Wrapper: Nicaraguan Habano
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan
Size: 5 x 54 “Selección #1”
Body: Medium/Full
Price: $5.00 by the box

The cigar comes in three sizes:
Selección #1: 5 x 54
Selección #2: 6 x 54
Selección #3: 6 x 60

It’s a shame to see that Altadis bent to popular demand and produced an oak tree: 6 x 60. These big sticks are so flavorless. They should have stayed small throughout the sizes.

Juan Lopez has long been a Cuban cigar worthy of much praise. It has an over 100 year history in Havana. Many smokers enjoy this Cuban version and are anxious to know if it compares to the legal cigar blend. Unfortunately, I don’t have a Cuban Juan Lopez at my disposal and can only report on its “Cuban-esque” character.

At the 2013 IPCPR Trade Show, Altadis USA re-introduced Juan Lopez from their Cuban Heritage brands. The new legal version of Juan Lopez is a Nicaraguan Puro.

Ten years ago, Altadis acquired the rights. They launched that line but it was eventually phased out a few years ago. Now the Juan Lopez returns with a new blend, including new sizes.

Construction is…not bad. Feels a bit short of tobacco. Too many soft spots. Seams are very visible. Lots of big veins are running up and down the stick. Some veins actually force the wrapper to bulge. The double cap is a little on the sloppy side. The wrapper shows some oiliness and feels sandy to the touch.

I clip the cap and find aromas of tangy fruitiness, apricot, wood, and sweet honey blossom.
Time to light up.

The first puffs are made up of a nice red pepper, black cherries, cocoa, wood, and some earthiness. The char line is terrible and I correct it. The body hits medium right away.

The char line continues to look like a roller coaster. Earthiness moves towards the front of the line with the cocoa and spiciness dissipating some. The flavor is a bit dry now. Not lively.

Halfway through the first third, the char line finally evens out and the ash is hanging on like a champ.

A floral sweetness appears. Much like honey suckle. As a kid we had a lot of those bushes in front of our home and when they bloomed, we would pull the stems out of the flower and pull the tiny bit of sweet liquid on our tongues. Same thing going on here.

The second third begins with the sweet honey flavor leading the pack. I dissed the construction early on yet the ash has not moved one bit. I just know this whole thing is going to fall on to my lap or the keyboard…all for the sake of getting a sexy photo. And as I write this, the ash begins to disengage and I carefully get it to the ashtray and not my clothing.

The only reason I never show a nub with a 6” ash is because I have a bad back from a skydiving accident and I can’t lie on the floor that long. Let alone type easily. Maybe I should buy one of those expensive sex contraptions that allows me to hang off the floor.

The flavor profile is sort of odd. It has none of the typical Nicaraguan puro flavors. It should be heavy on cocoa and coffee. But it is not. There should have been a big dose of creaminess. There is not.

I get some of that black cherry now. The spiciness is almost nonexistent. At the halfway point, I get my creaminess. And the cocoa appears gently. Earthiness is very strong. And the honey sweetness dominates everything.

The draw is perfect. And I half expected the cigar to get spongy but it doesn’t. It needs another char line correction.

I had two of these. I smoked the first one a few days ago and was much better than this stick. So inconsistency is part of the makeup. There were no burn line issues. And it was more flavorful.

There is almost a Dr. Pepper taste…the combo of black cherries and honey and earthiness seem to point the way to the fizzy drink. No prunes.
The cigar continues to get sweeter with each puff. The cocoa is back. I am just past the halfway mark and the cigar seems to come to life. I’ve hit the sweet spot.

The pepper is making a resurgence. The cigar is now a treat. It’s a shame that I had to smoke half the cigar before getting a very unique flavor experience.

There is a Cuban-esque flavor profile now. It gets creamy and buttery. And mixed with the aforementioned flavors and the escalating earthiness, it becomes something special.

This is like no other Nicaraguan puro I’ve smoked. Again, very unique. I’ve only had this cigar a month and maybe it needs a lot more time for that first half to be more decisive.

The char line is behaving itself.
The body is still at medium.

The final third begins and the cigar has sort of a He-Man character. There is a grown up quality to it that a newbie would not like. The flavors become very sophisticated and the complexity begins now. This cigar is for someone with a well-developed palate. Otherwise, the subtleties will be missed.

Flavors come and go. They move up and down. (I think I could write a letter to the editor at Penthouse.)

The body moves to full now. But it is not a hammer over the head like the cigar I reviewed yesterday: E Stunner by Carrillo. That stick almost killed me.

I had my cereal this morning so no nicotine shakes. Although, blindness is near.

The cigar becomes a very slow burner as it passes the soft spots on the cigar.

The cigar finishes with loads of components. It is spicy. The cocoa returns in force. The fruitiness and sweet honey are strong. Earthiness is strong. The creaminess ratchets down a bit which is a shame.

This was a very unique cigar that I believe needs some serious humidor time. A month is not long enough humidor time. The flavors are more potential than spot on. The last couple of inches really shine. A boatload of flavors show themselves.

I enjoyed it for its late complexity and unusual flavors. Construction could be better but then I only had two samples.

I recommend this cigar for advanced cigar smokers. There is nothing Nicaraguan about it. It stakes its own claim to the complex flavor profile. The inexpensive price point makes it worth trying.

Many thanks to Jason Harding at BestCigarPrices.com for the samples.

Categories: CIGAR REVIEWS