The JRE Aladino was a cigar line I didn’t give much attention to when it first came out.  I’m not exactly sure why because I’ve been a big fan of Camacho Cigars since they first started.  The Eiroa family are the premier growers of corojo which they call “authentic corojo”.  Their “authentic corojo” is how corojo was grown as far back as the 1960s and from the 1930s in Cuba.  Corojo used by most all other cigar manufacturers are hybrids called Corojo 99 to be more resilient to disease which also yield larger leaves and better, longer shape making it great for making cigars.  The Eiroa family takes the extra time and attention corojo needs to make it great and it shows in their cigars.

JRE Tobacco, the initials of Julio R. Eiroa, was found by Julio and Justo Eiroa, Christian Eiroa’s father and brother, in Honduras.  They oversee every part of the cigar process from seed to box.  They have 3 cigars lines:  Aladino, Rancho Luna and Tatascan.  Today’s review is on the Aladino which is a 100% corojo Honduran puro.  The Aladino is available is several vitolas, but I chose the Cazador size because it one of my favorite sizes in cigars.

 

Image courtesy of JRE Tobacco

• Wrapper: Corojo
• Binder:  Corojo
• Filler: Corojo
• Size: 6 x 46
• MSRP:  $8.50
• Purchased at Jerry’s Cigar Shop in Tallahassee, FL

 

Appearance

The cigar has a golden brown colored wrapper with a old leather appearance. The cap looks a little rough, but it’s definitely not the worst I’ve seen. I clipped the cap off to,test the draw, which was perfect.  The cold notes were hay and cedar.

First Half

The cigar starts off fantastic. I get notes of nutmeg,  cedar, vanilla cream and black pepper. On the retrohale, I get more of the nutmeg and pepper notes. It’s a very smooth cigar that puts out a nice amount of smoke. The body of the cigar is mild-medium with full flavor.

Second Half

There isn’t much of a difference in the flavors in the last half of the cigar. I still get notes of cedar, nutmeg, vanilla cream and black pepper. If anything, I get a little more of the vanilla cream. The cigar is smoking beautifully with a great burn and smoke production.  The cigar is more medium bodied now.

Conclusion

I thoroughly enjoyed this Aladino Cazador cigar.  The flavors are outstanding with notes of cedar, vanilla cream, black pepper and nutmeg.  It smokes very well and is well balanced with a long finish.  If you are a Cuban smoker, you’d love this cigar as it is close to Romeo y Julieta, Vegas Robiana or San Cristóbal de la Habana in style.  With is mild-medium body, it’s great any time of the day and is approachable by every cigar smoker.  It’s nice to see someone still using original corojo and the Eiroa family are kings at it.  They partnered with Bayer Crop Science to develop their growing and cultivation methods to grow the best corojo available.  Everyone knows if you want a great corojo cigar, you start with the Eiroas.  This Aladino is no exception.  My only regret is that it took me so long to truly discover this cigar.