Pre-light Experience

The wrapper is marbled dark brown and has some knotty, raised veins present. The seams are a bit raised and the triple cap is lifting in a few areas. The band is the traditional design for the brand with a color combination of burgundy. yellow, silver and black. The aroma from the wrapper is wood and stewed fruit while the foot brings wood and tobacco sweetness. The pre-light draw brings a full mix of cedar and floral notes.

First Third

The cigar begins with a heavily charred wood and some bitterness. At three quarters of an inch in, the char mellows quite a bit and the bitterness has left. A light mustiness has joined in. The retrohale starts with musty wood, but a big wave of nose tingling black pepper follows it. At an inch and a quarter, a hint of dark chocolate shows itself at the end of each draw. As the third comes to a close, there is a heavy black pepper that has replaced the dark chocolate at the end of the draws and it has a long finish. The strength in this third was slightly above medium.

Second Third

The second third continues with the lightly charred wood along with the heavy black pepper in the background and adds a light mustiness that shows up between those components. At a half inch in, the mustiness and lightly charred wood are even while the heavy black pepper remains on the back end. The retrohale has really mellowed out as it brings musty, charred wood and light black pepper. At an inch in, the char picks up a bit. As the third comes to a close, the charred wood is up front with mustiness slightly behind and the black pepper has lightened up a bit in the background. The strength remained at slightly above medium.

Final Third

The final third begins with the musty and charred wood even again and black pepper in the background. The retrohale is musty and lightly charred wood. At three quarters of an inch in. the char picks up some more and is a bit full. The black pepper has also dropped out at this point. The cigar finished out with the heavily charred wood and mustiness. The strength in this third remained at slightly above medium.

Burn

The burn line was straight until the second third when the cigar went out and required a re-light. After that, the burn line was slightly wavy. The ash held on in inch and a quarter increments.

Draw

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

Overall

The JRE Aladino Maduro Corona started with an average profile and remained that way until the final third when the heavy char knocked things down some. If you’re a fan of charred wood and heavy black pepper, you’ll find something you like here. I just felt it was too much and didn’t provide an enjoyable version of those components. Not likely something I’ll come back to in this vitola.

Aaron Loomis

SCORE

5.05

Cost/Point

$1.29

Scoring System

Personal Cigar Review: JRE Aladino Maduro Corona