows up in the second cigar. The amount of red pepper on the retrohale has been cut in half for all three cigars, and while the first and second cigars still feature the familiar German chocolate cake note, the sweetness on the last cigar reminds me strongly of a Hershey’s milk chocolate bar. Flavor remains at full, the body increases to medium-plus, and the strength ends at the bottom end of medium-full. The second and third cigars each need a quick burn correction to stay on track, but there are no other construction issues.

Final Notes

• Sadly, I have never had the opportunity to try the original Thermonuclear cigar. However, if you have one and wouldn’t mind parting with it, please contact us.
• The Fausto name is derived from the Latin word “faustus,” meaning “fortunate” or “lucky.”
• Speaking of names, the origin of the T110 name can be found when you break it down into separate parts: the “T” in “T110” stands for the aforementioned “Thermonuclear” while the “110” indicates the length of the cigar in millimeters.
• I have to admit that while the length is familiar, I find it a bit weird to hold a T110-branded vitola that is a 60-ring-gauge cigar.
• If you are thinking that the look of the Fausto bands seems a bit familiar, it may be because the design has quite a bit in common with the Dunhill Exclusive bands from the 1960s-1980s.
• The cigars for this review were purchased by halfwheel.

• These cigars are listed as being 4 3/8 x 60 vitolas. Above are the measurements we took when we measured them.
• The final smoking time averaged out to one hour and 37 minutes for all three cigars.
• If you would like to purchase any of the Tatuaje Fausto FT110 cigars, site sponsors Atlantic Cigar Co., Cigars Direct, Cigar Hustler, Famous Smoke Shop, Fox Cigar and JR Cigars sell them on their respective websites.

Brooks Whittington

I have worn many hats in my life up to this point: I started out as a photojournalist for the Dallas Morning News and the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, then transitioned to photographing weddings—both internationally and in the U.S.—for more than a decade. After realizing that there was a need for a cigar website containing better photographs and more in-depth information about each release, I founded my first cigar blog, SmokingStogie, in 2008. SmokingStogie quickly became one of the more influential cigar blogs on the internet, known for reviewing preproduction, prerelease, rare, extremely hard-to-find and expensive cigars, and it was one of the predecessors to halfwheel, which I co-founded.