Juan Lopez Seleccion no.1 EOS MAR 18 (DEFJ Review Weekend)

[nKostyan]

This is my first Seleccion No.1. Cigar is not as popular as Seleccion no.2, but nevertheless I took immediately SLB 25 not trying single. So, let's start.
At Cold: Aroma of the wrapper is some sweet pastry, delicate scent of vanilla.
Puff is very tight, I even prepared a spoke to pierce the congestion inside the Cigar. The body itself is not very dense, it seems it is in the head of a Cigar very much and tightly tobacco. On the cut of the head there are almost no gaps between the leaves of the filling.

1/3 cigar instantly turned on by thick smoke with a floral taste. The Puffs is not easy, but I didn't stab the stuffing for this dense smoke is better than the easy puff. I do not recall such a pure concentrated taste in other cigars. It's like the flower nectar that bees collect. Strength is light. However, this, though not ordinary, but simple and primitive taste. I look forward to evolution. The aftertaste is also not happy-dry mouth and the taste of soot.

2/3 added strength and wood. The taste has become more interesting, but still lacks the body and depth of taste. Dryness has disappeared, on the contrary, saliva fills the mouth after each puff. I think it would be possible to paired by Porto, but my stock of fortified wines ran out, it's time to visit the store. Added wood acidity and tannins. Not very bad taste happened: woody floral sour-sweet with tannin. The cigar on the slice smells like fresh warm cookies. Only aftertaste I don't still like it - the taste of ashes, I once again regret I don't even have a drink. Ash is very strong and when it breaks I even wonder why I can not hear the crunch. And here's the roasted nuts appeared in the taste. The aftertaste to the end of 2/3 is acceptable: charcoal and oak. Floral taste transformed gradually into the cream. Still not enough body and strength.

3/3 cigar finally reached a good balance: average strength and average body. Taste: burnt wood, nut, cream. Soft smoke.
Conclusion: Despite frequent puffs in an attempt to achieve body and strength, I smoked it for 90 minutes. Cigar is suitable for beginners or lovers of sweets. I hope to find the right alcoholic pairing and I will be happy to smoke the whole box. The good news is that aging is not required-bought and smoke.
Rating: 4/5 stars
 

[99call]

8 minutes ago, nKostyan said:

This is my first Seleccion No.1

Great review.    How would you rate it against the JL2,  personally whilst I would concede the JL2 might win the contest for a straight forward in your face profile. i.e chocolate orange,  etc.   I think the JL1 has many more layers of complexity, and a much more interesting cigar.  It has a much greater interplay between light and dark flavours. 

As I mentioned recently, to me they taste like a JL2 mixed with and Hoyo Epicure Especial,  a mix I find to me very intriguing, challenging, and enjoyable. 

[nKostyan]

Great review.    How would you rate it against the JL2,  personally whilst I would concede the JL2 might win the contest for a straight forward in your face profile. i.e chocolate orange,  etc.   I think the JL1 has many more layers of complexity, and a much more interesting cigar.  It has a much greater interplay between light and dark flavours.  As I mentioned recently, to me they taste like a JL2 mixed with and Hoyo Epicure Especial,  a mix I find to me very intriguing, challenging, and enjoyable. 

 

I have for comparison the SLB25 JL2 TPO May 2018. And they impressed me a lot: a lot of velvet thick smoke, it's just a smoke bomb. Taste profile: 1/3 Snag, cream, pepper, acidity. 2/3 bitter strong roasting espresso coffee (or bitter cocoa), citrus freshness. 3/3 the Taste is round, butter with bitterness. The aroma in the room is like in a bakery. I can't remember a cigar that would have evolved as fast and clearly with a length of only 124 mm.

At the same time JL1 seemed simple. I think it can successfully attract newcomers to the ranks of fans of CC. With a small strength has a good set of gastronomic tastes, just what beginners are looking for smokers. I suspect a little aging will be good, at least the unpleasant aftertaste should be gone.

 

[ohbob976]

great review. thanks!

JL 2's have been my favorite recently. need to give the 1s a chance though

is it just me or does the foot of that cigar look real funky? 

[nKostyan]

is it just me or does the foot of that cigar look real funky? 

If you meant the first photo of the head of the cigar, I wanted to show the high density of the filling.

[ohbob976]

1 minute ago, nKostyan said:

If you meant the first photo of the head of the cigar, I wanted to show the high density of the filling.

oops. that right. meant the foot. certainly a tight pack

[DaBoot]

nice review ??

[Jimmy_jack]

Great review.    How would you rate it against the JL2,  personally whilst I would concede the JL2 might win the contest for a straight forward in your face profile. i.e chocolate orange,  etc.   I think the JL1 has many more layers of complexity, and a much more interesting cigar.  It has a much greater interplay between light and dark flavours. 
As I mentioned recently, to me they taste like a JL2 mixed with and Hoyo Epicure Especial,  a mix I find to me very intriguing, challenging, and enjoyable. 

I actually prefer a good JL1 over the JL2

Sent from my Pixel 3 XL using Tapatalk

[Chef]

Thanks for the review.  It's nice to see someone roll the dice and review a younger cigar.

[rcarlson]

On 3/9/2019 at 7:31 AM, 99call said:

Great review.    How would you rate it against the JL2,  personally whilst I would concede the JL2 might win the contest for a straight forward in your face profile. i.e chocolate orange,  etc.   I think the JL1 has many more layers of complexity, and a much more interesting cigar.  It has a much greater interplay between light and dark flavours. 

As I mentioned recently, to me they taste like a JL2 mixed with and Hoyo Epicure Especial,  a mix I find to me very intriguing, challenging, and enjoyable. 

I'm in the same camp.  I burned through a sixer of young ones recently, and I loves me some JL1.  I don't get the usual HDM you did, (cream, graham, and slight honey in DC is what I think of), but the muddled floral like the Des Dieux, concentrated flavors, and rich viscous smoke. Da bomb.  I was surprised by how pleasant the JL1 was since I haven't gotten much from most of the JL 2 I've had.  Doubly so because the sight of the mixed filler from the foot looked like these -- usually a sign of a roughshod blend, at least in my experience.    

I'm going back in on JL1.  Saw no reason to age the ones I had.  I liked them just the way they were. Felt like I had found a gem because they fly so far under the radar. 

I've never had a Fonseca 1, but some of the descriptions sound kind of similar.  If you've had the Fonseca 1, do you find similarities or am I way off base?         

[TheMonk]

Very nice job! I also favour the #2 over the #1.

[FatPete]

Lovely descriptive review. I find the number 1 a bit stronger than the 2, but love them both.