Juan Lopez Punto 55 (DEFJ Review weekend)

[David88]

I picked up this single of the latest French RE while I was in Paris last October. I’m not really in to collecting REs but thought I would pick one up as I do enjoy Juan Lopez. 

The construction was great with a good pack and no soft spots. Some sheen is evident on the wrapper and it looks generally good. Initial draw is firm. I would imagine some would be reaching for the perfect draw for this but I quite like it. With the high ring gauge I’m hoping it will open up a bit as I go. 

The first third opened just under medium. The flavour is a mixture of dark coffee and wood with some honey/citrus rind sweetness. Very pleasant so far. The burn is good although it’s not putting out a large amount of smoke. I paired this with a black coffee and Coke Zero. You can tell it is a Juan Lopez although not as in your face as a JL no.2  

The second third sees a notable change. The draw has opened up so while there is a good amount of resistance but I’m not having to work hard on it. The smoke output increases massively and the sweetness seems to fade. There is a slight mineral taste now to the smoke although it is quite pleasant. The body is cranking up to medium/full. Having two drinks to pair is quite interesting. I’m finding the black coffee a bit overpowering but the Coke Zero is great. 

The final third is a continuation of the second. Big smoke output, but the mineral taste that came with the second third is starting to taste a bit grubby now. I decided to lay it to rest. Total smoke time was about 1 hour 45 minutes (I smile fairly slowly). 

To give it a score? The first half I would give a solid 91-92. You couldn’t really ask more. It reminded me of the Juan Lopez no.4 from a few years ago. The second half showed it’s age and I would have given a 87. Definitely got legs for aging and you would be happy to have a box to lay down. 

As an aside, I did need to check over quite a few sticks before I picked this one up. Some dull looking wrappers and quite a few that felt soft/underfilled in the shop. Worth a purchase but not blind. 

[TheMonk]

Good review! I'm looking forward to trying these soon.

[gojira]

Great review! I agree with you about it's taste. The second one that I had gave me quite a kick when in the final third. The first run of boxes was lovely but that has changed. I grabbed a couple of boxes for someone the other day and had to check at least 20 boxes to find nice ones. Definitely not one to buy blind.

[David88]

1 hour ago, gojira said:

Great review! I agree with you about it's taste. The second one that I had gave me quite a kick when in the final third. The first run of boxes was lovely but that has changed. I grabbed a couple of boxes for someone the other day and had to check at least 20 boxes to find nice ones. Definitely not one to buy blind.

Thanks! Yeah it definitely went up a gear as it got to the end. When I bought it, I had to looks through quite a few to pick one I was happy with so I decided against a box purchase. If I could have found a decent box I would have picked it up as the price isn't bad (compared to some REs at least!). Interestingly I also picked up a box of Quai D'Orsay Secretos at the same time and pretty much every box I looked at was great.

[gojira]

9 minutes ago, David88 said:

Thanks! Yeah it definitely went up a gear as it got to the end. When I bought it, I had to looks through quite a few to pick one I was happy with so I decided against a box purchase. If I could have found a decent box I would have picked it up as the price isn't bad (compared to some REs at least!). Interestingly I also picked up a box of Quai D'Orsay Secretos at the same time and pretty much every box I looked at was great.

Yes, this really is a weird one. I purchased quite a few boxes when this one was released and most looked pretty good. The ones available at the moment look like a different cigar to me, go figure.

I find that a lot of the Secreto Cubano were underfilled and the one that I smoked was a little too sweet for me. Haven't revisited them since their release.

The Capitolio that was recently released is a stellar cigar, probably the best French RE in the last few years. It's a beast of a cigar though.

[Rrm7284]

Great review and great pics. Thanks for posting


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[Raskol]

Nice review. Thank You!