Pre-light Experience

Aaron: The wrapper on the JM Tobacco Española Year of the Dragon is between light and medium brown and has some thick, raised veins present. The seams are smooth and the caps well applied. There are two bands, both in a matte red and gold color combination with the primary denoting the brand and the secondary denoting the line. The gold text is hard to read without putting the band in the right light and angle. The aroma from the wrapper is airy cedar and light earth while the foot brings prune and cedar. The pre-light draw brings sweet cedar, floral notes and light earth along with a mid-level spiciness on my lips and tip of my tongue.
Seth: The JM Tobacco Española Year of the Dragon is an average looking cigar. The bands seem dull against the dark Colorado wrapper. Rough wrapper with small and medium sized veins throughout. Coarse and bumpy in texture. No soft spots. Dark clay coloring. Aromas of spices, tobacco, leather, earth and cocoa on the foot.
John: The JM Tobacco Española Year of the Dragon came in cellophane and had a UPC sticker and the cigar info. The UPC tears off as a whole piece when the cellophane is opened as it is made of something more resilient than just paper. There is a primary Española band and a secondary Year of the Dragon band. I weighed the cigar at 16.2 grams and measured the humidity to 62.2%. Aromas from the wrapper include sweet tobacco, musty spices and wood. Some sweet tobacco, hay and wood is present from the foot.

JM Tobacco Española Year of the Dragon

First Third

Aaron: The cigar begins with toasted cedar, dry earth and baking spice. At a half inch in, the baking spice transitions to black pepper. The retrohale is toasted cedar, earth and mild black pepper. At an inch and a half in, the earth is now right behind the toasted cedar and the black pepper has mellowed a bit. As the third comes to a close, the toasted cedar is just ahead of the earth, with the black pepper just behind the middle of the profile. The strength was right at medium.
Seth: The first third begins with notes of earth, red pepper, leather and a mocha quality on the finish. Medium in strength and body. Damp lingering flavor profile. Not overly complex, but balanced.
John: The first third gets going with wood, baking spices and a clean wood finish. There is a creaminess that picks up in intensity as the spices also move up to medium strength. As the first third settles in, the spices are lingering into the post draw. Some bread comes into the retrohale at roughly the 30 minute mark. By the halfway point, light-plus wood is defining the post draw. Through the bottom half, the spices have also receded to light-plus, matching the wood.

JM Tobacco Española Year of the Dragon

Second Third

Aaron: As the second third begins, the earth is now even with the toasted cedar up front. At a half inch in, some light leather joins the profile. The retrohale is now toasted cedar, earth and light leather. As the third comes to a close, the toasted cedar and earth are even up front, with the black pepper behind the middle of the profile and some leather in the background. The strength remained at medium.
Seth: The second third is right in line with the first. There is some tobacco notes present with leather, earth and red pepper. Bits of coffee notes on the finish. Medium in strength and body.
John: Creamy earth greets me in the second third, followed by tobacco as earth finishes. Some bread breaks back into the retrohale and brings some wood. Tannic wood joins the finish as the cigar continues to evolve. At the halfway point, creamy wood is leading with light earth mixing in.

JM Tobacco Española Year of the Dragon

Final Third

Aaron: As the final third begins, the pepper mellows a bit and the leather picks up a bit. At a half inch in, the toast level increases a bit. The retrohale is now toasted cedar and earth with light amounts of black pepper and leather. At three quarters of an inch in, a vegetal note with some bitterness joins the profile. At an inch and a quarter, a light mintiness joins the profile. As the cigar wraps up, the toasted cedar and earth are even up front, with the vegetal bitterness and mintiness in the middle and black pepper and leather in the back half. The strength bumped up to slightly above medium.
Seth: The final third delivers some red peppers, earth, tobacco and leather notes. Spices and coffee are present on the finish. Like before, medium in strength and body. Damp finish.
John: The last third opens with creamy wood, mild earth in the center and wood in the post draw at light-plus strength. I find the profile remains unchanged to the halfway point. As the cigar reaches the halfway point, post draw tannins have joined the wood at medium strength.

JM Tobacco Española Year of the Dragon

Burn

Aaron: The burn was a bit wavy at times and I needed to do a touch-up once to keep things in line. The ash held on in inch and a quarter increments.
Seth: The cigar smoked well from beginning to end. Easy draw.
John: The burn started uneven and developed into a canoe, requiring a touch-up. Some time later, the cigar went out, requiring a re-light. The burn continued uneven through the second and last thirds, requiring a touch-up in the last third to correct.

JM Tobacco Española Year of the Dragon

Draw

Aaron: The draw was slightly tighter than I prefer, but didn’t cause any issues with the smoking experience.
Seth: The cigar had a decent burn line from start to finish.
John: The draw was at most one notch towards the open spectrum which puts it in the ideal range between open and resistant for an amazing draw.

Overall

Aaron: The cigar began with toasted cedar, dry earth and baking spice. The baking spice transitioned to black pepper fairly quickly. The second third saw some leather join the profile. The final third saw some vegetal bitterness join in and also some mintiness. The JM Tobacco Española Year of the Dragon had an average flavor profile throughout, focused around the toasted cedar and earth. Black pepper and leather were supporting notes and then the vegetal bitterness and mintiness joined during the final third, but these additional notes didn’t elevate the profile at all. This is the first of the more premium offerings that I’ve smoked from the brand, but it wasn’t all that impressive and I wouldn’t really see myself coming back to it in the future.
Seth: The JM Tobacco Española Year of the Dragon was a decent cigar. I think there is something to say about turning a limited-edition cigar into a regular production cigar the same year, but looking at this cigar it was average/decent from beginning to end. At no point was the cigar offensive, it just never took off. It had a consistent flavor profile from start to finish. I am done with these Zodiac cigars.
John: The JM Tobacco Española Year of the Dragon had a promising start with interesting flavor combinations that engaged me. I found the profile less complex in the second third, but still maintained pleasant flavor components. The draw was perfect while the burn required two touch-ups and a re-light to correct. I think the price point on the JM Tobacco Española Year of the Dragon is below the 2024 average, which makes it a good value. But based on the flavor profile, this isn’t something I’d be likely to return to. Total smoking time was 2 hours and 30 minutes on the nose.

Aaron Loomis

SCORE

5.40

Cost/Point

$2.41

Scoring System

Seth Geise

SCORE

5.25

Cost/Point

$2.48

Scoring System

John McTavish

SCORE

5.80

Cost/Point

$2.24

Scoring System

Team Cigar Review: JM Tobacco Española Year of the Dragon