JFR Maduro
Thursday, June 16th, 2011The JFR line of cigars is made by Casa Fernandez and stands for Just For Retailers. Strangely enough, they can be found online pretty easily. I tried the Corojo version of this cigar, and thought it was all right. I figured I’d give the Maduro a try.
Wrapper: Nicaraguan Maduro
Bonder & Filler: Nicaraguan
Size: Robusto 5.5 x 50
Price: $4.39
Paid for by me.
Pre-Smoke & Construction:
The dark seamless wrapper had no noticeable flaws, and had an earthy/barnyard odor. The foot had more of a sweet spicy smell. The cigar was very firmly packed, and had a couple tight spots. Despite this, the draw was good, offering slight resistance. The pre-light draw tasted like dark natural tobacco and earthiness.
The ash held for around an inch, and the burn required several corrections.
Flavor:
The first third went right in to a dark woody flavor, with a sweet spice on the finish. In the back ground was earthiness, and natural tobacco flavors. Every now and then, I picked up a floral note. The spice developed a peppery component with a tinge of sweetness. A coffee like bitterness made itself known as the first third was almost over. This thing had good smoke volume. This little room filled up quickly.
The second third had a dominant cocoa flavor. The bitterness seemed to be an aftertaste of dark chocolate, but it kept a normal cocoa sweetness too. The pepper calmed down in the retrohale and took on more of a sweet spice. The earthiness and woody flavors became background notes. The aftertaste left a spicy tingle on the lips and tongue. Like before, there was a lot of smoke volume and it took on a thick feel in this third.
The last third saw an increase in woody flavors. The dominant flavor switched between wood and black coffee. Earthiness made a comeback too, at least in some draws. Other times it was nowhere to be seen. The sweet cocoa was still there, but it was further back in the flavor profile. Through the nose, the spice switched back to being more peppery.
Conclusion:
This was a good medium to full bodied cigar. The flavors were good, and they switched up quite a bit. This naturally held my attention through the whole smoke. I really enjoyed the sweet spicy aspect of the flavors, along with the pepper. By the way, the bitterness I described wasn’t the bad kind. I think the JFR Maduro is worth a try.