Pre-light Experience

Aaron: The wrapper on the JRE Aladino Classic Corona is marbled and between light and medium brown. There are a few decently raised veins, the seams are fairly smooth and the caps have some lifting edges to them. The band is the traditional design for the brand, but this line carries a brown, gold and red color combination and denotes the line. The aroma from the wrapper is a light cedar while the foot brings a fuller sweet cedar note. The pre-light draw brings a sweet floral note along with cedar.
Seth: The JRE Aladino Classic Corona has a great Colorado coloring wrapper that is veiny throughout. Dry red clay coloring. Rough in texture, there is this fine grittiness present to the wrapper. Aromas of nuts, leather, spices and bardnyard. Tobacco as well.
John: The JRE Aladino Classic Corona comes in cellophane and has a UPC sticker with integrated tear tab so it remains intact when the cellophane is opened. The cigar is single banded and there are no artisanal complications. The aromas coming off the wrapper included bread and cedar right out of the cellophane, and then a more intense sweet bread directly off the wrapper. From the foot, I detected a more subdued sweet hay.
Jiunn: The JRE Aladino Classic Corona has a Colorado wrapper shade, showing some nice natural oils. Veins are decently pressed, seams tight, bunch and roll even and head well wrapped and capped. Aromas from the wrapper provide jasmine flowers, barnyard and aged cedar. Aromas from the foot tell of rich white pepper spice and roasted nuts. Cold draws reveal hay and aged cedar.

Team Cigar Review: JRE Aladino Classic Corona

First Third

Aaron: The cigar begins with a toasted and stale cedar along with some mustiness. At a half inch in, a mild black pepper joins. The retrohale provides a slightly fuller version of the same profile. At an inch in, the staleness of the cedar has morphed into a carboard note and the black pepper has picked up in fullness. As the third comes to a close, the toasted cedar is up front and has the carboard and black pepper right behind as the overall profile is a bit dry. The strength in this third was right at medium.
Seth: The first third starts out with notes of pepper, leather and nuts. There are some wood qualities present, and the finish is that of espresso beans and dark chocolate. Medium-full in strength and body.
John: Sweet wood opens the first third with mild wood lingering to the post draw. Creaminess joins the retrohale after a second puff. Some light-plus strength spices work their way into the profile approaching the 10 minute mark. By the 20 minute mark, post draw pepper is present at medium-minus strength. Overall, at this point I’d say the flavors are fairly well balanced. In the bottom half, post draw wood has moved up to medium strength.
Jiunn: The first third main level of flavors has a lot of dirt earthiness. Past the dirt, cedar, baking soda effervescence and floral bouquet. Retrohaling gives sharper spicier cedar. The finish shows long and lingering notes of dirty earthiness and aged cedar. Strength and body is medium.

Team Cigar Review: JRE Aladino Classic Corona

Second Third

Aaron: As the second third begins, the black pepper mellows a bit and the carboard note is fluctuating in fullness. The retrohale is toasted and musty cedar with light amounts of cardboard and black pepper. As the third comes to a close, the toasted cedar is even with the cardboard note while the black pepper is decently behind. The strength remained at medium.
Seth: The second third continues with those pepper, leather, coffee and dark chocolate notes. Wood and nuts present as well. Like before, medium-full in strength and body.
John: Sweet bread and wood combine here at medium strength as wood finishes slightly more intense, joined with a delayed black pepper at similar strength. Just like the first third, the profile settles into a well balanced and engaging combination of flavors. Reaching the halfway point, all the flavors on the retrohale and post draw have calmed down to medium strength.
Jiunn: The second third shows a bit too much earthiness in dirt and cedar. This is especially thick on the palate and finish, lengthening it, but not in the most ideal manner. Strength and body continues to be medium.

Team Cigar Review: JRE Aladino Classic Corona

Final Third

Aaron: As the final third begins, a light mustiness returns to the profile and the toast level increases and brings some bitterness. The retrohale remains toasted and musty cedar with light amounts of cardboard and black pepper. As the cigar wrapped up, the profile was musty, toasted cedar and cardboard up front with black pepper and bitterness a decent amount behind. The strength bumped up to slightly above medium.
Seth: The final third is right in line with the first and second third. Mocha quality up front with pepper and cinannmon notes. Leather, toast, nuts and wood as well. Earthy and metallic as well. Medium-full in strength and body.
John: The first few puffs are sweet wood with a mildly dry wood lingering into the post draw. Faint citrus sweetness punctuates the center of the profile as it continues. Approaching the halfway point, medium strength lingering dry hay also joins the center of the profile.
Jiunn: The final third’s assertive earthiness continues. Still plenty of dirt, cedar and introduction of burning paper. Strength and body finishes the same medium.

Team Cigar Review: JRE Aladino Classic Corona

Burn

Aaron: The burn was straight the entire way and the ash held on in inch and a half increments. The cigar did smoke fairly quickly.
Seth: Beautiful burn.
John: The burn is very straight through the review, with the ash holding on just over the one inch mark and then falling off naturally.
Jiunn: Fantastic burn performance. Even burn, solid ashes, ample smoke production and cool burning temperature.

Team Cigar Review: JRE Aladino Classic Corona

Draw

Aaron: The draw was perfect, with just the right amount of resistance that I prefer.
Seth: Draw is great from start to finish.
John: The draw threw me for a curve ball. Initially it was well into the resistant spectrum at 3-1/2 to 4 notches. After a few puffs, it relaxed to 2-1/2 to 3 notches and then after roughly 5 minutes it settled to 1-1/2 to 2 notches. I can’t say in the time I’ve been reviewing I’ve experienced that.
Jiunn: Fantastic draw performance as well, giving the ideal balance between air flow and resistance.

Overall

Aaron: The cigar began with a toasted and stale cedar along with some mustiness. Some black pepper joined in a bit later and then the stale note transitioned to cardboard. The final third saw some mustiness join back in and some wood bitterness as well. The construction was perfect. The JRE Aladino Classic Corona had a pretty linear flavor profile that was a bit dry throughout. The staleness and then cardboard notes weren’t helpful to the profile, but they also didn’t make it off-putting. This is definitely not a flavor profile I would want to come back to and I’m not sure if the other vitolas would present anything different. I’m very curious on what the others think of this blend, but for me, I doubt I will be returning.
Seth: I enjoyed the JRE Aladino Classic Corona, but I would love to smoke this cigar in a larger format. I prefer Honduran puros generally in larger formats, and that has been the case with JRE releases. I loved the balance of flavors with the cigar, and while there may not be a whole lot of complexity and transitoning, what is delivered is enjoyable. Fantastic pricing as well!
John: The JRE Aladino Classic Corona offered balanced and interesting flavors that at times were up to medium-full strength but remained balanced through the majority of the cigar review. The burn was flawless while the draw started out well into the resistant spectrum but quickly corrected to be only slightly into the resistant spectrum. I would definitely smoke the JRE Aladino Classic Corona, especially when you factor in the approachable price point. Total smoking time was a rather rapid 1 hour and 6 minutes.
Jiunn: Being a Honduran puro and at an unbelievable price of $7 per cigar, a part of me really wanted to like this cigar purely due to the bang for the buck. After smoking through it, the flavor profile doesn’t really do it for me. The earthiness present in dirt/soil and cedar was too pervasive. This may be a bit of a hot take, but if you’re a fan of the typical AJ earthy type cigar, I think you’d really like this one. Just not for me.

Aaron Loomis

SCORE

5.75

Cost/Point

$1.22

Scoring System

Seth Geise

SCORE

5.85

Cost/Point

$1.20

Scoring System

John McTavish

SCORE

6.67

Cost/Point

$1.05

Scoring System

Jiunn Liu

SCORE

6.10

Cost/Point

$1.15

Scoring System

Team Cigar Review: JRE Aladino Classic Corona