Pre-light Experience

Seth: The JRE Aladino 250th is a nice looking cigar. The wrapper is between Natural and Colorado in coloring, and it is silky in texture. There are medium sized veins present throughout, and it has a nice firmness. The aromas are that of leather, tobacco and wood.
John: The JRE Aladino 250th has a Colorado Rosado-colored wrapper and appears to be a Toro vitola. The wrapper is smooth and has a well-applied cap. I weighed the cigar at 12.7 grams and measured the humidity at 58.8% with the HumidiMeter Pro. Aromas from the wrapper included light-plus-strength barnyard, wood, hay and tobacco. From the foot, I was getting much simpler aromas of hay and wood.
Jiunn: The JRE Aladino 250th has an even Colorado wrapper shade. Veins are well pressed, seams tight, bunch and roll even and the head is well wrapped and capped. Pre-light aromas give subtleties in star jasmine flowers and barnyard.

JRE Aladino 250th

First Third

Seth: The first third begins with leather, spices, tobacco and wood notes. There are some faint earth qualities, and there are mineral components present with those. Medium-full in strength and body.
John: The first third begins with a musty, sweet and herbal tobacco note. Dry wood and herbal notes combine through the finish and into the post draw. On the retrohale, baking spices settle in at medium-minus strength, combining with some musty tobacco. The baking spices recede as the cigar continues toward the halfway point, reaching roughly light-plus strength.
Jiunn: The first third kicks off with a great combination of marshmallows and creamed coffee. Soon, there’s zippy minerals, jam like stone fruits and cedar. Retrohaling shows elevated spice via dried red pepper spice. Finish is fairly clean with roasted mixed nuts. Strength and body is medium.

JRE Aladino 250th

Second Third

Seth: The second third delivers more mineral notes from before. It is between medium-full and full now, and I am getting minerals, spices, leather, tobacco and strong wood.
John: The cigar moves into the second third with sweet, musty and spicy tobacco. All of those flavors are intensified to medium-minus strength through the retrohale and are joined by light-plus bread. By the time the cigar reaches the bottom half of the second third, the profile has settled into a combination of musty tobacco and wood, with tannic wood finishing the post draw. Overall, I find the profile quite linear.
Jiunn: The second third’s flavor profile melds more harmoniously. I’m really digging the jam like stone fruits as it really sings via mouth draws and the finish. Strength and body is still medium.

JRE Aladino 250th

Final Third

Seth: The final third is too much for me. The mineral notes are dominant, and it has some pepper spices, leather, tobacco and wood notes. Full of strength and body.
John: The cigar moves into the last third leading with a combination of sweet tobacco and wood, as tannic wood and spices take the cigar into the post draw. Tannic wood moves to the front of the profile as the last third settles in, with bitter hay following in the center and lingering into the finish. Dryness accents the hay, combining with wood by the halfway point. Through the bottom half, bread returns to the front of the profile but is pushed underneath the musty tobacco, wood and bitter hay already present.
Jiunn: The final third still gives off that great jammy stone fruit note but the other flavors of marshmallows, creamed coffee, minerals and cedar are too distant now. The finish is also a bit more cedar wood driven as compared to the mixed nuts. Strength and body finishes the same medium.

JRE Aladino 250th

Burn

Seth: The burn of is very good from beginning to end.
John: As with every review, I lit the cigar with my Xikar Tactical single torch lighter. The burn started straight, becoming uneven as it continued. The cigar went out spontaneously at the halfway point, requiring a re-light. The burn remained uneven through the second and final thirds, but no further intervention was required.
Jiunn: Burn performance was nearly perfect. The only issue was unburnt wrapper within the second third.

JRE Aladino 250th

Draw

Seth: The draw in is perfect from start to finish.
John: As with every review, I used my Colibri SV to make a V-cut. I measured the draw with the Cigar Medics draw machine at 58 inches of water. Subjectively, I found the draw to be roughly one to two notches into the resistance spectrum, making it slightly resistant on each puff.
Jiunn: Draw was nearly perfect as well. Just a bit snug for my tastes.

Overall

Seth: I was not blown away by the JRE Aladino 250th. I thought the flavor profile was too harsh and mineral forward from the get go, and as the cigar progressed it got more intense. The flavors of tobacco, spices, leather and earth were overwhelmed by the mineral flavors. Solid construction, but not my cup of tea.
John: Blind Cigar #1604 was a fairly straightforward smoking experience that never really developed beyond its core combination of musty tobacco, wood and baking spices. The first third had some potential, with sweet and herbal tobacco providing the foundation and medium-minus baking spices adding some needed intensity through the retrohale. Unfortunately, the spices faded fairly quickly, and the profile became more subdued as the cigar progressed. The second third was probably the least interesting portion of the review. Sweet, musty and spicy tobacco remained present, with bread adding another layer through the retrohale, but there wasn’t much evolution. By the bottom half, musty tobacco and wood had become the dominant combination, with tannic wood defining the post draw. The profile was pleasant enough, but it lacked the complexity or transitions that would have elevated the experience. The final third did introduce some additional character through bitter hay, tannic wood and increasing dryness. Bread made a brief return toward the bottom half, but there wasn’t enough of it to meaningfully change the direction of the cigar. Instead, the final third remained largely centered around musty tobacco, wood and bitter hay, becoming increasingly dry as it heated up. Construction was acceptable but not without issues. The burn became uneven and the cigar went out at the halfway point, requiring a re-light, although no further intervention was necessary. The draw was slightly resistant but still performed well enough to earn a Very Good rating. Overall, the JRE Aladino 250th was a competent cigar that delivered a consistent core of tobacco and wood flavors, but consistency was really the defining characteristic rather than complexity. There were moments of interest from the baking spices, bread and herbal notes, but they never developed enough to break the cigar out of its relatively linear progression. The final third added some bitterness and tannins that further limited the appeal. It was an easy enough cigar to smoke, but there simply wasn’t enough evolution or flavor depth to move it beyond an Average overall experience. Total smoking time was 1 hour and 48 minutes.
Jiunn: Can one flavor note make a cigar good if it pops that much? My answer is no, although I LOVED the jammy stone fruit delivery of this JRE Aladino 250th. But the jam was accented very nicely by marshmallows creamed coffee, zippy minerals and cedar. On a side note, I’d love to know what tobacco is giving that great jammy stone fruit taste. My guesses, Wrapper: Ecuador Habano, country: Nicaragua.

Seth Geise

SCORE

5.30

Cost/Point

$2.83

Scoring System

John McTavish

SCORE

5.40

Cost/Point

$2.78

Scoring System

Jiunn Liu

SCORE

6.57

Cost/Point

$2.28

Scoring System

Team Cigar Review: JRE Aladino 250th