J&D Temptation – Irresistable

Even though you smoke cigars regularly it’s impossible to know of every brand.  You try new brands when you visit your local shop, at an event, or upon the recommendation of a friend or hopefully, reviewer.  But, you can’t know all of the cigars. Your team of reviewers is comprised of 5 hearty smokers and we can’t know them all either.  So, it is not unusual that we get something from someone that we have never heard of before.  I’m not even sure who suggested I try a Temptation from J & D Cigars, but thanks.  This company is run by a couple fo friends who met about 20 years ago.  One, Jorge Gil, who was raised in Cuba and now runs a tobacco business in Esteli, Nicaragua and David Insignares who lives in Miami.  Together these guys have created a nice little cigar.  To be perfectly honest they are not going to put General out of business, but I’m sure they don’t care.  They simply want to make a few bucks making honest, quality, good, affordable cigars.  And that they do very well indeed.

When I first looked at the Temptation, I was struck by the dark wrapper and rich looking band.  The silver and royal blue just popped and I hoped the cigar inside was as good.  I punched the end without problem and took a dry draw.  It was clean and open.  The cigar lit with no problem.

This is a nicely constructed stick.  It burned evenly, keeping a nice crisp edge.  It held the ash until I started to brag about it and then it fell.  It’s speckled grey was a nice color.  I smoked the cigar for a full 45 minutes and it never needed a relight.

The flavor was surprising to me.  I expected a much stronger cigar than the medium bodied ‘lunch’ smoke that it gave.  Nicaragua has the reputation of making strong cigars and this had a more mellow complexion.  At the first third, I was getting leather and woods with a touch of chocolate.  As the cigar progressed i got a more mocha or coffee flavor.  The sweetness of the wrapper added to the taste which I thoroughly enjoyed.  As I finished the cigar, I found a short after taste that was quite pleasant.

At a suggested price of around $6.50 or so, these sticks are a good value.  This could easily be an everyday smoke.  And, I’m looking forward to trying something else from these guys soon.