Pre-light Experience

Aaron: The wrapper on the JRE Aladino Cameroon Reserva is a light reddish-brown with some darker freckles and there are some decently raised, knotty veins. The seams are smooth and the caps well applied. There are three bands, with the primary being the traditional design for the brand and carrying a color combination of off-white, gold and then a strip that transitions from dark gray to burgundy. The secondary band denotes the line and has that same color transitioning strip with gold lettering and borders. There is a burgundy ribbon at the foot. The aroma from the wrapper is a light mix of earth and hay while the foot smells of Raisin Bran. The pre-light draw brings cedar, dusty earth and Raisin Bran.
Seth: The JRE Aladino Cameroon Reserva is a lovely Toro with a great coloring between Natural and light Colorado. It is silky in appearance and has small veins throughout. There is a bit of tooth, and it is silky in texture. Aromas of soft tobacco, cedar, hay, earth and soft sweet spices are present on the foot.
John: The JRE Aladino Cameroon Reserva came in cellophane and had a UPC sticker with the cigar information and an integrated tear space to remain intact when opened. There is a primary Aladino band and a secondary ‘CAMEROON RESERVA’ band, as well as a red ribbon foot band. I weighed the cigar at 16.4 grams and measured the humidity at 59.3% with the HumidiMeter Pro. Aromas from the wrapper were sweet wood and wet hay. From the foot, I could detect syrupy sweet tobacco and wood.
Jiunn: The JRE Aladino Cameroon Reserva has an even Colorado wrapper shade. The wrapper is smooth with a nice semi-sheen and fine grit texture. Veins are well pressed, seams tight, bunch and roll even and the cap is slightly sloppily applied. Pre-light aromas consist of mixed nuts, dry barnyard and white pepper spice.

JRE Aladino Cameroon Reserva

First Third

Aaron: The cigar begins with dusty earth and lightly toasted cedar. At a half inch in, a mild black pepper becomes present. The retrohale is dusty earth, toasted cedar and mild black pepper. At an inch and a half in, some construction paper joins the profile. As the third comes to a close, the profile is dusty earth up front, with the toasted cedar a bit behind, black pepper in the back half of the profile and light construction paper in the background. The strength was slightly below medium.
Seth: The first third begins with some soft tobacco notes that are paired with some cedar, earth and hay. Sweet pepper spices are present as well and it is a balanced blend. Medium in strength and body, the cigar smokes cool and easy.
John: My initial flavor impressions are spicy wood with a vegetal wood combination to finish and linger through the post draw. As the first third settles in, some mild dryness accents the wood on the post draw. Moving towards the halfway mark, sweet tobacco and nuttiness lead off with accents of spice. By the halfway point, mild chocolate joins the finish.
Jiunn: Two main flavors/notes stick out off the bat. The profile is oily and there are high levels of dirt earthiness. Aside from that, some raw cedar comes through. Retrohaling gives surprising spice (white/black pepper) and more of the cedar. The finish is on the shorter end with lingering cedar. Strength is medium-full and body is medium.

JRE Aladino Cameroon Reserva

Second Third

Aaron: As the second third begins, the black pepper picks up a bit. At a quarter inch in, a decent level of mustiness joins the profile. The retrohale is now dusty earth, toasted cedar, lightly zingy black pepper and some light mustiness. At an inch and a half in, the dusty earth swaps places with the toasted cedar. As the third comes to a close, the toasted cedar is just ahead of the dusty earth, with the black pepper not far behind it. There is still some construction paper in the background. The strength remained slightly below medium.
Seth: The second third is in line with the first and I am getting those lovely sweet spice notes that are paired with cedar, tobacco, hay and soft earth. Some coffee notes are present, but not over the top. Still medium in strength and body.
John: Spices and wood start the second third at light plus as creamy tobacco leads the retrohale. The spices fade through the finish as the first third progresses with light plus sweet wood defining the post draw. Through the retrohale, some light plus spices and wood define the center. By the halfway point, the spicy wood retrohale has moved up to medium strength. During the bottom half, sweet tobacco leads off with light plus baking spices mixing in.
Jiunn: The second third better melds the flavor profile while at the same time expanding its complexities. The combination of oiliness and cedar is smoother, and there’s also added minerality and subtle nutty sweetness. Strength and body remains medium-full and medium, respectively.

JRE Aladino Cameroon Reserva

Final Third

Aaron: As the final third begins, the black pepper picks up a bit more. The retrohale is now a musty mix of toasted cedar, dusty earth and mild black pepper. At an inch in, the toast level increases a bit. As the cigar wraps up, the toasted cedar is just ahead of the dusty earth and black pepper, mustiness in the middle with some construction paper remaining in the background. The strength bumped up to medium.
Seth: The final third is in line with the second. Not much change, but very enjoyable. Still medium in strength and body, the cigar is giving off those sweet spices, earth, cedar and hay. Tobacco and coffee on the finish. Medium in strength and body.
John: Creamy tobacco gets the last third going with mild earth in the center and a light plus spice and wood to finish into the post draw. That profile remains stable until the halfway point where the spices move up to medium on the post draw. Shortly after, tannic wood moves into the post draw.
Jiunn: The final third is less complex and a bit one dimensional. The profile is just a combination of cedar and oily mouthfeel. It’s not terrible but definitely not as enjoyable as the second third. Strength and body finishes the same medium-full and medium, respectively.

JRE Aladino Cameroon Reserva

Burn

Aaron: The burn was straight throughout, and the ash held on through each third.
Seth: Beautiful burn throughout.
John: The burn was reasonably straight through the first third, razor straight through the second and last thirds.
Jiunn: Great burn performance. Even burn, tight ashes and cool burning temperature.

JRE Aladino Cameroon Reserva

Draw

Aaron: The draw was perfect, with just the right amount of resistance that I prefer.
Seth: Great draw from start to finish.
John: The draw was somewhat into the resistant spectrum, roughly 2-1/2 to 3 notches.
Jiunn: The draw was also great, giving the ideal balance between air flow and resistance.

Overall

Aaron: The cigar began with dusty earth and lightly toasted cedar. Some black pepper joined in quickly. Some construction paper joined a bit later. The second third saw some mustiness join in and the toasted cedar take the lead in the profile. The final third saw the black pepper pick up a bit. Construction was perfect. The JRE Aladino Cameroon Reserva had an average flavor profile throughout, focused around the toasted cedar, dusty earth and black pepper. This cigar wasn’t even close to the flavor profile that the regular Cameroon line provided, which surprised me a bit. I’m curious if they’ll offer a lancero vitola in the future, which I’d like to try, but for this one, it just wasn’t all that exciting, and with the high price point, not something I’d see myself returning to.
Seth: I enjoyed the JRE Aladino Cameroon Reserva. It is a great looking cigar, with a lovely flavor profile, but I was hoping for a little more at the same time. It was never bad, but I felt that it could have popped more, and with a more complex blend add some strength and body. It smoked great, and was one of the better non-Cameroon Cameroon offerings I have had in some time.
John: Overall, I found the flavor delivery on the JRE Aladino Cameroon Reserva to be above average with the most engaging flavor combinations in the first third. The rest of the cigar was pleasant but for me didn’t come together in an overly engaging delivery. The burn was perfect while the draw was somewhat into the resistant spectrum. The JRE Aladino Cameroon Reserva was enjoyable to review but the price point combined with the flavor delivery would have me picking up the numerous current market releases from JRE that are very good to excellent. Total smoking time was 2 hours and 30 minutes.
Jiunn: The flavors as a whole from the JRE Aladino Cameroon Reserva don’t really do it for me. While I find the oily mouthful to be unique and executed well, it wasn’t enough to enjoy the entire cigar. Mostly a monotone cedar with not enough nuances on this and therefore a pass for me.

Aaron Loomis

SCORE

5.75

Cost/Point

$3.83

Scoring System

Seth Geise

SCORE

5.95

Cost/Point

$3.70

Scoring System

John McTavish

SCORE

5.80

Cost/Point

$3.79

Scoring System

Jiunn Liu

SCORE

6.10

Cost/Point

$3.61

Scoring System

Team Cigar Review: JRE Aladino Cameroon Reserva