Surprisingly, very impressed with this refreshing maduro

It isn't too often that you'll hear a maduro get accused of being refreshing... I first came into the Jimenes line a few years back when they launched a substantial promotional campaign. Fond of their aroma and lured by their inticingly gorgeous construction, I tried the entire line and came to the conclusion that it was way over hyped and way too mild. Once again, en route to spend a very relaxing and therapeutic weekend at a wonderful pennsylvania bed and breakfast, I stopped at a tobaconist and was lured by what appeared to be the perfect belicoso...

Regardless of how mild or shallow these cigars may seem to some of us, I'll say this, these are the prettiest belis you could find to put in your humidor...In fact my other half (a photographer) used a few of these and my elle bleu for a great B+W project she shot - The perfect appearance of these cigars was illustrated by unforgiving light and 800 speed T-max. One thing is for sure - you won't find any other dominican even close to this exacting, in fact the only thing was nearly as close were the Fuente figurados, and those have diminished a bit in construction (surprisingly). THe jimenes feels a bit spongy and perhaps may feel a little devoid of filler, but make no mistake, this friendly maduro is more than welcome in my home. It has become my choice to offer guests who are usually a little intimidated by the dark and brawny appearance of a maduro. The brazilian grown wrapper is adorned flawlessly upon the cigar, and the tip is just perfect.

The burn is nice and even and the draw is effortless, in accordance with this exacting construction and semi-stingy dose of filler. In fact, I think while this would be a weakness in a cigar expected to be stronger, it is in fact a strength of this particular maduro in this particular line. Obviously renowned for their inviting milder character, I could see this being a very popular choice for the medium-body smoker looking for a new something to try. Ash was very white and fairly strudy, indicative of a good burn and not-so jam-packed roll. My only complaint in this department was that it tended to heat up a bit, since the ash didn't like to stay put for too long. With a slow and delibarate easy draw though, the cigar stays cool and surely allows more flavor to seep through.

THe Jimines filler has always been cedary and nutty with perhaps a slight hint of berries and hard-candy. The maduro beli is no exception, however the dark wrapper adds a little energy with elements of spiciness and charrish hickory-smoke flavor, almost semi-sweet when burning cool. I'l say this, the maduro is just what this line needed - since it adds a bit of dimension and complexity. Make no mistake however, this is no knock-out, it's still medium-body at best (leaning toward milder) It's just that the weaker maduro character doesn't drown out what are otherwise more delicate aspects of flavor- I've seen this happen quite often; [For example in the (what the hell happened here??) box of Onyx reserve torbustos -- An interesting and intriguing shape in what used to be one hell of a cigar...This one has surely lost its fire though, and whatever traces of complexity remain are drown out by a lackluster dosage of blackened wrapper - what once was complimentary to these flavors, now dominated them in weakness - what a shame)] In any event, the second nicest part of the Jimenes (next to the appearance) is the balance of the wrapper and filler - a good match, a welcome synergy, they work together to give you a friendly and more delicate maduro.

I was troubled by having to recomend or not recomend this product, since I know many of my readers perfer heavier stuff...Let's leave it like this - if you want and/or expect a bomb here, leave this one alone - go elsewhere, there's always room for a few more Ashton VSGs and you'll certainly be dissapointed with its mildness. However if you'd like to take your colorado game to the next level or just want a smoother maduro, move into this great belicoso -- it's tasty and clean yet won't blow your head off, like the VSGs certainly will. Be sure to check out other great cigar reviews by 4-1-1 and always keep those humidors moist!