CA Review Panel: JFR Lunatic by Aganorsa Leaf
Reading Time: 5 minutes Some might say we’re crazy…but really, we’re just smoking Lunatics. In this cigar panel review, we’re taking on the JFR Lunatic by Aganorsa Leaf in a whopping 6” x 54 format. Click now to see what we thought of its flavor and complexity!
Nothing beats a Trinidad fundadores or a monte #2 in my book and I’ve smoked 1000’s of sticks here in USA. Listen padron, some Fuentes, and some davidofs deliver well. But a Cuban puro is tough to match.
Some Cuban Cigars are pretty good, but they are overpriced. I love Nicaraguan Cigars, and Fuente, Oliva V are my Fav, I would not trade one for any Cuban.
It is your taste profile that matters. Smoke a Cuban and you may not smoke another. Some Cuban brands are better, the Cohiba is way over hyped and overpriced.
[…] For decades, Cuban cigars were thought to be the best cigars on the planet. The soil, the tobacco, the wraps, and the craftsmanship that went into producing just one Cuban were considered unmatchable by any other standard. Today, things are a little different. Some people still swear by the quality of a hand-rolled Cuban, while others are a little more open-minded. […]
True – There are still some cigar smokers who believe Cubans are still the ultimate, and I say, each his own. But I have also heard from many other cigar smokers that many Cuban cigars have been lacking in quality over the recent years. That’s not to say they still don’t make some excellent smokes, because they do, but Nicaragua is kicking Cuba’s ass.
G-~
I’ve been smoking Cuban cigars off and on for 30+ years. And in their absence, have tried all of the “big names,” and not-s-big, from the DRR, Nicaragua, Honduras, etc. There is zero comparison. The latter are tasteless or bitter, the Cubans remain, to this day, smooth and flavorful.
To be cynical: Cigar Afficianado and these websites would have little to say if they could only discuss good Cubans as they are still so difficult to get here. So yes, you tout the others because…what else? But the truth is that the Cuban cigars benefit from what the French call terroir and, as with French wines, potatoes, ducks and chickens, terroir is everything.
Well, you also just made your own point. Nicaragua, with so much rich volcanic soil, not to mention more land mass for growing, has some of the best terrior in Central America. There’s a reason Nicaraguan cigars in particular are so popular, and it isn’t because Cuban cigars are hard to get. Everyone I know who smokes Cubans has a way of getting them. You’ve obviously developed a palate for Cuban cigars, but how you could call cigars made outside of Cuba “tasteless” well. . .I never argue with what someone tastes or doesn’t. All I can add is that, maybe you just haven’t gotten around to smoking enough of the top cigars from these other countries. So be it, to each his own, and I’ll leave it at that.
G-~