Aladino Cameroon Lonsdale
Posted on April 07 2021
Vitola: 6x43
Smoking Time: 62 Minutes
Cigars Smoked: 3
Body: Medium
Wrapper: Honduran Cameroon
Binder: Honduran
Filler: Honduran
MSRP: $7.82
With a name derived from Aladdin, the cigars must be mystical. Aladino Cigars are just that. Freshly started in 2016, JRE Tobacco has multiple lines, with Aladino being their flagship brand. If you have enjoyed Camacho Cigars pre-2008, you are familiar with Julio R. Eiroa. After selling the brand to Davidoff, Julio waited until his noncompete agreement wore off, then started a new venture with his son. Crafted with Honduran tobaccos, Aladino brings something new to the table. With a diverse portfolio of authentic corojo, Connecticut, and Cameroon cigars, there is a cigar for each palate.
Visual Inspection: Boasting a beautiful milk chocolate-brown wrapper, this is a lovely Cameroon cigar. Smooth, faint veins, with no tooth, which is unusual for a Cameroon. The cigar is strong, with just enough bounce, well constructed, with a durable head cap. There is a slight crack on the foot, but I don't see it causing any problems.
Aromas are dry, with very strong hints of barnyard and cedar. A cold draw brings a whole new perspective to the cigar, notes of honey, oats, and cinnamon candy are in charge. The wrapper is very consistent in color, making the seams invisible.
First Third: Having such a thin ring gauge, the cigar lights up very easily. While the flavors are still very dry, they are sweeter than I imagined. Notes of barnyard, cedar, honey, and earl grey tea are very prevalent. After exhaling there is a lingering note of toast, which blends very well. Consistently smooth, there are no traces of pepper present, the smoke is very light and warm, the cinnamon candy from the cold draw is coming to.
The burn line isn't great, it is wavering substantially. But the ash is solid, and only slightly flaky. I am very impressed with how smooth the wrapper is, despite the veins, it reminds me of one of our favorite cigars at LCC. While this is not a lancero, only 3-5 64ths bigger, it's staying lit very nicely. But it is also burning like a lancero would, generally hot, and I would attribute the burn line problems to that.
Second Third: Slowly getting a little warmer in flavor, not quite pepper, not quite sriracha, more of a ginger warmth with a bit of wasabi “nose feel”. It melds well with the still prevalent, honey, tea, cedar, and dry barnyard. A retrohale brings a smooth cashew into play. I enjoy how light the smoke is, staying very smooth and weightless, making it a great stick to start off the day.
The burn line has cleaned up substantially, without any touch up. Ginger spice is becoming more prevalent, mixed with the cinnamon candy is making for a nice contrast. Ash is dark grey in color, and is still slightly flaky.
Last Third: Definitely retaining a mild to medium profile, the flavors are getting more bold. Bringing cashew back into play, and notes of honey, tea, wood, and cinnamon. The barnyard flavors have faded but still linger on the finish.
I actually forgot there was a small crack on the foot, as it caused no problems. As I progress through this third, the cigar is starting to get warm, because of its small ring gauge. But the flavors are not getting muddled, it is still very easy to identify them.
Final Thoughts: There is no doubt that this is an extremely smooth cigar. This is the first Aladino I have smoked, but based on the feedback from our LCC members, it won't be the last. I do not have enough experience with Cameroon cigars, but I think this is a mild one. If you are a fan of cinnamon candy, which I am, you would love this cigar. Extremely consistent from start to finish, with only mild fluctuation in profile, the quality of the Aladino Cameroon Lonsdale is excellent. These will absolutely continue passing though my humidor.
-Sam