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2021-05 Juan Lopez #1 (unknown year or code)

cabaiguan juan

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I wanted to smoke this one while the JL2 was fresh in my head, just to see what the similarities might be. It was either @CigarStone or @kann , I believe, who asked the question about keeping the flavor profile across the marca line. Well, I recognized a lot of similar flavors but also some variation.

1/3: Chalk/mineral right of the light (same as the JL2). Red pepper spice on the 2nd draw, much sooner than the JL2, but same red pepper. The retrohale tingles a little bit due to that pepper. Now, the draw is a bit firmer then the JL2 so I'm sipping this a bit more, but it’s not terribly tight. Beginning at the half inch mark, i start getting some roasted corn (no roasted corn on the JL2, nor do I get the black pepper or espresso that the JL@ had towards the end of its first third).

2/3: This was for sure a new flavor for me- Corn flakes/potato skins/hay. I definitely did not get that on the JL2! As I continue to work my way through the second third, it appears to be mossy and/or mesquite (which I'm iffy on the mesquite flavor). Mesquite is common down in Texas, right? Can anyone from Texas confirm if they get mesquite on a JL1? There was zero overlap between the middle third of the JL2 and JL1.

3/3: The last third begins with the moss now joined by pasta water and salt. The pasta water was at the end of the JL2's second third, so I would say this is similar across the two. However, the pasta water soon dissipates leaving just moss/mustiness and salt. Some onion joins the mix, but that is fleeting, and there is pepper on the retrohale. The JL2 ended with just a black/white pepper, so this too sets the JL1 apart from the JL2.

It was very interesting being able to compare the two together this way. It was neat to be able to look back and see how the JL1 & 2 stacked up with each other, third for third. I wish I knew what the year was for this one just to further the comparison but I imagine they were similar in age. I could be happy with either the JL1 or the JL2's at this point.
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Man Jon, I wish I could pull so many flavors and feels from a cigar! I get a burnt sweetness, like the torched top of a creme brulee, from Cuban cigars, and I got a reminder of my grandmothers Christmas decorations, fresh from the attic, from a Partagas 160. Other than that I get very generic descriptors......harsh, creamy, deep flavor, etc.

I recently smoked a JL2 and then a JL1 a few days later. The JL2 had a perfect draw and was amazing from the first draw, the JL1 was tight and required a little fiddling which really detracts from a cigar for me.

I remember discussing the various cigars of a given line but I don't remember if I posted the thread or just commented.....of course I can't remember if I ate today.

While I believe the brothers here, who have forgotten more than I will ever know about cigars, when they say that all the cigars in a line use the same filler, binder, and wrapper, it's amazing sometimes that a different vitola can have such characteristic differences.
 
Great review and very interesting how different vitolas of the same line perform next to each other. Keep them coming 👍
 
Great reviews.!!

IMHO JL's represent great smokes for the money. Time is their friend, to be sure. I'm partial to #2's but they are both worth consideration.
 
Nice review! I've always shyed away from JLs even though I have only smoked very few.
Interested if you noticed any similarities to a QdO Corona?
 
Nice review! I've always shyed away from JLs even though I have only smoked very few.
Interested if you noticed any similarities to a QdO Corona?
No. I haven’t smoked a QdO Corona so I cannot speak of any similarities
 
Nice review! I've always shyed away from JLs even though I have only smoked very few.
Interested if you noticed any similarities to a QdO Corona?
QdO’s are mild and medium bodied, with a creamy honey flavor, great for a morning cigar. JL’s are stronger and full flavored, and if you let them age, you will taste roasted nuts, wood and cinnamon. Both great cigars...
 
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