Pre-light Experience

Aaron: The wrapper on the JRE Aladino 85 Aniversario Reserva Toro is light brown and has some knotty, raised veins present. The seams are smooth and the caps well applied. There are two bands, with the primary being the traditional design for the brand and carrying a color combination of white, yellow, gold and some green. The secondary band is yellow and gold and denotes the line. The aroma from the wrapper is a mellow mix of construction paper and earth, while the foot brings construction paper, stone fruit sweetness and some earth. The pre-light draw brings airy, sweet cedar.
Seth: The JRE Aladino 85 Aniversario Reserva Toro is a beautiful cigar in appearance. It is finished with a lovely wrapper that has Natural and light Colorado colorings. It has a faded leather coloring. It is silky in texture with small veins scattered throughout. Well applied cap and firm cigar. Aromas of cedar, cream, tobacco, soft earth and cocoa on the foot and wrapper.
John: The JRE Aladino 85 Aniversario Reserva Toro comes in cellophane with a UPC sticker containing cigar information and an integrated tear tab so it remains intact when opened. It has a primary Aladino band and a secondary 85 Aniversario Reserva band. I weighed the cigar at 12.8 grams and measured the humidity at 64.4% with the Cigar Medics Humidimeter Pro. Aromas from the wrapper included faint, sweet tobacco with light sweetness and sweet bread underneath. From the foot, I detected sweet hay.
Jiunn: The JRE Aladino 85 Aniversario Reserva Toro has a natural Colorado wrapper shade showing nice traces of oiliness. Veins are well pressed, seams tight, bunch and roll even and the head is well wrapped and capped. Pre-light aromas consist of sharper cedar and ample barnyard.

JRE Aladino 85 Aniversario Reserva Toro

First Third

Aaron: The cigar begins with toasted cedar, along with some earth and mild black pepper. At a half inch in, a light creamy chalkiness joins the profile. At three quarters of an inch in, the earth increases a bit. The retrohale is toasted cedar, earth and some creamy chalkiness. At an inch and a half in, a long, dry cedar finish is present on my tongue while the actual flavor profile isn’t really dry. As the third comes to a close, the toasted cedar is just ahead of the earth, with creamy chalkiness in the middle of the profile and black pepper right behind. The strength was slightly below medium.
Seth: The first third opens with touches of leather, cedar, cream and hay. There are some soft earth and cocoa notes present with hazelnuts and cinnamon. Faint spices present throughout. Soft baking spices. Medium in strength and body.
John: The first third opens with creamy bread and baking spices, as faint earth settles underneath. A delayed combination of wood and earth at mild strength appears on the post draw. Sweet bread and baking spices intensify through the retrohale as dry wood joins the finish. Baking spices build to medium strength approaching the halfway point.
Jiunn: The first third shows high levels of complexities. Everything is in balance between cedar, sugar plum tartness and sweetness, minerals and biscuits. Retrohaling introduces mild mannered dried red pepper spice. The finish has medium-full tannins with aged cedar and biscuits. Strength and body is medium.

JRE Aladino 85 Aniversario Reserva Toro

Second Third

Aaron: As the second third begins, the creamy chalkiness bumps up to become even with the earth. The retrohale is now an even mix of toasted cedar, earth and creamy chalkiness. As the third comes to a close, the toasted cedar is just ahead of the earth and creamy chalkiness with the black pepper in the back half of the profile. The strength bumped up to medium.
Seth: The second third shows more cocoa and earth qualities with a mocha cream, hay and cedar profile. Hazelnuts and cinnamon remain with some baking spices. Like before, medium in strength and body.
John: The second third begins with creamy wood and tobacco, followed by medium-minus baking spices. Creaminess intensifies as the cigar approaches the halfway point. In the bottom half, earth combines with wood through the post draw.
Jiunn: The second third’s flavor profile becomes sweeter and creamier. Flavors especially highlighted are the biscuits, but this time it has a slathering of butter and honey on them. The other flavors are still there aside from the sugar plum tartness and sweetness. Strength and body remains medium.

JRE Aladino 85 Aniversario Reserva Toro

Final Third

Aaron: As the final third begins, the earth now becomes even with the toasted cedar up front. At a quarter inch in, the creamy chalkiness mellows a fair amount. The retrohale is now toasted cedar and earth with some light creamy chalkiness. As the cigar wraps up, the toasted cedar and earth are even up front, with the creamy chalkiness and black pepper in the back half of the profile. The strength remained at medium.
Seth: The final third is fairly like that of the first. A shift back from the second third. More cedar, cream and hay notes with touches of hazelnuts and cinnamon. Touches of earth and cocoa are present on the finish with some baking spices. Still medium in strength and body.
John: The final third opens with creamy tobacco and medium strength spices, with wood teaming up through the finish. A delayed earth moves into the post draw. As the third settles in, wood moves up to medium strength, matching the spices in intensity.
Jiunn: Wow, no final third deterioration! The final third is very similar to the second third where the full flavors of honey and buttered biscuit sings. There is also slightly more mineral influence. Strength and body finish the same medium.

JRE Aladino 85 Aniversario Reserva Toro

Burn

Aaron: The burn was straight throughout and the ash held on in inch and a half increments.
Seth: The burn was perfect from start to finish.
John: The burn was straight through the first third. Some waviness appeared in the second third, eventually requiring a touch-up in the bottom half. The burn returned to straight through the last third.
Jiunn: Burn performance was perfect with an even burn, tight ashes and cool burning temperatures.

JRE Aladino 85 Aniversario Reserva Toro

Draw

Aaron: The draw was perfect, with just the right amount of resistance that I prefer.
Seth: The draw was nearly perfect for me. I wish it had a little more resistance, but no complaints.
John: I measured the draw at 52 inches of water with the Cigar Medics draw machine. Subjectively, the draw was in the ideal zone between open and resistant.
Jiunn: The draw performance was also perfect, striking the ideal balance of air flow and resistance.

Overall

Aaron: The cigar began with toasted cedar, along with some earth and mild black pepper. Some creamy chalkiness joined a bit later. The second third saw the creamy chalkiness increase to become even with the earth. The final third saw the earth become even with the toasted cedar up front and the creamy chalkiness mellowed a fair amount. Construction was absolutely perfect. The JRE Aladino 85 Aniversario Reserva Toro had an average flavor profile throughout. It was focused around the toasted cedar and earth, with creamy chalkiness playing a role for a while. Overall, I found the flavor profile pretty mundane. The flavor components weren’t very exciting. While it’s a smooth smoking experience, it just isn’t interesting enough for me to want to come back to, plus there’s the very high price point.
Seth: I enjoyed the JRE Aladino 85 Aniversario Reserva Toro. I thought the cigar was lovely with an enjoyable flavor profile from start to finish. It was not as full as I would have preferred, I wanted a little more body and strength, but it was an “elegant cigar.” There were complex and subtle flavors throughout that made you focus and take your time. With perfect burn and draw, this cigar is a win. It’s a premium JRE release that lives up to it’s value.
John: The JRE Aladino 85 Aniversario Reserva Toro delivered a consistent and enjoyable profile in the first and second thirds, driven by creamy bread, baking spices and balanced wood and earth components. The final third introduced more intensity to the wood and spice but lost some of the creamy sweetness that elevated the earlier portions. Solid construction and a near-perfect draw rounded out a well-executed experience. This is a cigar, like many other Aladino offerings, that I will seek out on my travels. Total smoking time was 1 hour and 46 minutes.
Jiunn: Truly a wonderful cigar and well worthy of the great 85 anniversary. The JRE Aladino 85 Aniversario Reserva Toro showed great composure throughout the entire smoking experience (and yes even within the final third!). The flavors melded well, touching on sweetness, creaminess, spice, stone fruit and minerals. COTY contender for me.

Aaron Loomis

SCORE

5.75

Cost/Point

$3.48

Scoring System

Seth Geise

SCORE

6.82

Cost/Point

$2.93

Scoring System

John McTavish

SCORE

6.72

Cost/Point

$2.98

Scoring System

Jiunn Liu

SCORE

7.17

Cost/Point

$2.79

Scoring System

Team Cigar Review: JRE Aladino 85 Aniversario Reserva Toro