Aladino Habano Vintage Selection Rothschild by JRE Tobacco Co.

JRE Tobacco Company continues to expand its portfolio with two new offerings under its Aladino brand in 2020. Since launching, Aladino has become the workhorse brand for JRE Tobacco. The expansion would include two offerings containing a different wrapper from tobaccos grown on the JRE Tobacco Farm. One of those offerings was the Aladino Cameroon that would feature a Honduran grown Cameroon wrapper leaf and the other would be the Aladino Habano Vintage Selection which would feature a Honduran grown Habano wrapper leaf. The “Vintage Selection” stems from the fact that the cigars were rolled four to five years ago and have aged since. Today we take closer look at the Aladino Habano Vintage Selection in the Rothschild 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. It is also on the name of Julio’s Las Lomas factory. When Aladino was launched, this was a brand positioned as delivering a classic, “old-fashioned” cigar experience reminiscent of those during the “golden age” between 1947 and 1961.

While a Habano wrapper has been introduced to the Aladino line for the first time, JRE Tobacco has been using this wrapper on its other brands – including Rancho Luna Grandes, Rancho Luna Habano, and Tatascan Habano.

Without further ado, let’s break down the Aladino Habano Vintage Selection and see what this cigar brings to the table.

SPECIFICATIONS

Blend and Origin

In addition to the Honduran Grown Habano wrapper, the remainder of the blend contains Authentic Corojo grown at the JRE Tobacco Farm. Production is handled at Julio Eiroa’s Las Lomas factory located adjacent to the farm.

Wrapper: Honduran Grown Habano
Binder: Honduran (Authentic Corojo)
Filler: Honduran (Authentic Corojo)
Country of Origin: Honduras
Factory: Fabrica de Puros Aladino at Las Lomas Jamastran

Vitolas Offered

The Aladino Habano Vintage Selection has initially been released nationally in a Rothschild size, a favorite size of Julio Eiroa. At press time, a second size in the form of a Toro has been soft-launched to Nelson Loguasto’s Cigars in Greenberg, PA with plans for a national release in 2021. In addition to these two sizes, there are additional sizes of the Aladino Habano Vintage Selection planned.

Rothschild 48 x 4 1/2
Toro: 50 x 6

The Rothschild size of the Aladino Habano Vintage Selection is packaged in 50-count cabinets.

Appearance

The Habano wrapper of the Aladino Habano Vintage Selection Rothschild had a medium-brown color with a Colorado wrapper. The wrapperdid not have much in the way of oils on the surface, but did have a silky complexion to it. While there were some visible veins and visible wrapper seams, this was a wrapper with a relatively smooth surface to it.

The Aladino Habano Vintage Selection uses a similar band design found on several of the other Aladino lines, but with a unique color scheme. The upper portion of the band has a brown background with pale yellow font and gold trim. This upper portion also has a look of a pseudo primary band in itself. There is an “A” on a brown circular field with gold trim. Above the circular field is the text “ALADINO” arranged in a curved fashion above it. To the left of the circle is the text “HONDURAS” (in gold font) and “1947”(in pale yellow font) while to right is the text “1961” (in pale yellow font) and “HECHO A MANO” (gold font). The lower third of the band has a pale yellow color. On the center of the band is the text “VINTAGE SELECTION” in brown font.

PERFORMANCE

Pre-Light Draw

A straight cut was used to remove the cap of the Aladino Habano Vintage Selection Rothschild. Once the cap was removed it was on to the pre-light draw experience. The dry draw delivered a mix of cocoa and earth as well as a slight amount of cedar and orange rind sweetness. Overall this was a satisfactory pre-light draw. At this point, it was time to light up the Aladino Habano Vintage Selection Rothschild and see what the smoking phase would have in store.

Tasting Notes

The Aladino Habano Vintage Selection Rothschild started out with notes of cocoa, red pepper, orange rind sweetness, and bready note. Early on, the cocoa and orange rind moved into the forefront. Some notes of natural tobacco emerged and quickly displaced the cocoa in the forefront. The cocoa settled with noes of red pepper and the bready notes. Meanwhile, there was an additional layer of red pepper on the retro-hale.

By the end of the first third, the natural tobacco notes took over as the primary note. There was a savory quality that was joined at the hip with the natural tobacco flavor. During the second third, the natural tobacco/savory combination remained primary. The orange rind notes were now in the background, but from time to time emerged in the forefront. There was an increase in spice as red pepper notes increased and baker’s spice emerged. Meanwhile there was a residual effect with the cocoa notes and the bready notes dissipated.

The final third didn’t see much change from the first two thirds. The natural tobacco remained primary (but had less of the savory quality). Occasionally the orange rind surfaced in the forefront. Other complementary flavors in the background included red pepper, baker’s spice, and a touch of cocoa. This is the way the Aladino Habano Vintage Selection Rothschild came to a close. The resulting nub was soft to the touch and cool in temperature.

Burn

Throughout the smoking experience, the Aladino Habano Vintage Selection Rothschild had a tendency to meander off a straight burn path. This was remedied with touch-ups and while the touch-ups did the trick, these were more frequent than I prefer. The ash was skewed toward the firmer side. In terms of color the ash that was on the darker side. As for the burn rate and burn temperature, both were in the ideal range.

Burn of the Aladino Habano Vintage Selection Rothschild

Draw

The draw of the Aladino Habano Vintage Selection Rothschild performed quite well. The cigar maintained a nice balance of resistance and openness. This was a cigar that was low maintenance to derive flavors from.

Strength and Body

In terms of strength and body, the Aladino Habano Vintage Selection Rothschild started out in the medium range. There was a nominal increase in the intensity of both attributes, but in the end, both the strength and body stayed in the medium range from start to finish. In terms of strength versus body, both attributes balanced each other nicely with neither attribute overshadowing the other.

OVERALL ASSESSMENT

Final Thoughts

One thing I have really appreciated with JRE Tobacco is how they have organically grown the Aladino brand. They have had several wrapper options including San Andres Maduro, Ecuadorian Connecticut, Honduran-grown Cameroon, and now Honduran-grown Habano. Aladino has served as the work-horse and most-premium brand for JRE Tobacco since its inception. The Aladino Habano Vintage Selection Rothschild provides a very nice smoke for a $6.00 price point. It’s an affordable cigar that can appeal to a wide range of enthusiasts. At the same time, the other Aladino blends provide some real competition in terms of what they deliver. In the end, the Aladino Habano Vintage Selection Rothschild is a cigar I could recommend to any cigar enthusiast. As for myself, it’s a cigar I would smoke again. At $6.00, it certainly is worth picking one up again.

Summary

Key Flavors: Natural Tobacco, Cocoa, Orange Rind, Bread, Red Pepper, Bakers Spice
Burn: Very Good
Draw: Excellent
Complexity: Medium Plus
Strength: Medium
Body: Medium
Finish: Very Good