Old School Cigars - The JAXX

Every so often a rep comes in, someone who's an established friend of the shop, and they tow in their wake someone else who isn't. These people ride the coattails of their more established friend and try to sink a deal on one of their less popular cigars. I'm sure you catch my drift.

Presenting: The JAXX

Here's a cigar with no reputation behind it (it's OLD SKOOL), and no redeeming presence to speak of. But I picked it up today in my shop on a whim and decided "It's time to smoke something different".

As I mentioned, this cigar rode in without a pedigree or a strong presence, and just sort of meandered onto our shelf months ago. The boxes are still mostly full because no one knows anything about this cigar, and until today, that included myself.

The JAXX is a Nicaraguan Habano Oscuro-wrapped production of the Pepin family, from what I hear. Not surprising, as Pepin has his hands in a lot of pies these days in the cigar industry. Good news: he's got the Midas-Touch. Most of what he lays his hands on turns to gold. I've often said the only good cigars that Ashton sells are either productions of Fuente or Pepin, and I'm not alone.

So what else is in it? The filler is a mix of Nicaraguan Seco (Seco is often taken from just under the Ligero, making it the second-strongest leaf on the tobacco plant), and Jalapa Ligero. There's also some Brazilian Viso in the filler, entering a little spice to the mix.

So how's it taste? Not bad, actually. I don't normally smoke the darker leaf because I'm not a fan of those bigger coffee/cocoa/leather flavor notes. And even though this cigar is loaded with those types of flavors, something about the subtlety of how they're blended makes them enjoyable to me. No one flavor hits you over the head, but everything is present in volume. It's even got some leafy earthiness on the roll.

How strong is it? Not very, at least not yet. I'm probably a third into the smokable portion of this cigar, and the body has yet to hit me. I'm rolling frequently to get all the flavors mapped, and the burn in my nose has yet to really hit me. I'd say it's about a medium so far. This is surprising, with all that top-tier leaf they've put in it.

For about nine bucks, I'd recommend picking on up and giving it a shot. It's certainly not a bad cigar, but where it really shines is in the departure. The closest cigar to this that comes to mind is the CAO Brazilia, a cigar that I found too powerful for it's blend. Other than that, it's somewhat different from a lot of other blends on the market, especially those that are similar in shade. I expected it to be more powerful and more aggressive in flavor, but it's not. This would be a great cigar to enjoy after a weekend lunch with a cup of coffee or similar drink.

The size I'm smoking is about a Toro, I'll edit in the exact dimensions if I find them. But it's nothing special. It's sister-cigar, the STIXX comes in a variety of large ring gauges, but this one is more moderate in it's vitolas.

So that's it. Try the JAXX.

-Ephram Rafael Nadaner
Current Smoke: Old School Cigars, the JAXX