John is a nice and straight up kinda guy. I know there has been much debate as to whether he cigars are Cuban or not, I lean towards the side that believes they are. But is that really important? Cuban tobacco, or no Cuban tobacco, the cigars are a bargain so as long as you enjoy the smoke...that's all that matters.
I will also be the first to say that John's cigars can be inconsistent from batch to batch. As pointed out earlier, the quality of the tobacco he gets can vary. Some of the cigars I've had like John said, would have scored in the low 90s, others not so much. And I've had draw issues before as well, but only with the thinner rg cigars. the larger rg cigars have always been fine.
I've not had a Johnny-O with more than 3 years of age on it...I tend to smoke most of the cigars I get fresh, within a few months of purchase, or after a year or so. The cigars do change...age does take some of the edge off of them, but the profile is still quite similar.
My suggestion would be to give them a try. Pick up a sampler and judge for yourself.