Leon Jimenes Desde 1903 - Cigar Review

PROLOGUE

4:30pm or so.

POTATO LATKES

You'll need:
2 medium-ish potatoes
1 large egg
1 tbsp onion powder
Kosher salt, to taste
Sour cream and applesauce, optional
PAM cooking spray

1 cheese grater
1 bowl
1 frypan
1 spatula

Modus Operandi:

1. Grate potatoes. Do it by hand. This will burn enough calories to ensure your latkes are a calorie-free food. 
2. Squeeze all the water out of the potato and place in a bowl.
3. Add egg, onion powder, and kosher salt; and mix in by hand.
4. Heat frypan to medium, spray in Pam.
5. When pan is hot, patty up mixture and plop in said hot pan.
6. Cook about 5 mins on each side.

Serve with sour cream, applesauce, or anything. Or nothing. Just friggin' serve it, gentlepersons. L'chaim!

THE CIGAR

Leon Jimenes
Desde 1903
Dominican Corojo wrapper
Dominican binder
Dominican & Nicaraguan fillers
7 x 47 Double Corona

PRE-LIGHT

A pet peeve: get a band that fits each size, will ya? The "Le" in Leon were covered by the wrap-around to proudly display this offering as "on Jimenes." Feh! I digress...

Coffee and cream complected and evenly so. A bit of an orange top to a greenish undertone. A couple of near prominent veins that mess with seams. Seams, for the most, are mainly even and fairly visible. Veins crimp the wrapper is a coupe spots, and are readily apparent on the hand. There's a light sheen to the eye, but no real oils to the hand-feel. That said, it ain't rough, either. Cap is affixed a bit screwy, but cosmetically only.  Tobacco peeking out the other end from the foot is a quite even brown with reddish tones to it, and mainly matte. Packing appears to be medium+ firmness. The Charmin squeeze confirms this, but also offers a nice springiness sans any soft-spots.

Schnozolla creamy sweet leathers (that was my biker name, long story) with a vanilla hint at the shaft, and some additional dust and mottled muted baker's spices at the foot. Perhaps some lightly nutty notes in the far back. Nibbling off the cap, I get a cinnamon vanilla cold draw on a -medium resistance pull. It's backed by a light nutty note that swirls around leather. Cold finish is sweet cream and spices. Nice, gentlepersons. I must say, I love this size. Feels great in the hand, and looks sexy.

I love my Lonsdales and Churchills, but I'm too growing increasingly fond on Coronas. And I like the way this double corona fits in my mitt and mouf.

LIGHT

Toasting the foot lets loose an aroma of cedar, white pepper, and a slight orange zest. Very smoke, but too very light bodied first hot pull. Immediately and fleeting is a citrus zest, then a warm white pepper comes on, sweet cedar, vanilla cream. A white pepper zing mouth-feel with a vanilla cream softness. Finish is vanilla cream sweetness with a cedar backing that's also sweet but crisply seasoned. Medium legs on the finish. Second hot pull is retro-haled to show that initial citrus orange zest with a nice warm and sweet red spice rack, and a healthy dose of kind white pepper. Third hot pull and we're all aboard who's coming aboard. Very mild and a mellow+ feel. The plus is on account of a white pepper zing and a sharp cedar. Works great with a balancing vanilla cream. It's all being held together by a very nice leather note that's amped up in the first three pulls.

We'll call it -medium for body, medium for flavor, and light for strength. What's that? -medium profile or so? I'm okay with that, for now.

Ash is medium grey to near charcoal and laddering on in dense flakes. Burn is a bit wavy and burn-line is thinning as I type to a -medium thickness.

ACT I

White pepper rally amps up and there's a graham cracker thing coming into play in an interesting way. Took me a second to get what it was. Toasted graham. Toasted honey graham. Whew. The vanilla cream is now a creamy white chocolate. Ash clumps off at a bit past a half inch very powdery and warm. Nuttiness gets caramelized like the peanuts in a box (now bag) of Cracker Jacks. I don't detect any citrus notes at this point.

Draw resistance is medium. Packing has softened a tick throughout, and a tick and a half about 3/3" from burn. Smoke off the foot is cedar on leather. Room note is a a slightly white peppered soft white chocolate affair with a creamy hay backing. Retro-hale has sharpened with a heavier crisper cedar and sweet spices of cinnamon and nutmeg. Catches the throat a bit. Maybe a hint of citrus there.

Finish is toasted honey graham crackers and Cracker Jack peanuts on an oiled baseball mitt. Legs have lengthened to medium+. Mouth-feel is a nice enough moisture level, erring toward a bit dry. Sweet and crisp. Burn and its line are the same as before, as is resistance. As is ash. Softening has ceased.

ACT II

Don't look for the ash to hold, but that's alright. A mild stick with a good bit of flavors which have already transitioned. I cannot ask for a lot more than that.

I'd say the citrus flirtations are gone now. Stuff has settled a good deal. Almost mottled. The graham crackers and peanuts have somewhat married and together make an interesting primary note, with a cedar that moves from creamy to sharp and back again. Another woody note is there, too. Secondary notes are leather and an increasing earthiness that came from the sweet hay. The earthy notes are less sweet than from where they came. Cream is trying to find a spot of its own. White pepper is near a primary note and roasting nicely, leaving a comfortable tingle on my tongue. Not so much has changed here in the second act, as much as it has rearranged. Mouth-feel is a notch drier.

As the final act approaches, all notes other than earth and woods fall to the background. A sweet warm cinnamon is on the retro-hale and really fills the palate. It's the main component of the finish now, alongside a creamy mouth-feel that's toasting as it dries.

The burn is evening out and the burn-line is thinning. Smoke output has dulled a tick and the burn has slowed. Still a nice and pleasant out pour. Draw has firmed half a notch. I'd say the profile is a medium now; still negligible strength.

ACT III

We start the closing act with a touch-up of the burn, as half of it seems to wanna lag. The body mutes a tick as creamy aspects all but abandon except for on the far end of the finish, where they're muted. I take a sip of agua.

Primary notes are a matured take on nuttiness, sans the Cracker Jackness. A somewhat simple earth note acts as the backing, as well. That's kinda a cheat. Secondary notes are mixed spice rack and sharper -- a bit spicier, if ya will. White pepper is intermittent on the draw, but all over the retro-hale and on my tongue. There's an indistinguishable sweetness that finds its way to the pepper, a vanilla remnant perhaps. Flavors other than the primary ones have thinned a good deal. Finish has shortened a good bit, too. Moisture of the mouth-feel has evened, but I did have that sip. There's a bit of white bread toastiness here and there.

Construction holds as do its aspects. Foot notes are a sharp earth with maybe a touch of leather. Room-note is a simple mild tobacco. Smoke out-put is back up to its heyday, but nowhere near as inviting.

I feel as though the cigar has done nothing but dwindle since its rather impressive opening act. Shame, that.

NOTES

What happened here? Why I oughta... It's gratitude list time. 

I had a cigar and the time to smoke it.

It was a well-constructed offering.

The onset of it was quite the bit of fun.

Smoked about 90 minutes. Your mileage may vary. Hell, mine might -- I wasn't keep track of the time.

PAIRINGS

A gratitude list. Mildly brewed coffee. Lemonade. Iced tea.

FINAL GRADE

****C+***

(factoring in price point.)

EPILOGUE

Not now, those latkes ain't gonna cook themselves. And the goy Mrs Kap ain't gonna help.

Oh, fine.

PORTLAND MEADOWS
Noon post (Pacific time)

1-4, 6
2-2
3-1
4-7
5-1,2,6
6-3
7-2,3
8-3
9-4
10-7
11-8, 3*

As always, don't bet the dough dough, and thanks ever so kindly for reading!