Write-Up: Ramon Allones Silver Jubilee

[Thatsze]

Recently purchased this cigar through 24:24 as a quarter box. Smoked one after a couple weeks, reviewing after a third week. Likely needed more rest, but was much more enjoyable with the extra week. They're all I got at the moment, and I have cause to celebrate, so they'll have to do for now. As an immediate smoke they have a lot of room for improvement, however my experience is limited to a host of Nicaraguan cigars and a Monte No. 2.. The Monte 2 was a fine smoke out the gate, left me much more satisfied than the Nicaraguans I smoked, and it was much easier to smoke to the end.

I've found Cubans to be much sweeter than other regions' tobacco. The Nicaraguans were almost musky, to be honest I felt sick after smoking them, I have no intention of returning to them, although the Padron I smoked wasn't awful. The Arturo Fuente I smoked was very enjoyable as well, I don't know if its the Dominican filler, or the Cameroon Wrapper, but it was very dry, and very peppery, not bad at all, I felt great smoking it, and enjoyed it to the end, another brand I'd return to. Avo is another fine brand. Ultimately though these other region's cigars were not as satisfying, they lacked the complexity and sweetness of the Cuban tobacco I've smoked. Even the maduro wrappers did not reach the same level of sweetness as Cuban tobacco, or at least not with the same notes as Cubans.*

That's enough about my general cigar experience, let's take a closer look at the Ramon Allones Silver Jubilee.

 

Build: Its a well built cigar, firm in the hand with no soft spots, wrapper has a healthy sheen to it. Burn was uneven, especially at the start, but it corrected. Its a thick cigar, at 50, I'd prefer a corona. I suspect part of the reason Habanos has begun moving to higher ring guages is to compensate for their poorer construction, as a plus, the draw is perfect. No issues so little to say.

Aroma: Sniffing the wrapper is almost akin to a chocolate malt milkshake. This is interesting as there is little chocolate to be found in the actual smoke of the cigar. The cold draw is very refreshing, with faint apple cider and some floral notes. I could walk around all day puffing on the unlit cigar.

Taste: Strong taste of Cuban tobacco right at the start, tastes almost like how a Subway smells? Other notes are minimal for the first few draws. The apple cider from the cold draw begins faintly. The apple cider will overpower the Cuban tobacco note and remain as the primary note for the rest of the cigar after the first several draws. Other notes are present throughout the cigar, but the apple overpowers all of them. The notes I could taste simply melded into that overpower apple flavor, meaning the cigar ranges from tasting of apple cider, baked apple, or caramel apple. I think with time the spice notes, the toastiness, and the sweetness of the caramel would become more defined, leading to a complex cigar with apple as the primary note to tie them all together. Strangely enough, I swear I could taste a slight chocolate at times, almost like a tootsie roll, it was faint at most, and only lingered very briefly. 

Conclusion: The Ramon Allones Silver Jubilee was a fine cigar, if not a little simple. The notes are cohesive but overpowered by the strong apple flavor of the cigar. The flavor of the Cuban tobacco does remain throughout, but is dominant at the beginning of the cigar, as well as at the end. The final third was... awful. The apple note went from baked to burnt, and everything else became a muddled mess. However it showed a great deal of potential, with age hopefully the apple would be toned back, allowing the rest of the flavors to come into their own. This cigar needs at minimum a couple years. However, I suspect that if given the age it needs, this cigar would be great after dinner with company.

In a word: Apples.

 

That concludes this write-up. I'll likely return once my next shipment from 24:24 comes in. Juan Lopez Seleccion 1, or San Cristobal Principe will likely be the next subject. As an aside, I hope that this cigar is offered on 24:24 again, I'd love to pick up some more to age. I haven't yet smoked other Ramon Allones, so I'd love to know how these compare to their regular production.

 

 

*Except for the Balmoral Connecticut I smoked, an amazingly complex cigar, I highly recommend anyone pick up a box, I certainly will. I know non-cuban's aren't sold here, but I encourage the staff here to try them out. Caramel, vanilla, cream, and even more await. 

 

[dflan82]

Thanks for the review. The three of these that I have smoked so far have been excellent. I could definitely pick up some of the Apple flavor that you mentioned in the review. Cheers!

[Kongelunden]

Very nice write-up and great review. Thanks for sharing. I haven't smoked the RA silver jubilee myself, but have enjoyed the Bolivar counterpart.