Pre-light Experience

The wrapper is medium brown with a bit of a turtle shell effect to it. There is a visible network of medium and fine veins, but all are pressed smooth. The seams are also smooth, but visible due to the color variation of the wrapper. The head is finished off with a very well applied triple cap. The band is the traditional company band and I think that later versions of the cigar came with a foot band the denotes the line. The aroma from the wrapper is of earth and cocoa while the foot brings wood and a pretty sweet natural tobacco aroma. The pre-light draw brings the same components of the foot aroma with wood and sweet tobacco with the addition of a light spice on my lips and tip of my tongue.

First Third

The cigar begins with a lot of strength and flavors of wood, cream and black pepper. At an inch in, the strength settles down quite a bit as does the black pepper letting the wood and cream show a bit more nuance. The retrohale is a mix of the wood and black pepper. At an inch and a quarter, the cream drops back a bit to become even with the black pepper while the wood is very full. As the third comes to a close, the cream ramps back up to become even with the wood while the black pepper is very faint in the background. The strength started all the way at full but finished up right at medium.

Second Third

As the second third begins, some chalkiness joins in with the wood and cream while the black pepper remains very faint in the background. The retrohale carries the chalky wood and cream. At a half inch in, the chalkiness begins to lessen while the wood and cream are still paired at equal levels. At an inch in, the chalkiness is very faint along with the black pepper and the wood and cream are up front. At an inch and a quarter, a slight bitterness joins the wood which knocks out the chalky component. As the third comes to a close, the bitterness subsides allowing the chalkiness to reappear in the background while the wood and cream remain up front. The strength in this third remained at medium.

Final Third

As the final third begins, the wood gains some char while the cream moves to the background. At a half inch in, the cigar warms up a bit bringing some mintiness to the charred wood and cream. The mintiness is also on the retrohale along with the charred wood. At an inch in, the mintiness has eased up as some more has come in to pair with the wood while the cream remains in the background. This is how the cigar finishes out. The strength in this third bumped up to slightly above medium.

Burn

The burn was a bit wavy the entire way but never needed any attention. The ash held on in one inch increments.

Draw

The draw was slightly looser than I prefer but didn’t cause any issues with the smoking experience.

Overall

The cigar started with a big burst of strength with very full notes of wood, cream and black pepper. An inch in, things eased up quite a bit and the profile remained centered around wood and cream the rest of the way. Construction was very good. This is another good offering from Jeremy Jack and is a good darker cigar to fill out the profile. While the Jeremy Jack JJ23 Robusto isn’t a wow cigar, it could be attractive to fans of San Andres. While I wouldn’t necessarily go back to this often, I wouldn’t have a problem smoking it again if I had access to them.

Aaron Loomis

SCORE

5.85

Cost/Point

$1.54

Scoring System

Personal Cigar Review: Jeremy Jack JJ23 Robusto