Pre-light Experience

Aaron: The wrapper on the JRE Aladino Candela Robusto is a mix of pale green and light tan with some raised, knotty veins present. The seams are smooth and the caps well applied. The band is the traditional design for the brand. The aroma from the wrapper is a mix of cedar and young hay while the foot brings a lightly sweet cereal note along with some hay. The pre-light draw brings green tea, grassy hay and cedar.
Seth: The JRE Aladino Candela Robusto is ugly. It is too faded. It has this triple claro coloring. Green olives that have just begun to mold color. Small to medium sizes veins throughout. Somewhat firm cigar. Ugly. Beautiful aroma though of hay, honey, tobacco and grass. Aroma made up for the ugliness.
John: The JRE Aladino Candela Robusto comes in cellophane and does not have a UPC sticker. There appears to be minor wrapper damage, which is not surprising given how thin and fragile a candela wrapper can be. There is a single Aladino cigar band, and I was picking up aromas of chocolate, chlorophyll, dry hay, wood and an underlying sweetness. From the foot, I was smelling hay, sweet earth and mild barnyard.
Jiunn: The JRE Aladino Candela Robusto has an obvious candela wrapper. The wrapper is uniform and has a slight leathery feel to it. Veins are well pressed, seams tight but visible, bunch and roll even and head is well wrapped and capped. Aromas from the wrapper tell of dehydrated vegetables and hay. Aromas from the foot give strong doses of the wrapper plus dried red pepper spice. Cold draw tells the same dehydrated vegetables and wet grass.

Team Cigar Review: JRE Aladino Candela Robusto

First Third

Aaron: The cigar begins with toasted oak and grassy hay. At a half inch in, a light earth and light creaminess join the profile. The retrohale is toasted oak, young hay and mild black pepper. At an inch in, a mild black pepper becomes present. As the third comes to a close, the toasted oak is up front, with grassy hay right behind and light amounts of earth, creaminess and black pepper in the background. The strength was slightly below medium.
Seth: The first third starts outs with this lovely lemon curd flavor. Nice sweetness there. Paired with some lemongrass, cedar, hay and white pepper. Tobacco and bread notes as well. Medium in strength and body.
John: My initial flavor impressions are sweet hay and wood. Tobacco, combined with dry wood and mild earth in the post draw. As the first third continues to develop, light chocolate breaks into the center of the retrohale. Some time later, a dry wood adds to the finish of each puff.
Jiunn: The initial half inch or so gives off a great amount of sweetness in creamy bread. Past that mark, the profile settles to a combination of dehydrated vegetables and leather. Retrohaling is my favorite part, as it gives the best of the initial half inch sweetness and the combination of the dehydrated vegetables and leather. The finish is short, with a lingering soft cedar. Strength and body is medium.

Team Cigar Review: JRE Aladino Candela Robusto

Second Third

Aaron: As the second third begins, the black pepper picks up a bit and has a long, mellow finish. At a half inch in, the toast level picks up a bit and the grassy hay is now even up front with the toasted oak. The retrohale is toasted oak, grassy hay and a lightly zingy black pepper. At an inch in, the black pepper, earth and creaminess all increase a bit. As the third comes to a close, the toasted oak and grassy hay are even up front with the black pepper, earth and creaminess not far behind. The strength bumped up to medium.
Seth: The second third delivers a continuation of the first third. Sweetness from this lemon curd profile that is paired with some lemongrass, cedar, hay and white pepper. Some tobacco notes present. No bread qualities. Still medium in strength and body.
John: Dry hay and a vegetal flavor take the cigar into the second third. As the second third settles in, a sweet wood takes home in the center of the profile and the dry vegetal flavor sits on the finish of each draw. Moving towards the halfway point, some mild chocolate is present through the retrohale.
Jiunn: In the second third, I’m getting a lot of (too much) tannins in leather. The tannins mixed with the dehydrated vegetable notes is not a favorable pairing. The tannins are also especially long and thick on the finish. Strength and body remains medium.

Team Cigar Review: JRE Aladino Candela Robusto

Final Third

Aaron: As the final third begins, the black pepper, earth and creaminess all mellow a bit. The retrohale is now toasted oak, earth and mild black pepper. As the third wraps up, the toasted oak and grassy hay are even up front with the black pepper, earth and creaminess a bit behind. The strength bumped up to slightly above medium.
Seth: The final third delivers a more lemongrass, earth, pepper, cedar and hay profile. Not as enjoyable or complex as the first two thirds. Still medium in strength and body.
John: Dry hay and cedar carry the cigar into the last third as dry wood lingers into the post draw. That dryness seems to sit on the palate between each puff. There is no more evolution in the last third as the profile remains consistent for the rest of the review.
Jiunn: The final third is exactly the same as the second third. Full of palate caking leathery tannins and dehydrated green vegetables. Strength and body finish the same medium.

Team Cigar Review: JRE Aladino Candela Robusto

Burn

Aaron: The burn was a bit wavy and in the second third, the cigar went out three times, requiring re-lights.
Seth: Started out bad, improved a little bit in the second third, and smoked great in the final.
John: The burn had some waviness through the review but never required intervention.
Jiunn: Nearly a perfect burn performance. Just a couple touch-ups required to get the wrapper burn back on track.

Team Cigar Review: JRE Aladino Candela Robusto

Draw

Aaron: The draw was slightly tighter than I prefer, but didn’t cause any issues with the smoking experience.
Seth: Solid draw throughout.
John: The draw was a minor amount into the resistant spectrum, roughly 1-1/2 to 2 notches.
Jiunn: Perfect draw, providing the ideal air flow and resistance.

Overall

Aaron: The cigar began with toasted oak and grassy hay. Some light earth and creaminess joined a bit later and then some black pepper after that. The second third saw the pepper, earth and creaminess increase. The final third was a continuation of the second. The JRE Aladino Candela Robusto had a fairly average flavor profile throughout. It had the grassiness typically associated with candela wrappers, but nothing off-putting. The burn was the biggest issue as it went out three times in the second third. This is the typical experience I have with candelas as it’s an OK profile and this one didn’t do anything to elevate itself. Not a cigar I’d really see myself returning to.
Seth: This JRE Aladino Candela Robusto was an average candela. Price is nice, but it’s an average candela. If it had some earthiness with the candela profile, it would have been better. A prettier wrapper would have helped the cigar as well. Nice lemon curd profile in the first two thirds. When it was paired with the cedar, lemongrass and white pepper notes, it was great. Just needed something more.
John: The JRE Aladino Candela Robusto was a great example of a classic candela profile, which unfortunately is not a particularly standout or engaging combination of flavors in the modern cigar market with a wide range of great Aladino cigars to choose from. The burn had some waviness to it but never required intervention, and the draw was a minor amount into the resistant spectrum. I would smoke the JRE Aladino Candela Robusto again or offer it to a friend for someone who wanted to experience an authentic candela profile. Outside of that, I would pick another offering from JRE. Total smoking time was 1 hour and 42 minutes.
Jiunn: It’s so refreshing to see a candela as a new release. It’s rarely done, but when it’s done right, it’s a pleasure to have in the rotation as a switch up. In the case of the JRE Aladino Candela Robusto, it had so much promise in the first third, giving full expected dehydrated vegetables, with sweet creamy bread, and some umami in leathery tannins. But past that mark, it was too much tannins with the dehydrated vegetables, which is not a tasty pairing. As such, overall a miss for me.

Aaron Loomis

SCORE

5.20

Cost/Point

$1.63

Scoring System

Seth Geise

SCORE

5.85

Cost/Point

$1.45

Scoring System

John McTavish

SCORE

5.95

Cost/Point

$1.43

Scoring System

Jiunn Liu

SCORE

6.00

Cost/Point

$1.42

Scoring System

Team Cigar Review: JRE Aladino Candela Robusto