The cigar that I am reviewing today is the Los Blancos JT Limitado. It is a all ligero cigar. When I mean all ligero I mean just that; the wrapper, binder, and filler are all Nicaraguan ligero leaf. The JT in the name of this cigar is the blender’s initals Joe Torres. He is the Texas-based gent whom originally blended the Los Blancos Nine cigar and now has taken his love for ligero to a new level with his new cigar.
The cigar is offered in a large 6 ¼ x 58 vitola. When in hand you can really feel the weight of this cigar and the pinch test offers up a firmness with a slight give to it. The appearance of the wrapper is rather striking, given that it is ligero leaf, with it’s oily appearance and almost vein-less form. I did notice that the color of the wrapper subtly alternated between light and dark hues of the base color of a rich milk chocolate.
I lit this cigar and did so a bit unevenly due to the fact that I was sitting outside and the wind had picked up. After several puffs in, I noticed that the finish was full, rich, and toasty and managed to linger for a good amount of time. Retrohaling exposed my nose to a lot of spice that was almost too strong.
Continuing smoking I was able to more clearly make out this cigar’s flavor profile. It tasted spicy and earthy with a intriguing semi-sweetness that I couldn’t quite identify. Despite the straight ligero of the cigar and it’s full body, it was smoking quite well and didn’t display any signs of sharpness or acridness. Another positive character is that the smoke/flavor provided a big mouth feel in the sense that it coated my entire palate.
Still smoking the first third of this cigar I was becoming aware of a slight tanginess that was building. It reminded me of the same tanginess that I had gotten from the wrapper. In between puffs, I licked my lips seeing if there was a residual flavor (Thanks for the tip Andy!) and sure enough I had gotten a sweetness which was quite pleasing.
Nearing the end of the the 1/3 mark, the cigar was burning quite slowly but the ash as built up enough that it was time for it to be tipped. The ash itself was salt and pepper in color with a yellow hue developing at the end of it. The ash had a molted appearance to it albeit it did not flake. I tipped the ash (and did so with ease) only to find that the taste had turned sour.
Flash forward a bit and now I am into the 2/3 of the cigar and the sourness had dissipated and the ash was building up nicely once again. The burn was still a bit uneven and required a touch-up to correct it. Examining the cigar, the thickness of the wrapper didn’t escape me and when it burned it took on a leather-esque look.
With notes of toast, wood, and lots of spice with a new developing taste of nuttiness, this cigar was still very tasty and pleasing. It was around this time that I finally became aware that this cigar was not in league with other cigars that basically smolder. The smoke wasn’t very plentiful and I had to keep keep on top of the burn to keep it lit. Despite my attention the smoke started to thin so I tipped the ash a second time and had to touch-up the burn once again. Surprisingly the smoke had remained cool the entire smoking duration and now I was finally entering into the last third of this stick.
It was during the last third of the cigar that the burn had started to become even more problematic because it has started to tunnel a bit and this was causing the burn to suffocate. I once again touched up the burn and continued to enjoy the great flavor that was still present. Still retrohaling the smoke, I noticed that it wasn’t as spicy as before which allowed for more frequent retrohaling. On the exhale I started to pick up a developing, and welcomed, note of raisin.
The cigar was now burning like a champ and had been doing so since the last touch up. I now tipped the ash for a third time and continued to enjoy this smoke and it’s great flavor. Sometime later I set the cigar down for a moment while I got a drink of water in an attempt to keep my palate fresh. When I picked the cigar back up, I had to touch-up the burn once again to keep it going. It wasn’t long after that when I had decided to conclude this smoke.
The duration of my time with this cigar was two hours and twenty or so minutes! That is quite a long smoke and can be a deterrent to some smokers to try this cigar. Also, this cigar is very full bodied. I made sure to get up and walk around a bit when smoking so that when I was finally done I just didn’t stand up and get hit with one hell of a nicotine punch. Despite my preventative measures, I was still quite dizzy and for a few minutes after making my way inside, the walls slightly moved.
The cigar burned very ugly with it’s ash but yet provided great flavor. The cigar looked and felt well construction but had issues burning. I attribute this mainly to the nature of ligero tobacco. This is that type of cigar that would be enjoyed but full-bodied smokers, those seeking something different, those that like to sample a bit of everything, fans of Nicaraguan tobacco, and the select few that smoke strong cigars to test their mettle.
I would also love to get a box of this cigar so that I could age them and see how they change over the years. I believe that this cigar has very good aging potential.
With all things considered I am rating this cigar a 4 out of 5, excellent, because of all of the positives that it had to offer. What held it back from getting a perfect 5 out of 5 rating was the duration of the smoke and the very full bodied nature of the cigar as being detractors. I really do like this cigar a lot and struggled with giving it the rating it deserved but I believe that I have done so. If you can get your hands on a JT Limitado, I strongly recommend that you give it a shot!
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