I’m Trevor! The new guy here at W&W
I am off work today, it is a sunny, cool morning, why not start the day off with my first review for Whiskey & Whitetails. I have been trying to decide how I wanted to handle the cigar selection for my reviews. There are countless cigar review sites, youtube channels, and podcasts out there, and they run the gamut of types of cigars to review. It is going to be difficult to find a new method of reviewing or selecting cigars to review. Should I review new cigars? Should I review old cigars? Should I do different multi-cigar themed reviews? Should I do blind humidor grabs? Should I do readers’ choice or polls? The answer I elected to go with is - YES.
So, today I am doing a review on a cigar I have smoked a couple times before. The Jas Sum Kral Red Knight Robusto. The Red Knight is the first release from Jas Sum Kral, which, from my understanding, translates to “I am king”. This is fitting given the personality of Riste Ristevksi, the man behind the brand. From what I gathered from interviews with Riste, he was an avid consumer of premium cigars who was not entirely satisfied with the offerings on the market, especially Cubans, if I recall correctly. He set out to combine traditional flavor with a twist.
Country of Origin: Nicaragua
Factory: Tabacalera Aragon S.A. (Previously New Order of the Ages)
Wrapper: Ecuadorian Habano Light Clario
Binder: Mexican San Andres and Jalapa Seco
Filler: Undisclosed
Vitola: 5x50 Robusto
MSRP: $8.50
Release Date: April 2016
Company Website: https://jassumkral.com/
I intend to include expectations for the smoking experience, given the cigar specs, history of the company, and intent of the cigar. As mentioned, I have smoked this cigar previously, so I have a decent idea of what to expect, so I am not going to do that here.
Prelight Characteristics
This wrapper is very light for a habano. I have always been a big fan of the band on the Red Knight. It is elegant without being overwhelming. It also goes great with the lighter shade of wrapper. There is a tightly wound pigtail cap and a closed foot. The cigar smells of sweet hay, the cold draw doesn’t have much taste. A little cardboardy.
First Third
First light brings a full body burst of big flavors. Charred wood, baking spice, and a little pepper on the finish. The big flavors last a few puffs before settling down in medium territory. The smoke is thick and slightly drying to the palate. The draw is great, just a touch of resistance. There is a flavor coming in through the nose that I recall from the other cigars; it’s an oily, salty note. About halfway through this third and the flavors are down to a mild-medium, strength is a medium. The oily, salty note comes and goes, but the main flavors are baking spices with some pepper on the finish. I did need to touch it up slightly towards the end of this third.
Second Third
The ash dropped to open this third and this saw a dramatic ramp up of body and flavor in the cigar. Baking spices still are the dominant flavor on the palate with some pepper lingering on the finish. As I progress through this third, that oily, salty note creeps back in. It’s reminiscent of some experiences I have had with PA Broadleaf. At about halfway through the cigar, the flavors are increasing in richness, without changing too much in profile. There’s a bit of creaminess joining the spices and the oily, salty component is becoming more present on the palate.
Final Third
Quickly in the final third, a nuttiness starts to replace the spices that have been present the whole cigar. This plays nicely with the cream, oil, and saltiness. I did have to save the cigar from going out a few puffs into this third. The finish is primarily a saltiness that lingers. This third is requiring more frequent puffing to keep lit, but it is not heating up too much from this. A lot is happening near the end here. The nuttiness and cream are in and out, pepper is more prevalent, some char and general sweetness are peaking in. The smoke is coating the palate and the finish is lasting until the next puff. The strength is up to a medium/medium-full here as the cigar comes to an end.
Overall Experience
I got about an hour and 45 minutes of smoke time, which is pretty impressive out of a robusto. The price point is great and you get your money’s worth in flavor and smoke time. Even though it required two touch ups, they were small and negligible to the burn experience. Having to rescue it from going out in the final third wasn’t even a big deal, I just adapted to needing to puff more frequently. The flavor profile was solid, the flavors meshed well and were pretty consistent. As I mentioned, this is a cigar I have smoked a few times before, and I will continue to revisit every now and again. The only reason I would not smoke this more frequently is because when the oily, salty notes linger on the finish, it’s reminiscent of the taste and sensation of the saline solution they use before the dye in a CT scan.
Try the cigar yourself at Small Batch Cigars and let me know what you think! Use code “Whiskey” to get 10% off your entire order. Plus, sign up and begin earning 5% back in rewards points with each purchase.
Feel free to reach out to me with questions, concerns, criticisms, or just to talk at @guitarsandcigarsfarm on Instagram, or via email at trevor@whiskeyandwhitetails.com.