Jersey Joe's Cigars

Cigar: Jersey Joe Cigar
Price: gifted from Jersey Joe’s cigars
Vitola/Wrapper/Binder: Sumatra? Wrapper, robusto
Drink / Food: Stella Artois
Outside Factors: Out in shop, wood burner going, working on fishing lures

Construction: Nice looking wrapper. Decent looking triple cap. Ample fine tooth with consistent coloring to the well constructed cigar. Some small veins. Relatively soft throughout length, good bunching at end albeit loosely rolled with some small stems.

Prelight : End smells of sweet mint, wrapper of barnyard and compost. Wrapper is sweet with some spice as well. Great scent that builds anticipation of smoking the cigar. Cuts cleanly with clumpy bunching and a few minute stems. Draw is very easy with flavor reminiscent of a lumberyard.

First Third: Hard getting a straight light. Lots of wood with spice on the back of throat. Some cream and pistachio to the thick smoke. Let it rest and wood is oaky with some cedar. Cigar has very unique scent while sitting burning in the ashtray.

Draw: very good if slightly easy

Burn: Started crooked through most of cigar, but never needs corrected. Stays lit well.

Ash/Smoke: Light gray ash that never holds over ½”. Smoke is thick and full.

Second Third: Wood continues with spice. A little burn to the back of the tongue and throat on relight. Flavors seem washed out with the Stella. Not a great pairing for the cigar. Wood becomes predominant on aftertaste, with a fairly long finish.

Final third: Cinnamon, ginger, and black pepper are recognizable as the spice noted. Body builds and wood gets earthier, stronger. Spice on throat a little harsher than I care for now. Slower smoking may have helped this. For the loose pack, the cigar burns nice and slow and lasts very long for a robust. The cedar comes and goes in waves depending on time between draws.

Strength: medium
Flavor: medium

Overall Impression: B+ grade to a very complex and enjoyable cigar. I think time would help with the spicy throat harshness, though some people like that in their cigars. Jersey Joe’s pricing is very fair for the quality of the cigar and has price cuts for different quantities. Long lasting for a robust; Churchill sizes may book up an entire afternoon.

Construction: 8 10
Prelight: 5 5
First Third: 13 15
Draw: 9 10
Burn: 8 10
Ash / Smoke: 8 10
Second Third: 9 10
Final Third: 8 10
Overall impression: 18 20
Total Score: 86 100