Cigar Review: JFR XT

Vitola: Toro
Size: 6” x 54 ring gauge
Price ~$7
Samples supplied by Casa Fernandez

Background

Casa Fernandez has been making the JFR line for several years now, positioned as a “value-priced” cigar for brick and mortars. Just from my own retail experience, I can say that we sell a good amount of JFR Titans and 770s because of the perception of a good amount of tobacco for the price. I can’t say that I’ve ever smoked either of these simply because of my aversion to large ring gauge cigars, although I believe I’ve had some of the smaller ring gauge versions several years back.

Recently CF contacted me about featuring a few of their recent releases, one of which happened to be the JFR XT. The catalog they sent with the cigars states that “XT is a new line from our very popular JFR with added strength and body.” They are box-pressed and come in boxes of 24, and feature either a Nicaraguan Corojo wrapper or a San Andres Maduro. They sent me a few samples of the Corojo (which also features Nicaraguan filler and binder) and I am smoking my second sample for this review.

Prelight

The cigar features a regular band and a footband, both of which have dull and glossy gold, plus black ink and a bit of embossing. Take away the black ink and the result would be very similar to the Kilo project that Barry Stein worked on during his tenure at Miami Cigar & Company (at least with the use of two gold tones). The box pressing was soft with very rounded corners and the head was finished off in a tight pigtail. The wrapper was a dark tan color with a hint of red to it and felt slightly oily and very smooth under my fingertips. It smelled of natural tobacco and cedar, while the foot had a richer earthy aroma with some sweetness. I tested the unlit cigar for draw and found everything to be right; the cold flavor had some earth and woodiness, along with a subtle dried fruit sweetness.

Flavor

The closed foot made the JFR XT easy to get lit at first, but a little more challenging to get lit evenly. Once accomplished, though, the cigar started off with natural tobacco, cedar, and red pepper notes. After a couple puffs went by I picked up a bit of sweetness, as well. The retrohale was thick and peppery. The cigar started off with medium-to-full bodied smoke and a potent, up-front flavor.

As I burned through the second third, I noted mostly flavors of cedar with an earthy undertone. The sweet and peppery flavors had diminished quite a bit.

The last third was good but mostly the same.

Construction

After starting with a very uneven burn line, by the second third, it evened out pretty well. The draw was fantastic and the ash showed no signs of being flaky.

Value

Like the others in the JFR line, the price is nice for the XT.

Conclusions

The JFR XT was a good cigar and the price is very reasonable. It makes for a good smoking experience, although I didn’t find it terribly complex. If you like Nicaraguan smokes and especially Corojo leaf, you will probably like this and the price might make it something you pick up regularly. If you have a little more to spend, though, Casa Fernandez has some better cigars at a little higher price point.

By-The-Numbers

Prelight: 2/2
Construction: 2/2
Flavor: 3.5/5
Value: 1/1
Total: 8.5/10