Aladino Connecticut Queens Perfecto by JRE Tobacco Co

Since JRE Tobacco Company launched in 2016, the brand that has become the workhorse blend of the portfolio has been Aladino. In 2019, JRE Tobacco would introduce its fourth blend under the Aladino line with the Aladino Connecticut. While JRE Tobacco already has a Connecticut Shade cigar with the Tatascan Connecticut, that cigar is sweet-dipped. With the Aladino Connecticut, it helps fill a gap in the portfolio by giving JRE Tobacco a traditional premium Connecticut Shade Cigar. Today we take a closer look at the Aladino Connecticut in the Queens Perfecto size.

The Aladino name is something traced back to the 1970s. There was a historic movie theater in Danlí, Honduras known as El Cine Aladino. This theater was operated by Christian and Justo Eiroa’s grandfather. Today, Christian owns the Aladino factory, which is in the theater’s former location. Aladino is also the name that company patriarch Julio R. Eiroa chose to name one of his brands. When Aladino was released, this was a brand positioned as delivering a classic, “old-fashioned” cigar experience reminiscent of those during the “golden age” between 1947 and 1961.

The Queens Perfecto is a unique shape in the JRE Tobacco portfolio. It’s a cigar that is more rounded by the cap and more tapered by the footer – making it almost an inverse torpedo.

Without further ado, let’s break down the Aladino Connecticut Queens Perfecto and see what this cigar brings to the table.

Blend and Origin

The wrapper of the Aladino Connecticut is Ecuadorian-grown Connecticut Shade. The remainder of the blend consists of Honduran tobaccos from the JRE Tobacco farm. Production is handled out of Julio R. Eiroa’s Las Lomas factory in Honduras.

Wrapper: Ecuadorian Connecticut
Binder: Honduran
Filler: Honduran
Country of Origin: Honduras
Factory: Las Lomas

Vitolas Available

In addition to the Queens Perfecto size, the Aladino Connecticut comes in three additional sizes. Each size is presented in 20-count boxes.

Queens Perfecto 46 x 5 1/4
Robusto: 50 x 5
Toro: 50 x 6
Churchill: 52 x 7

Aladino Connecticut Queens Perfecto Packaging – Photo supplied by JRE Tobacco Co, photo credit to Frederick Findley

Appearance

The Ecuadorian Connecticut Shade wrapper of the Aladino Connecticut Queens Perfecto had a butterscotch color with a slightly weathered look. There wasn’t much in the way of oil. The wrapper had some visible veins and visible wrapper seams. The veins had a slight amount of toothless on the wrapper. As mentioned the Queens Perfecto shape is somewhat like an inverse torpedo. Toward the foot of the wrapper there was a gentle taper leading to an open footer. There was a gentler taper toward the head which still had a cap on it.

The Aladino Connecticut uses a similar band design found on the original Aladino Corojo and Maduro lines, but with a different color scheme. The upper part of the band has a white background. There is a large black “A” with the text “ALADINO” arranged in a curved fashion above it. To the left of the circle is the text “1947” while to right is the text “1961” – both in black font. Sitting on that same row to the far right side is the text (also in black font) “HECHO A MANO.” The remainder of the band has silver adornments. The lower portion of the band almost looks like a pseudo-secondary band. It is black color with silver trim. The text “JULIO R. EIROA” appears in white font on that white background.

PERFORMANCE

Pre-Light Draw

A straight cut was used to kick off the cigar experience of the Aladino Connecticut Queens Perfecto. A slight amount of taper remained on the head of the cigar once the cap was clipped. At this point, it was on to the pre-light draw. The dry draw delivered notes of cream, wood, and cedar. This was a satisfactory pre-light draw experience. At this point, it was time to light up the Aladino Connecticut Queens Perfecto and move on to the smoking phase.

Tasting Notes

The Aladino Connecticut Queens Perfecto started out with more notes of cream, wood, and cedar. As the cigar progressed through the first third, the cream and cedar notes moved into the forefront. The cream notes maintained a slight edge during this stage of the cigar. As the cigar moved through the first third, nut and slight citrus notes surfaced in the background. Meanwhile, the retro-hale produced an additional layer of wood and black pepper.

As the Queens Perfecto moved into the second third, the cedar and cream notes still were grounded in the forefront and were pretty much sharing the role of providing the primary flavors. A slight black pepper note was not present on the tongue. Toward the midway point, the citrus notes took control for a short time – providing a nice sweetness. The cream and wood settled in the background with the cedar, pepper, and nut flavors.

By the last third, the cedar notes regained their position as the primary flavor. These flavors were rounded out by the cream, wood, pepper, citrus, and nut flavors. There was a slight increase in pepper toward the end. This is the way the Aladino Connecticut Queens Perfecto came to a close. The resulting nub was firm to the touch and cool in temperature.

Burn

The burn of the Aladino Connecticut Queens Perfecto scored nicely. This is a cigar that had a slight amount of curvature on the burn line from time to time, but in the end didn’t have any problems maintaining a straight burn path. The resulting ash was a salt and pepper colored skewed toward the darker side. This was a firm ash that caame off the cigar in clean chunks. The burn rate and burn temperature were both ideal.

Burn of the Aladino Connecticut Queens Perfecto

Draw

The draw of the Aladino Connecticut Queens Perfecto also performed quite well. This cigar had a nice balance of resistance and openness. At the same time, this was a low maintenance cigar to derive flavor from.

Strength and Body

If you are looking for a contemporary style Connecticut Shade cigar, the Aladino Connecticut Queens Perfecto is not going to be your cigar. Aladino is a brand that takes you back to the golden age of cigar smoking from 1947 to 1961, and the Aladino Connecticut is perhaps the best example of a brand that does this. This is a cigar that was mild in strength and mild to medium in body from start to finish. There wasn’t a lot of variance in the intensity levels of the strength and body. In addition, throughout the smoking experience, the body had a slight edge over the strength.

OVERALL ASSESSMENT

Final Thoughts

As mentioned, Aladino Connecticut Queens Perfecto is a milder cigar. It’s not only the mildest cigar I’ve had on in the JRE Tobacco portfolio, but it is one of the mildest premium cigars to hit the market in the past year. This shouldn’t be construed as a negative because, in my opinion, the mildness of the cigar is its strength. The mild strength and mild body play very well with the flavors delivered. While the flavors are pretty straightforward, they work here. The Queens Perfecto shape makes this a fun cigar to smoke

This is definitely a great cigar to give to the novice smoker. As for experienced smokers, I’d only steer it to someone who enjoys something milder. The $6.80 price point makes this a very affordable cigar for anybody. As for myself, it’s a cigar I’d smoke again – and buy multiples to keep in the humidor.

Summary

Key Flavors: Cream, Cedar, Wood, Citrus, Black Pepper, Nut
Burn: Excellent
Draw: Excellent
Complexity: Medium
Strength: Mild
Body: Mild to Medium
Finish: Excellent