Where Pete Johnson's Craft Meets the Stage — Four Songs, Four Cigars, One Unmistakable Blend
Pete Johnson has never done anything halfway. When he founded Tatuaje in 2003, he wasn't trying to build a budget brand or fill a market gap — he was trying to make the most honest, flavorful Nicaraguan cigars he could get his hands on, priced fairly, rolled by people who cared. That ethos built a devoted following, produced some of the most decorated blends of the last two decades, and earned him a reputation as one of the sharpest creative forces in premium cigars.
So when production costs started climbing across the entire industry — raw materials, labor, logistics — and Johnson found himself watching price points creep toward territory that felt disconnected from everyday smoking, he didn't cut corners on existing blends. He built something new instead.
Enter Sextooth.
Sextooth is the stage name of Andreas Contogouris — a Los Angeles-based musician, poet, and actor who has been a close friend of Johnson's for years. When the two started talking about a collaboration, the conversation didn't start with tobacco specs or ring gauges. It started with music. Contogouris had just released an EP called Smoking Mirror, and when Johnson heard it, the idea clicked. Four songs on the record. Four cigars in the line. Each vitola is named for a track. The result is something the cigar industry rarely produces — a blend with a genuine backstory that didn't come from a marketing department.
"I've been writing songs and smoking cigars for a long time," Sextooth said at launch. "The project with Tatuaje feels like the best gig I've gotten a chance to play."
Rolled at My Father Cigars S.A. in Estelí, Nicaragua — the same factory that produces blends for some of the most respected names in the hobby — Sextooth carries an Ecuadorian Habano wrapper in Colorado Oscuro over Nicaraguan binder and filler. The body sits firmly in medium territory. The price range runs from $5.50 to $8.50. This is not a compromise. This is Pete Johnson deciding that more people deserve access to cigars built by people who take the craft seriously.
The Blend — Ecuadorian Habano Meets Nicaraguan Soul
The Ecuadorian Habano Colorado Oscuro wrapper is the defining element of the Sextooth blend. Sun-grown in Ecuador's volcanic highlands, this wrapper shade sits between a natural and a maduro in both color and character — darker than a Colorado, lighter than a full maduro, with a natural oiliness and a sweetness that rounds out the Nicaraguan spice underneath. It's a wrapper choice that rewards the smoker who pays attention: the flavors shift throughout the cigar rather than staying fixed in a single gear.
Underneath, the Nicaraguan binder and long-filler tobaccos — rolled at My Father Cigars S.A., one of the most technically accomplished factories in the country — bring the pepper, earth, wood, and floral character that defines the modern Nicaraguan puro tradition. Pete Johnson has worked with the García family for most of his career. The Sextooth isn't an outsourced product; it's a collaboration between two operations that share a fundamental point of view about what makes a cigar worth lighting.
Available Sizes — Four Songs, Four Smokes
Every vitola in the Sextooth lineup takes its name from a track on the Sextooth EP Smoking Mirror — a detail that feels less like a gimmick and more like a philosophy. Different songs occupy different lengths and tempos. These cigars follow the same logic: same blend, different dimensions, different pace.
The Fast and Slow (4.50 × 40) is the tightest, quickest expression of the blend — a sharp, focused petit corona that delivers the Sextooth flavor profile in under 45 minutes. The Holiday (4.50 × 50) is the most balanced entry point, the ring gauge giving the blend room to breathe without slowing the pace. The William Blake (4.50 × 60) is the widest of the shorter format cigars, a gordo that opens up the tobacco considerably and draws out the earthier, sweeter notes of the Ecuadorian wrapper. The Vampire (5.00 × 58) is the statement vitola — a pointed belicoso that concentrates the smoke through its tapered head from the very first draw, adding complexity and projection that the parejo sizes simply can't replicate.
Tasting Notes — What to Expect When You Light One
Light a Sextooth, and the first thing you notice is the draw — clean, controlled, with just enough resistance to slow you down and pull you into the experience rather than letting you rush through it. The Ecuadorian Habano wrapper opens with a vibrant burst of spice, pepper, and floral notes that announce themselves quickly — this is a cigar with something to say from the first puff. Wood and earth arrive within the first third, grounding the brighter top notes and building a foundation that grows richer as the ash develops. The mid-smoke is where the blend finds its stride: the pepper softens slightly, nuts arrive in the background, and the Colorado Oscuro wrapper's natural sweetness begins to pull the profile toward balance. By the final third, the earth and wood notes have deepened, the spice has found a settled rhythm, and the lingering finish carries the herbal, slightly floral character that is distinctly Ecuadorian Habano. At medium body throughout, the Sextooth never bullies — it plays. Budget 45 minutes for the Fast and Slow, up to 90 for the Vampire, and give yourself a setting worth the smoke.
If You Love Sextooth, Try These Next
Sextooth is a great entry point into Pete Johnson's world. Here are three blends from the same creative universe that reward the smoker who wants to go deeper:
Tatuaje Tattoo Bonito — If Sextooth is the opening act, the Tattoo is the headliner. The Tatuaje Tattoo Bonito carries the same Ecuadorian Habano wrapper DNA as the Sextooth line but steps up the complexity — leather, pepper, cocoa, and a touch of molasses in a 6.50 × 52 format that shows exactly where Pete Johnson's creative instincts go when the budget is no object.
Tatuaje Cabaiguan No. 52 — Named after one of Cuba's great cigar-making cities, the Cabaiguan is the cigar that helped put Tatuaje on the Cigar Aficionado map — scoring a 93-point rating and landing on the Top 25 list. A 4.38 × 52 short robusto with an Ecuadorian Connecticut wrapper over Cuban-seed Nicaraguan long-fillers, it delivers cedar, cocoa powder, and leather in a medium-bodied package that any Sextooth fan will recognize immediately as Pete Johnson's signature voice.
Tatuaje Cabaiguan Guapos Toro Grande Natural — The Guapos Toro Grande is the Sextooth's older, more decorated sibling — a 5.60 × 54 toro carrying the same Ecuadorian wrapper character but with the added complexity that comes from more tobacco and a longer burn. If you're working your way up through the Tatuaje catalog and wondering where to go after Sextooth, this is the next step.
At CigarsDirect, every Tatuaje cigar is sourced directly from the manufacturer, stored in precision-controlled humidors, and inspected by experienced tobacconists before shipping. We guarantee the authenticity and condition of every cigar with our 100% Money-Back Promise — and provide free shipping on orders over $99 — ensuring your experience matches the excellence that Pete Johnson and Tatuaje intended.
