While conducting inventory last night at the shop I work for, Two Guys Smoke Shop (2GuysCigars.com) one of my co-workers found a box of Jose L. Piedra which utilizes short filler. If memory serves me correct and at 46 it is beginning to slip, the Jose L. Piedra is composed of short filler made from scraps of other Padron cigars. It is believed these were buried in inventory since 2010 but are now in my coworker’s personal collection.
The cigar shares the same name with a Cuban counterpart, and this is the version released by Padron who owns the trademark.
Cigar: Jose L. Piedra
Size: 7 x 48 (Churchill)
Wrapper: Nicaragua
Binder: Nicaragua
Filler: Nicaragua
Strength: Medium
Source: Trevor (coworker)
The Look: The Jose L. Piedra band that adorns the Padron version is virtually identical to the Cuban version. The only real difference is the lack of the word Cuba . Looking at the cigar it’s difficult to tell this is a short filler smoke. The wrapper is perhaps a slightly lower grade than the wrappers that adorn the regular line and there are some veins visible. However in the hand, the cigar has a nice weight and a well packed foot.
The Notes: The cold draw of the Jose L. Piedra has a note of lemon zest that reminds me of lemon pound cake. Theres a smooth buttery note as well. The foot of the cigar is nondescript, so after taking another pull of the cold draw it was time to toast the foot.
The initial light reveals a slight pepper note and an abundance of coffee. Sadly, there are no lemon pound cake notes that were so easily identified in the cold draw. Continuing into the first third of the cigar, it definitely does not come off as a Cuban Sandwich.
As we enter the second third of the JLP from Padron the coffee notes become stronger, and this would definitely pair well with a hearty Espresso if they were still around. As the second third comes to a close some spice is thrown into the mix.
The last third of the JLP continues to be the same as the first two-thirds of the cigar, with dominant notes of coffee and a subtle spice in the background.
The Burn: The JLP has a draw that is a little bit tighter than I would like in a cigar but it was acceptable though just barely. The ash help a lot longer then I would have expected a short filler cigar to hold, and the burn line was thin and sharp. With the exception of the draw issue I was pleasantly surprised with the performance.
The Finish: If this cigar was ever in regular production, I can sense a lot of retailers would not be happy with a cigar that sold for $1.69 in 2010 being this good. There is a draw back however, as the cigar had a long finish. By this I mean the cigars notes lingered with you for quite sometime. One dimensional with notes of coffee this cigar was enjoyable but I wonder how the consistency would be with a cigar made from scraps.
Score: 88
Price: $1.69
Jose L. Piedra Foot
Jose L. Piedra Burn
