Razorback
Migratory Coconut
- Joined
- Jan 29, 2006
- Messages
- 452
Don Pepin Garcia JJ Maduro Sublime
6 x 54
I saw these as my local B&M last Saturday and couldn’t pass up the opportunity to give them a try. I picked up two of the Sublime’s. It was a nice quiet Friday evening, so I decided to give one a try.
Atmosphere:
My apartment watching Survivorman and talking with a few folks in the Chat Room. Since this is a first with this cigar I decided to just have ice water, so I wouldn’t taint any of the flavors.
Pre-Light:
The cigar has a nice dark, slightly oily, wrapper. Looks like a nice chocolate bar, and kind of smelled like one too! I also picked up a little of what I describe as the “Pepin fragrance”. The draw was perfect, and was very similar to the scent. The ring gauge is fatter than I prefer.
Initial Light & First 3rd:
I used my new Tatuaje Table lighter to fire this thing up. The lighter is awesome!
First thing I noticed once this cigar was lit was an intense harshness. I usually can “nose” smoke without much trouble, but trying it early on with this cigar led to a sneeze fit! After the first ½ inch the harshness started to go away and I could start to pick up some muted flavors. There was a little of the sweetness I’ve come to expect with Maduro cigars. Similar to a dark chocolate, there’s also some earthy tones and maybe a little peppery, but still the flavors are a bit dull. The burn has been fairly even to this point.
Middle 3rd:
The flavors are more pronounced, but still similar to the beginning. The dark chocolate is nice, and I’m picking up some nice cedary notes. I did pick up something a little sour toward the middle, but just enough to add some intrigue. The burn stated to lag on one side and required a touch up.
Final 3rd:
The sweetness is gone, taken over by a sour grassy taste, kind of reminiscent of a young cigar. Every couple of puffs I could find the chocolate I tasted earlier, but I had to go searching for it. The last several puffs were just plain bitter and unappealing.
My dog Seamus decided to join me at this point.
Overall:
This cigar wasn’t necessarily bad, but it didn’t live up to the expectation I had. I was talking to Phil (insight) in the chat room, and I think it hit the nail on the head. He said he didn’t think this is a blend that can benefit from a Maduro wrapper. Although I think this could be an interesting smoke, the one I had was not impressive. I’ll definitely give these another try, but a regular JJ would’ve made for a more satisfying night.
Nick
6 x 54
I saw these as my local B&M last Saturday and couldn’t pass up the opportunity to give them a try. I picked up two of the Sublime’s. It was a nice quiet Friday evening, so I decided to give one a try.
Atmosphere:
My apartment watching Survivorman and talking with a few folks in the Chat Room. Since this is a first with this cigar I decided to just have ice water, so I wouldn’t taint any of the flavors.
Pre-Light:
The cigar has a nice dark, slightly oily, wrapper. Looks like a nice chocolate bar, and kind of smelled like one too! I also picked up a little of what I describe as the “Pepin fragrance”. The draw was perfect, and was very similar to the scent. The ring gauge is fatter than I prefer.
Initial Light & First 3rd:
I used my new Tatuaje Table lighter to fire this thing up. The lighter is awesome!
First thing I noticed once this cigar was lit was an intense harshness. I usually can “nose” smoke without much trouble, but trying it early on with this cigar led to a sneeze fit! After the first ½ inch the harshness started to go away and I could start to pick up some muted flavors. There was a little of the sweetness I’ve come to expect with Maduro cigars. Similar to a dark chocolate, there’s also some earthy tones and maybe a little peppery, but still the flavors are a bit dull. The burn has been fairly even to this point.
Middle 3rd:
The flavors are more pronounced, but still similar to the beginning. The dark chocolate is nice, and I’m picking up some nice cedary notes. I did pick up something a little sour toward the middle, but just enough to add some intrigue. The burn stated to lag on one side and required a touch up.
Final 3rd:
The sweetness is gone, taken over by a sour grassy taste, kind of reminiscent of a young cigar. Every couple of puffs I could find the chocolate I tasted earlier, but I had to go searching for it. The last several puffs were just plain bitter and unappealing.
My dog Seamus decided to join me at this point.
Overall:
This cigar wasn’t necessarily bad, but it didn’t live up to the expectation I had. I was talking to Phil (insight) in the chat room, and I think it hit the nail on the head. He said he didn’t think this is a blend that can benefit from a Maduro wrapper. Although I think this could be an interesting smoke, the one I had was not impressive. I’ll definitely give these another try, but a regular JJ would’ve made for a more satisfying night.
Nick
Great review though. Too bad it didn't live up to the expectations. The only Pepin maduro that I have had is the JFR maduro... and that thing is all maduro! :love: I have one of the JJ maduro sublimes in the box waiting to be had. Might let her rest a bit though now...
