Mega Review - The 12 Robustos of Christmas

[kingcohiba]

had a few of these before, found it to be a great smoke indeed! looking forward to the rest of your reviews!

[roughrider]

Thanks for the review.

[Big J]

Great morning smoke! Nice review.

[jdawg]

Another excellent review...

I agree this is a nice morning smoke.

[Lee Nub]

I think I've been tempted to get a few of these

[G-man]

I agree this is a nice morning,afternoon smoke.

[whisky77]

ERDM

One of the first Robustos I ever tried, and I only smoked them again recently after years of not trying them.

I have now managed to build a small collection of different ERDM vitolas and there are no bad ones that I have come across.

Ideal smoke for anytime of the day.Really consistant construction as well IMO.

[whisky77]

ERDM

One of the first Robustos I ever tried, and I only smoked them again recently after years of not trying them.

I have now managed to build a small collection of different ERDM vitolas and there are no bad ones that I have come across.

Ideal smoke for anytime of the day.Really consistant construction as well IMO.

[Seriesteve]

Trini Rob T

I had to try another after your review
Very nice construction, well made triple cap, a bit spongy to the touch.
Pre lit draw was a tad spicy
The Cigar smoked well no burn issues, dark grey ash.
I picked up various Charicteristics during this enjoyable smoke they were...
Straw during the start of the Cigar, Earthy, Milky, Nutmeg during the miday way stage, and Cedary during the last of this Cigar.
Much better than the last two I've tried, settling nicely, thats them packed away for another 6 mths or so.
Thanks for reminder Yiorgos

[yiorgos]

Day 3: Juan Lopez Seleccion No.2

The 12 Robustos of Christmas Day 3:
December 28th 2009 - Juan Lopez Seleccion No.2

For the third day of the reviews, I chose to smoke a Juan L?pez Seleccion No.2. The #2 is a classic Robusto size, measuring 50?124. It was first released in the early 90’s, originally presented in cabinets of 50 without a label, and later in cabinets of 25. From 2005, all the seleccion #2’s are released “wearing” the new Juan L?pez label. I haven’t smoked too many of these, but I have found them to be inconsistent. I have enjoyed some of them, while others have failed to impress me, not because of their flavour but because of some burn and draw issues.

Appearance & Prelight 13/15

The Seleccion #2 is a well presented cigar. It has a smooth brown red wrapper with a few soft veins. The wrapper seems to be very thin, as you can clearly see and feel the wrinkles of the binder. It has a slightly loose bunch and feels spongy on its whole length with no hard spots. The triple cap is roundly and well applied and there is strong aromas of cedar and earth. As expected from its spongy feel, the prelight draw is on the loose side.

Flavour & Body 21/25

On the first draw the cigar has an intense white pepper taste, which gradually disappears, leaving a taste of peat, grass and earth, and a medium to full body. On the second third the #2 turns sweeter with fruit and floral flavours joining the mix. Unfortunately, when the burn issues start, most of the flavours are muted and the complexity disappears, finishing off with a taste of earth and roasted nuts.

Draw & Burn 18/25

From the beginning the cigar delivers a decent amount of grey smoke with a long toasty finish. However, its weak point seems to be its burn, which is uneven and inconsistent. The draw is slightly loose, the ash is grey and flaky and stays on the cigar for the first third. Halfway in the second third, the cigar goes off; a flick of the ash reveals a nasty looking tunnel shaped coal… from that moment on, the cigar never picked up the pace and I had to relight on several occasions, before eventually putting in down at the beginning of the last third.

Overall impression 30/35

As I stated above, the Seleccion #2’s have been very inconsistent for me, and this one in particular was one of the worse I have had. Although the cigar looked beautiful and the flavours were there in the first half the bad burn was affecting the taste and having to relight it so many times made it unpleasant. The wrapper seemed very thin and burned very slowly, not contributing much to the whole outcome.I am quite generous marking it with 82/100 points, but I will be coming back to it in the near future, hoping that the next one will be better.

TOTAL 82/100

[Kdot]

Great Reviews so far, never smoked a bad JL2, had a couple of shitty looking ones (green and under filled) though ive yet to smoke em

[peanutpete]

another great review, i think i am going to order a box of your fav.cigar of the 12 you are reviewing, so no pressure than yiorgos

[jdawg]

another great review, i think i am going to order a box of your fav.cigar of the 12 you are reviewing, so no pressure than yiorgos

This is a great idea, Pete! I may do the same, unless of course, I already have it.

[jdawg]

Another great review, Yiorgos! For the most part, I agree with your assessment of the JL#2. It is a very nice smoke, but not my favourite. I would like to see how these evolve over time, so I am letting the rest of mine sit.

By the way, I just checked out your blog. It is well organised and very informative. A joy to read. Keep up the great work, mate!

[peanutpete]

This is a great idea, Pete! I may do the same, unless of course, I already have it.

jdawg nothing wrong with having two of the same 1 for smoking and the other for smoking as well