I hope everyone had a safe and enjoyable 4th! While many were smoking patriotic themed cigars this weekend, I reached into the humidor and pulled out a few Illusione ~mj12~ to review. Our own Brian Hewitt reviewed the ~mj12~ last year and the most glaring difference between this review and his review is that my box didn’t come all nicely wrapped in tin foil. Apparently when my box was packed there was a shortage of tin foil but have no fear, the tin foil will return so we can all make little tin foils hats to protect us from those pesky satellites. LOL.
The Illusione ~mj12~ replaces the extinct ~mj7~ which was a salomon sized smoke. It be cool to try and track one of those down. Definitely check out Brian Hewitt’s review as he’s our resident historian and does a great job tracking down the story of each cigar.
Video runs around 11 minutes and maybe you can help me decipher the code on the side of the box of the Illusione ~mj12~? The ~mj12~ wasn’t my thing. I really think Dion’s blends really pop and its uniqueness shine in smaller ring gauges. The 6×54 ~mj12~ was a bit airy and its sized was its worst enemy by taming and washing out it’s flavor profile.
Jerry finding out what the code is is easy
Majestic-12 or Majic 12 (sometimes written simply as MJ-12 or MJ-XII) is the code name of an alleged secret committee of high-level scientists, military leaders, and government officials, supposedly formed in 1947 at the direction of U.S. President Harry S. Truman. The purpose was to investigate UFO activity in the aftermath of the Roswell UFO incident, the purported crash of an alien spaceship near Roswell, New Mexico in July 1947. This alleged committee is an important part of the UFO conspiracy theory of an ongoing government cover up of UFO information.
The primary evidence of a group with this name is a series of questionable documents that first emerged in 1984 and which have been the subject of much debate. The original MJ-12 documents state that “the Majestic 12 (Majic 12) group … was established by secret executive order of President Truman on 24 September, [sic – see discussion] 1947, upon recommendation by Dr. Vannevar Bush and Secretary [of Defense] James Forrestal.” [1] Dr. Bush was named as head of the group.
The existence of MJ-12 has been denied by the United States government, which insists that documents suggesting its existence are hoaxed. The FBI investigated the documents, and concluded they were forgeries. Opinions among UFO researchers and enthusiasts are divided: Some argue the documents may be genuine, others contend they are phony, due primarily to errors in formatting and chronology.
In 1985, another document mentioning MJ-12 was found in a search at the National Archives. Its authenticity is also highly controversial. The documents in question are rather widely available on the Internet, including on the FBI’s own website, linked below.
Since the first MJ-12 documents, thousands of pages of other so-called MJ-12 documents have also appeared, all of them controversial. Some have been proven to be unquestionably fraudulent, usually retyped rewrites of other totally unrelated government documents. The primary new MJ-12 document is a lengthy, linotype-set manual dating from 1954. It deals primarily with the handling of crash debris and alien bodies. Objections to its authenticity usually center on questions of style and some historical anachronisms.
However, before the appearance of the various dubious MJ-12 documents, unquestionably authentic Canadian documents dating from 1950 and 1951 were uncovered in 1978. These do mention the existence of a similar, highly classified UFO study group operating within the Pentagon’s U.S. Research and Development Board, and again headed by Dr. Vannevar Bush. Although the name of the group is not given, these documents remain the most compelling evidence that such a group did exist. There is also some testimony from a few government scientists involved with this project corroborating its existence.
Makis – thanks. I knew what MJ12 stood for. What I don’t know is what Plan MJ-1949 is?
Hi Jerry, nice work as always.
I have gone back and forth as to my favourite Illusione cigar. I have finally settled on the cg:4.
Cheers
Plan MJ-1949 was first mentioned by Eisenhower in a briefing document for the MJ12.
Here is a link to the document.
http://www.v-j-enterprises.com/mj12.html
CG4 and MK are my favorites. I like the Cruzado Domenicos also. I wasn’t that impressed with the HL, but I did have crazy high expectations for it. I make sure to have a box of CG4’s in my humidor at all times.
I smoked the Illusione ~mj12~ a few month. The cigar favors were well balance to eachother that each of the note was not over power eachother, and It is a medium in strength. It is not like the ephany favors. It ‘s stand-out strong because, it is a small ring gauge. I love them all.
jerry if this stick wasnt ur thing why did you buy a box?
More than likely it was either the most affordable box in the line or I was feeling adventurous and wanted to try something new. I think it was the first reason. LOL.
This is one of the sticks that consistently hangs near the bottom of my list of favorites from Dion. Something about the size that is just too much. The ring gauge is out of my general comfort zone, and I agree that the flavor profile suffers because of it.
My faves are the mk, f9, and 88 of the original line.
I’ve sadly yet to try anything from Dion Giolito. I don’t like buying online too much and my local B&M never has them…..ever. Poor me :(……lol. Enjoyed the review as always Jerry.
Good review Jerry.
FYI the ~m7~ was my favorite prior to this. I have to admit that the ~mj12~ is much better. I really like the 54 ring gauge in this cigar.
BTW just got a few Nosostros Sixty. I’ll send you a couple.
~ m7 ~
Magdala 58 x 6 ½”
A complex journey of flavors within an ample smoke.
“Woman from Magdal. This may appeal to you Holy Blood, Holy Grail/Davinci Code Types out there. The M7 is a Salomone – shapely and perfect – woman. She is also Pregnant.”
I’ve been smoking one Mj12 a week for six weeks. Three were wonderfully flavorful; two were were modestly flavorful; and, one was almost flavorless. I’ve smoked eight cg4s and found them to be consistent, delivering plenty of good flavor every time. However, Padron 000s are a bit cheaper; and, other much-cheaper Nicaraugan puros are good enough for my palate and much better suited to my budget. I hope I can remember that and resist temptation!
Ahaha you slipped a little one at 6:10 hehehe “Grade-A sh*t”
I have smoked a bunch of these and agree that they vary in intensity a bit. I find the middle of the stogie to be predominantly sweet chocolate with rasin flavors that I absolutely love. I would be happy to take that box off your hands. This is one of my current favorites.
Nice review, as always. Interestingly, I’ve always found the MJ12 to be stronger than the others (except the 88).
I’m thinking of having an “Illusione Week” soon, smoking a different vitola every day for better comparison 🙂