Jose L Piedra Cremas


bolivr

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Well cheap and cheerful it is. These smokes tend to get disparaged a bit and sure they are not flagship but to me they have a straight up honesty. I have nearly smoked the whole of the retail 5 X 5 box since getting them into the humi in Sept 08. This is the second last one and now I have built a collection of better cigars I doubt I will buy them again.

The biggest problem for me has been the low smoke volume making them a bit unsatisfying. Flavour-wise I like them and the rest of the family here is fine with the aroma. They burn well as you can see in the pic. The smoke has hints of sweetness and salt, not much of either but still identifiably cuban and therefore still good. :daydream: This one had a touch of burning rubber about it LOL, which is fine since I am a petrol head. A bloke's cigar.

On the cheap and cheerful topic, those interested in digital photography might like to know this picture was taken with the cheapest camera I could find, Samsung ES25 for 78 aussie dollars. I got no complaints with it.

Cheers, Mike

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Well cheap and cheerful it is. These smokes tend to get disparaged a bit and sure they are not flagship but to me they have a straight up honesty. I have nearly smoked the whole of the retail 5 X 5 box since getting them into the humi in Sept 08. This is the second last one and now I have built a collection of better cigars I doubt I will buy them again.

The biggest problem for me has been the low smoke volume making them a bit unsatisfying. Flavour-wise I like them and the rest of the family here is fine with the aroma. They burn well as you can see in the pic. The smoke has hints of sweetness and salt, not much of either but still identifiably cuban and therefore still good. :daydream: This one had a touch of burning rubber about it LOL, which is fine since I am a petrol head. A bloke's cigar.

On the cheap and cheerful topic, those interested in digital photography might like to know this picture was taken with the cheapest camera I could find, Samsung ES25 for 78 aussie dollars. I got no complaints with it.

Cheers, Mike

thanks for the review mate. these were my first box of cigars and they were pretty good too, got my mate into cigars with them as well so stoked. might hunt down that camera hey my sony is a few years old and a bit of a pain in the arse

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Great review, Mike.

These are perhaps the mildest of the JLPs, but still quite flavourful.

I have also noticed a rather restricted smoke volume,

especially if they have been kept at 65-70%.

When they are drier, they tend to smoke better.

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Oddly enough I smoked this same cigar last night. My findings are the same as yours. Not a bad cigar for a C&C, but light on flavor. Not just the Crema but the Cazador as well.

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The cigar itself may not last that long as far as a mid size smoke, but it sure doesn't disappoint as far as that wonderful cuban flavor! :D:pig:

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  • 2 weeks later...
I've had great success with the Nacionales. Same size, but different blend it seems. Can be a bit "dirty" but very pleasing.

the best things in life often fit that description!

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  • 3 months later...

Thanks for posting this! I have been eyeing a 5x5 of these for a while now, given the price point, and the fact that they would be nice to have as a sort of knockaround, party, share with the guys kind of smoke... also so that when my less smoke inclined friends ask "HEY YOU GOT ANY CUBANS?" I can throw them one, and they can get excited about smoking a Cuban cigar that didn't cost me an arm and a leg... best for everyone. Might have to take the plunge now.

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Smoking one now from a 5x5 marked LUT MAY 08. It's not bad. I am rather enjoying it... for the most part.

When I first got these about a year ago I thought they were pretty good... for the price anyway. Then I hit a few bad ones, or so I thought. I haven't touched them in a while, but the one I'm smoking now has elements of both the good and the bad... and I'm not convinced age has anything to do with it.

There are some really nice, sweet top-flavors and this cigar shows a lot of promise. However, it's a little under-filled and I'm having to be very careful not to hot box it. When it heats up there's a distinct bitter undertone coming through. I flame-purged and let it rest a few minutes. Now it's back to being sweet again. That's got me wondering if those I smoked a while back that I wasn't so pleased with just needed a little more careful attention to keep from getting too hot.

Let's face it, there's "Cheap & Cheerful" and there's just pain "Cheap". Being TC construction and about half the price of many cigars that still fit the C&C category, JLP's fall into a lower tier than most and risk leaving out the "Cheerful" part. I guess that's a way of saying, I don't have the same expectations from this cigar as I do with some of the higher, but still bargain-priced long-filler cigars. Let's say, I expect 75% "Cheap" from these JLP's... and 25% "Cheerful" would be enough to get a thumbs-up.

........................

Part-2: (back to writing this post just as I'm finishing up my JLP Cremas)

There's a place in my routine, on occasion, for plain ol' "Cheap". This one is a perfect example. I managed a few pleasurable moments with this cigar when I was paying attention to it, then got distracted with phone calls and emails while I smoked the rest. Frankly, with my mind on other things, I hardly noticed the cigar. But, that's good. If it had been gawd-awful I would have noticed and pitched it. It wasn't... and I didn't.

Still, I'm a little on the fence whether I'd seek out these JLP's again or not. Ordered a bundle of Quintero Brevas, my first Quint's other than a box of Panatelas that have not yet proven themselves ready for consumption. Hoping the Vuelta Abajo tobacco will come through just a little better for me (versus Vuelta Arriba for the JLP).

Final thought: I wouldn't rule out buying more JLP's, but at the same time I'm still on the hunt for a better choice to fill the bottom rung in my list of favorites. I am jealous of you guys who've had a chance to visit Cuba and bring back some peso cigars. Sounds like most are in the same class as JLP's and Quinteros for pennies on the dollar.

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  • 1 month later...

I also happen to like JLP Cremas very much. I noticed a tremendous progress of flavours when my bundle from DIC05 had its fourth birthday.

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  • 2 months later...
I also happen to like JLP Cremas very much. I noticed a tremendous progress of flavours when my bundle from DIC05 had its fourth birthday.

Hi,

I have to say that the JLP's are by no means great cigars, however for their price I think they have a place in many cigar smokers rotation, they taste like a Cuban , not a sophisticated Cuban nor great pallet complexity but sometimes I can't afford to sit and think on what I am smoking but like to have a cigar to accompany me rather than set the tone .

I wish I could afford to smoke only top level Cubans, but when I look for a cheap solid cigar and time is a constraint I will go for the occasional JLP cremas or cazadoras.

There are some Cuban cheap cigars that are far from cheerful , this is not one of them.

Just make sure to not smoke them right out of the box, they need some rest (at least a year IMHO)

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  • 4 months later...

I didn't want to start a new thread for the poor, misunderstood JLP Marca. I happen to be an unappologetic JLP PC smoker. I have one daily when I take to dog for a walk or if I'm looking to have something I don't need to focus on.

As you can see below, I buy in bulk to let them sit a while...

2nar3ic.jpg

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  • 2 years later...
  • 3 weeks later...
  • 3 weeks later...

I didn't want to start a new thread for the poor, misunderstood JLP Marca. I happen to be an unappologetic JLP PC smoker. I have one daily when I take to dog for a walk or if I'm looking to have something I don't need to focus on.

As you can see below, I buy in bulk to let them sit a while...

2nar3ic.jpg

That is ...awesome

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One of the first cigars I had -

Bought a few more boxes and I find that they like many others have said, dont smoke particularly well. Though - they do have that cuban flavor and for the price - I still keep them in my rotation - Not the prettiest to look at though.

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