Pre-light Experience

Aaron: The wrapper on the RoMa Craft Intemperance Volstead VO 1920 Judas Hole is medium brown with a hint of red and has some lightly raised veins. The seams are smooth, the caps well applied and the wrapper stops about an eight of an inch short of the foot. There are two bands, with the upper band being white and reddish brown and denoting the brand, while the secondary is reddish brown and white and denotes the line. The second band wraps over itself due to the thin ring gauge. The aroma from both the wrapper and foot is a mix of earth and cedar. The pre-light draw brings cedar, earth and a light floral note, along with mild spiciness on my lips.
Seth: The RoMa Craft Intemperance Volstead VO 1920 Judas Hole is a solid-looking Lonsdale. There is some marble with the wrapper, and you can see some color variation with the leaf. It is Natural in coloring with some Colorado aspects. Faded classic brown coloring. Small veins throughout while remaining firm in texture. Aromas of rich earth, strong tobacco, spices and leather.
John: The RoMa Craft Intemperance Volstead VO 1920 Judas Hole comes in cellophane and has a UPC sticker with the cigar information and an integrated tear space so it remains intact when opened. Roughly a quarter inch of the foot is exposed, which serves as an artisanal complication. The cigar features a thin white Intemperance primary band and a thin brown Volstead secondary band. I weighed the cigar at 11.8 grams and measured the humidity with the Humidimeter Pro at 57.9%. Aromas from the wrapper included sweet bread and mossy tobacco, while the foot added notes of wood and raisin sweetness.
Jiunn: The RoMa Craft Intemperance Volstead VO 1920 Judas Hole has an even shade of Colorado. Veins are well pressed, seams tight, bunch and roll even and the head is well wrapped and capped. Pre-light aromas consist of ample cheesy barnyard.

RoMa Craft Intemperance Volstead VO 1920 Judas Hole

First Third

Aaron: The cigar begins with toasted oak, crushed red pepper, black pepper and some earth. At a quarter inch in, the crushed red pepper mellows a bit, but the black pepper is still full blast. At a half inch in, the earth increases a bit. At an inch in, the black pepper mellows and the crushed red pepper has departed. The retrohale is toasted oak, earth and lightly zingy black pepper. At an inch and a half in, the black pepper has mellowed some more to be behind the earth. As the third comes to a close, the toasted oak is up front, with earth a bit behind and the black pepper just behind the middle of the profile. The strength was right at medium.
Seth: The first third starts out with some herbal and wood notes. Tobacco, coffee, leather and earth are present with some strong spice and mineral notes. Medium-full in strength and body.
John: The first third opens with creamy nuts and bread, followed by tobacco as the finish delivers earth and red pepper flake at medium strength. As the burn line reaches the wrapper, a custard-like sweetness appears on the retrohale, while the red pepper flake on the finish evolves into cayenne at medium-full strength. Once the first third has settled in, espresso joins the center of the retrohale. Approaching the halfway point of the first third, the cayenne on the post draw recedes to medium strength, allowing the pastry sweetness to take the lead as the primary driver of the profile.
Jiunn: The first third shows heavy handed minerals and dirt/dirty earthiness. There’s also a charred leather component as well as a unique rotten stone fruit quality. Retrohale holds some nice red pepper spice but it’s off-putting by the rotten stone fruit. Strength and body is medium.

RoMa Craft Intemperance Volstead VO 1920 Judas Hole

Second Third

Aaron: As the second third begins, a mild creaminess becomes present. At half an inch in, the earth increases a bit. The retrohale remains toasted oak, earth and lightly zingy black pepper. As the third comes to a close, the toasted oak is just ahead of the earth, with black pepper behind the middle of the profile and some creaminess in the background. The strength remained at medium.
Seth: The second third is fairly in line with the first. Herbal and wood notes with some coffee and leather. Strong pepper and tobacco notes with some earth and mineral aspects. Like before, it is medium-full in strength and body.
John: The second third begins with creamy bread and sweet tobacco as medium-strength cayenne carries into the finish, gradually developing into a cinnamon red-hot candy note on the post draw. As the third settles in, the cayenne drops to light-plus strength. Wood joins the finish by the halfway mark, while the cayenne on the post draw quietly builds back up to medium-minus strength. Through the bottom half, a rich pastry sweetness leads off, followed by tobacco and baking spices to finish.
Jiunn: The second third is very similar to the first third, still highlighting a plethora of minerals and dirt/dirty earthiness. The profile does taste a bit more toasty in the sense of charred leather. Strength moved to medium-full, while body remains medium.

RoMa Craft Intemperance Volstead VO 1920 Judas Hole

Final Third

Aaron: As the final third begins, the earth becomes even with the toasted oak up front and the black pepper mellows a bit. The retrohale is now toasted oak, earth and mild black pepper. At three quarters of an inch in, some leather joins the profile. At an inch and a quarter, the toast level increases a bit. As the cigar wraps up, the toasted oak and earth are even up front, with black pepper in the back half of the profile and some leather and creaminess in the background. The strength remained at medium.
Seth: The final third is in line with the second. Strong tobacco, mineral and leather notes. Coffee, earth and wood notes are present as well. Like the first two thirds, medium-full in strength and body. Cigar is cool to the finish.
John: The final third opens with creamy baking spices leading off alongside bread. Earth follows, finishing with a mix of sweet spices on the post draw. As the cigar progresses toward the halfway point of the final third, the smoke’s creaminess intensifies, while sweet tobacco defines the post draw. The profile remains largely stable through the bottom half, with baking spices lingering pleasantly on the tongue and lips.
Jiunn: The final third is unchanged from the second third. Still medium-full strength and medium body with minerals, toasty charred leather, that odd rotten stone fruit quality and cedar. Weird mixture.

RoMa Craft Intemperance Volstead VO 1920 Judas Hole

Burn

Aaron: The burn was straight throughout and the ash held on in inch and a quarter increments.
Seth: The burn was decent from start to finish.
John: The burn was razor straight through the entire review process, requiring no touch-ups or corrections.
Jiunn: Flawless burn performance with an even burn, tight ashes and cool burning temperatures.

RoMa Craft Intemperance Volstead VO 1920 Judas Hole

Draw

Aaron: The draw was perfect, with just the right amount of resistance that I prefer.
Seth: The draw was very good from beginning to end.
John: I measured the draw at 45 inches of water using the CigarMedics draw machine. Subjectively, the draw was perfect, right in the ideal range between open and resistant.
Jiunn: Flawless draw as well, providing good air flow and resistance.

Overall

Aaron: The cigar began with toasted oak, crushed red pepper, black pepper and some earth. The crushed red pepper mellowed fairly quickly and the earth increased a bit. Later the pepper mellowed and the crushed red pepper departed. The black pepper then mellowed some more. The second third saw some light creaminess join and the earth increased a bit more. The final third saw the earth become even with the toasted oak up front. Later, some leather joined the profile and the toast level increased. Construction was absolutely perfect. The RoMa Craft Intemperance Volstead VO 1920 Judas Hole had a nice start with the dynamic components of the crushed red pepper and black pepper. It dropped down a level in the second third as the red pepper had departed and the black pepper mellowed and maintained a pretty linear profile the rest of the way. This vitola is pretty on par with the one we reviewed previously and I just don’t see it as a cigar I’d really return to.
Seth: The RoMa Craft Intemperance Volstead VO 1920 Judas Hole is a good cigar. It’s not my favorite vitola in the line, and I think the blend takes a loss with this vitola, but it’s a good cigar from start to finish. The strength and body are more present in this vitola, and you can notice the stronger tobacco in the blend, but you still get nice earth, coffee, leather and spice notes. I like the Volstead VO 1920 line, but this is not a blend I would come back to when selecting.
John: The RoMa Craft Intemperance Volstead VO 1920 Judas Hole delivered an engaging and consistent profile of creamy bread, pastry sweetness and evolving spice expressions. The transitions from cayenne to baking spice and red-hot candy added enjoyable complexity without ever becoming overwhelming. Excellent construction paired with outstanding burn and draw performance made for a smooth, complex and satisfying experience from start to finish. The Volstead is already in my regular smoking rotation, now it’s just a matter of narrowing down what my favorite vitola is. Total smoking time was 2 hours and 15 minutes.
Jiunn: This RoMa Craft Intemperance Volstead VO 1920 Judas Hole is an overall average experience for me. There’s no doubt some uniqueness to the profile (rotten stone fruit), but the overall vibe was a mixture of minerals, char and dirt/dirty earthiness. It’s not bad, but I would have enjoyed more non earthy flavors. I love the cigar shape (favorite of all time), but this flavor experience didn’t quite do it for me.

Aaron Loomis

SCORE

6.10

Cost/Point

$1.63

Scoring System

Seth Geise

SCORE

5.75

Cost/Point

$1.73

Scoring System

John McTavish

SCORE

7.17

Cost/Point

$1.39

Scoring System

Jiunn Liu

SCORE

5.75

Cost/Point

$1.73

Scoring System

Team Cigar Review: RoMa Craft Intemperance Volstead VO 1920 Judas Hole