Humo Jaguar 2011 by Nestor Placensia

[lenguamor]

This was generously gifted to me by Barry at Miami Cigar.

Let's start with the story:

The Humo Jaguar is named after the annual Honduran tobacco festival. Each of the manufacturers in Honduras are asked to blend a cigar for this event, which will be judged by a panel of judges. The winner for 2011 was Nestor Placensia and the Humo Jaguar is the cigar that was picked above ALL the others. Using a Honduran Oscuro wrapper from a lower priming and a binder from Talanga, this full bodied smoke is a fine example of the very best to come out of Honduras.

https://smokeinn.com/eshop/Humo-Jaguar.html

The cigar I smoked was a robusto, the smallest of the sizes available.

The construction of this stick is flawless; solid, heavy in the hand. The wrapper is a gorgeous ebony oscuro with some tiny coppery variegations which only add to the presentation. The smell is earthy, somewhat barnyardy; the pre-light draw is spicy, sweet.

From the start, a sweetness asserts itself, as does a charry quality...like good wood charcoal. Spices like nutmeg and a hint of cinnamon ebb and flow. Some pepper comes through, muted, way in the background.

The first half keeps the same theme rolling, with the sweet, warm spices remaining steady; the charriness increases as the stick burns down. A small amount of oils collect south of the burn, creating a nice visual. The ash is rock-solid, firm and white.

In the second half the oscuro really asserts itself; dark, woody flavors start to dominate the closer I get to the end. The ending is a bit muddled, with the charred essence of the smoke taking front and center. It never gets unpleasant, but you kind of wish it would give way to more complexity, given how delicious the wrapper looks.

As for this being the best that Honduras has to offer, I beg to differ. While it certainly wasn't bad by any definition, the two Gran Habano blends I've tasted have been far superior in terms of flavor, and they have nothing to envy this cigar in terms of construction either.

But, all in all, an enjoyable stick. If you're an oscuro fan, you'll likely love this cigar.

[TJtorpedo]

Gorgeous stick! Looks like a chocolate bar.

[lenguamor]

Originally Posted by TJtorpedo

Gorgeous stick! Looks like a chocolate bar.

The light on the patio makes it look redder overall than it was; it's actually near-black and oily.

Fellow Vortex fan, I see.

[kelmac07]

Traded Excel for a few of these...sounds like I need to get off my a$$ and light one up.

[MarkinCA]

Nice review and photo Joe This brand graces the inside cover of the current Famous catalog. They do indeed appear to be a tasty looking stick...

[cobra03]

Thanks for the review. Just got a 5er of these in the mail yesterday.They are resting up in my humi. Maybe i'll fire one up next week and see what they have to offer.

[Prefy]

It's not a bad stick, I don't smoke many NCs but decided I was going to change it up and went to a local B&M to see what I could get my hands on.

I picked up a few Oliva V lanceros as I have enjoyed them in the past but asked the guy working at the time what was smoking good right now and he recommended this stick. I was not familiar with back-story of the cigar but I trusted his opinion and picked up a couple of the robustos.

I ended up smoking one a couple weeks ago and had almost the identical experience to Joe. Overall the stick was enjoyable, it was neither overly complex or totally one dimensional and construction was flawless.

For me it was a nice change of pace from what I normally smoke and I would happily take a recommendation from the gentlemen at the store again.

[maconusmile]

looks Yummy!

[TJtorpedo]

Originally Posted by lenguamor

The light on the patio makes it look redder overall than it was; it's actually near-black and oily.

Fellow Vortex fan, I see.

Ha, good catch on my avatar! Yeah, I don't get to Atlanta much anymore, but anywhere you can mix goth chicks, cool motorcycles, great beer, and tasty burgers is my kind of place!

[irratebass]

Nice review Joe, I picked up one of these at the Nestor event yesterday, resting in my humi.

[arambo3]

Thanks for the review, been wanting to pick some of these up.

[Blak Smyth]

I was recently bombed one of these only a huge version.
Thanks for the review, when I read about this cigar originaly it peaked my interest and now your review has done it again.

[ApexAZ]

Thanks for the review, Joe. Might have to give it a try!

[cobra03]

Just smoked one of my robustos yesterday. Really enjoyed it alot. Not a whole lot of complexity but the construction and flavor were fantastic. Wish i would have bought a box when i saw them on Cigar Monster for half off.