Wrapper: Nicaraguan Viso Habano Jalapa
Binder: Nicaraguan Habano Ometepe
Filler: Nicaraguan Jalapa
Size: 5.37 x 60
Body: Medium/Full
Price: $4.33
Humidor Time: 6 weeks
Number of cigars smoked prior to review: 1
Today we take a look at the Jamon Perfecto by Plasencia.
Thanks to Aaron Hamamoto for the sticks.
BACKGROUND:
From JR Cigars web site:
“The Jamon Perfecto is a new premium handmade cigar made exclusively for JR, by one of the most highly respected manufacturers in the world, Plasencia. This beautifully fashioned puro boasts the best tobaccos Nicaragua has to offer, including, aged long fillers from Jalapa, Habano binder leaf from the volcanic soils of Ometepe, and a stunning dark brown and oily, Viso Habano Jalapa wrapper. With its beautiful band, pigtail cap, and old-style Perfecto shape, this nostalgic smoke is reminiscent of a top-quality pre-embargo Cuban. Medium to full body in strength, Jamon commands your attention from the very first draw with deeply complex flavors of earth, leather, roasted nuts, and coffee, all enriched with delicate hints of spice. Presented in neat looking, reusable, turn of the century style cans of 12.”
DESCRIPTION:
The Jamon Perfecto is extremely oily. Look at the close up of the pigtail in the photo below. It almost seeps oil.
The gorgeous, mottled multi-colored hews of brown makes the stick pop. Seams ARE invisible. Lots of scary looking veins. The tapered foot is absolutely round at the end.
The construction is shocking for a $4 cigar.
I had one shortly after receiving them and thought…”pretty good.” But then I thought I better humidify for them as long as necessary.
The close up of the cigar band is cool because of the texture of the paper.
This is a solid fucker (That word just prompted JR Cigars to disavow this review). No soft spots and the right amount of give.
AROMAS AND COLD DRAW NOTES:
From the shaft, I smell dark, dark cocoa, spice, clove, cinnamon, sweet notes, cedar, vanilla, and coffee.
From the clipped cap and the foot, I smell dark chocolate, barnyard, strong black pepper, clove, coffee, molasses, nuts, cedar, and vanilla mousse.
The cold draw presents flavors of bitter grass, cocoa, pepper, clove, cedar, nuts, coffee, and varieties of sweetness.
FIRST THIRD:
I use my Palio cutter to remove the cute cap Yarmulke-style. In other words, I removed the wrapper but not the tobacco underneath. I may use a small rubber band and wear it during the review.
The draw is terrible. Out comes the cigar awl. It helps but doesn’t solve the issue. There are indiscriminate areas of the cigar over packed.
But then the flavors roll in and they are pretty damn good: Red pepper, milk chocolate, roasted nuts, creaminess.
George Harrison’s “My Sweet Lord” is playing. Did you know that he had to settle in court for stealing the melody of that song from the 1963 song by the Chiffons called “He’s So Fine.” Poor George admitted they sounded the same and just threw up his hands and said “…I fucked up. But I didn’t do it on purpose.” Harrison basically had to hand over all the publishing royalties to the Chiffons’ people.
There is a touch of char line crap going on but I believe once the burn gets past the tapered portion of the foot, all should be well.
So far, this is a killer blend. I cannot believe I am saying this about a $4 stick. It has all the earnest qualities of a much more costly stick.
There is a kitchen sink of flavors piling up with each puff.
I don’t know how long Aaron had these before he sent me 3 sticks, but I have had them resting for 6 weeks. I tried one a week after I got them and thought the blend had potential. Whole different ballpark with additional humidor time.
The draw has opened up sufficiently that I’m being inundated by clouds of smoke.
I don’t taste the earthleatherwood components. But I seem to be able to taste everything else.
Strength is a strong medium body.
New flavors: lemon citrus, baking spices, tea, and cherries.
Plasencia knocked this baby for a loop. But most blends in this price range are crap catalog brands. So my bad for being an arrogant snob who thought no way could a $4 stick impress me.
The impressively packed stick is a slow roll. Probably a good 90 minute smoke.
The char line has evened out.
Complexity has kicked in with only an inch burned. Some nice transitions going on.
Malts show up and with the intense creaminess and chocolate make for a big dessert treat.
I tell ya’…I wouldn’t mind having a 12 pack container of these sticks. Maybe I will shoot my load (allowance of $50) next SS (Social Security…not the German sadist military force) payday on just that.
The show is run by the luscious creaminess, malts, and mocha java. Excellent.
I near the second third and the ash is holding tight.
I don my special, steel reinforced, S & M cup to protect my naughty bits in case this giant ash decides to disengage from the mother ship.
SECOND THIRD:
Smoke time is 35 minutes. Smoke time should elongate now that I’ve passed the tapered end of the cigar. Now I’m into the 60 ring gauge of the stick.
The Jamon Perfecto does not disappoint. Each puff brings about new transitions and subtleties.
Strength hits medium/full.
Once again I don’t understand why online stores provide an MSRP to an exclusive blend. In this case, it is $87.60. But you SAVE $35.65 by purchasing a canister for only $51.95. But wait…there’s more. We will throw in another canister for just a small additional handling and shipping cost.
This makes the MSRP price at $7.30. How the fuck did they come to that fantasy price point? The marketing department, at all online stores, is on too much steroids and meth.
I guess this takes me off the JR Cigars Christmas card list.
No kidding. This is an excellent cigar. One you can hand out to your mooch friends that are dumber than you and watch the smile on their faces as they enjoy a great, FREE, cigar.
I’m at the halfway point. Smoke time is 50 minutes.
I can’t think of another $4 stick this good. I’m sure there are but I can’t remember any of them. If I had blind taste tested the Jamon Perfecto, I would have guessed without equivocation that this is a $9-$10 stick. And a boutique blend.
JR has an auction site but this blend is not among the cigars chosen.
Here they are: Creaminess, malts, red pepper, cocoa, coffee, baking spices, lemon zest, cedar, roasted nuts, vegetal notes, tea, and black cherries.
Strength still hanging out at medium/full. The blend is super smooth. Goes down easily.
For such an inexpensive, clunky cigar, the char line and construction are impressive.
You are going to dig this cigar and then you will shower your Uncle Katman with lots of cigars for review.
The Jamon Perfecto by Plasencia is the perfect knock around stick. Loads of flavor and complexity and for a pittance of what you spend on most cigars.
I have one stick left. I shall build a shrine for it and light some candles and pray to the Cosmic Muffin every morning when I get up.
The only caveat is that it is imperative you give this cigar a couple months of humidor time or you are just wasting a nice treat.
I haven’t really hit the sweet spot yet. Soon, I hope. If it has a sweet spot. Could be the McGuffin for this inexpensive blend.
And just to prove what a shmo I am, the sweet spot explodes. Instead of going back and deleting the last sentence, I allow it to remain as I always write stream of consciousness without changing up what I’ve written to make me sound smarter.
Caramel joins the dance troupe. Red pepper surges back to eye watering status. Creaminess and malts and cocoa are raging.
LAST THIRD:
Smoke time is one hour 15 minutes.
The Jamon Perfecto by Plasencia is no ordinary catalog cigar. There was a lot of thought and love put into the construction of this blend. I’m not a big fan of Plasencia. There are some good blends but most are just ordinary catalog cigars. In over 8 years of reviewing, I’ve only reviewed two Plasencia blends.
The Jamon Perfecto is a quantum leap for the Plasencia folks along with JR Cigars.
Strength is a bold medium/full. Nicotine begins to rumble.
I didn’t review on Monday because I promised Manny Balani of Gotham Cigars I would try the new blend Gotham Heroes Alec Bradley that I just recently received. I wanted it to be my first cigar of the day. A review after that first cigar is useless as my palate is tainted. Good cigar but needs a little more humi time. Another $4 exclusive. And only available in 5 packs.
No matter how much time I spend writing or futzing around taking photos, the Jamon Perfecto by Plasencia does not go out. The char line is near perfect.
There is no guess work here. I will definitely purchase a canister of Jamon Perfecto by Plasencia from JR Cigars once I have some dough early November.
With 1-1/2” to go, I hit Sweet Spot 2.0. Flavors go deep and complex.
This blend is for the experienced smoker. So many flavors to assess. And the rising tide of nicotine will kill newbies…followed by a burial in Potter’s Field.
Strength hits full body. I’m swimming in a sea of swarming simbas…as my eyesight begins to fail from the nicotine.
A generic fruitiness appears. And a strong smoky meatiness.
Nothing left to add. A great $4 stick..that could have easily seen a much higher price point.
Final smoke time is 85 minutes.
RATING: 90
Categories: CIGAR REVIEWS
Cigar Reviews by Phil 'Katman' Kohn 
Great review, uncle Katman! I have been smoking for about a year now, and there is no doubt, my favorite cigars are the medium to full bodied range. I started with two sticks a week and now it’s at least two a day! I try to budget my $ with cigars, so trying to find or smoke the best for the least amount is key.lol Your reviews, such as this one, have proven to be invaluable for my effort. Thank You.
P.S. The rock and roll stories are badass too.
That low-resolution band looks like it was printed on a copy machine from clipart. Not that anyone smokes the band (intentionally).