I must say Paul is a really nice guy. Paul was very friendly and anxious to have me review his cigars. He told me he liked dealing with the blogs because they really had a more personal feel.
How does a guy from Rhode Island get into the cigar business, you may ask? Paul was cordial enough to contact me to answer that very question. His family has owned a liquor store in Rhode Island for the past 41 years. The family business has passed from generation to generation. About 16 years ago, Paul kept getting requests for premium cigars in his store. So after years of research and travel, the J Grotto Series was born. His stores now are the number one retailer in the RI area for volume. His story very much sounds like the one Rocky Patel had early on in his career in the cigar industry. And the J Grotto Line is expanding every day. A new line called J Grotto Silk, expected to be released in June of this year, sounds to be very promising with a mild to medium blend of 5 different tobaccos.
So here we are, I got my "Posse" together on two separate occasions to review both lines currently in the J Grotto series. I must say we were impressed with this company which has only been around for two years.
Since this is our first "BIG TIME" review, let me give you a little background on my panel of testers.
Fratboy is a fellow that went to the same college as me at the same time, even though we never met then, probably for the best, (because oh what damage we could have caused!), we ended up meeting later in life when our career paths met, and so began our smoking collaboration. Fratboy smokes 2 to 3 cigars daily and he prefers full bodied cigars that have a lot of spice.
Meatloaf and me have been friends since we were about 6 years old. We have shared many adventures together growing up. I ended up marrying his Aunt, Mrs.Cigar Moose, who is a year younger than him, so in some redneck way I am my best friends Uncle. As before though, he is like a brother to me and will always be family. Meatloaf likes medium to full cigars and is like me when it comes to frequency of smoking. He will smoke 1 or 2 cigars every couple weeks in the winter and about 4 a week, give or take, in the warmer seasons.
Turk I have known since the sixth grade. He was the one who initially gave me the nickname "Moose", which stuck for the next 30 years! Before I actually knew him, he had been hired in the 5th grade to beat me up because I showed another kid up in shooting accuracy (and also because I flipped this kids dirt bike!). Lucky for me he didn't follow through, and like Meatloaf, became life long friends. Also like a brother, Turk who likes to smoke a pipe as equally as cigars, still has a broad range of tastes in cigars. He smokes about 6 cigars per week and usually likes to smoke them with his dog Toby in the garage.
Okay, lets get started with the signature cigar in the J. Grotto Series.
According to 2 Guys Smoke Shop ( http://www.2guyscigars.com/ ) they describe this cigar as really rich and full bodied with a long finish. Toasty, with a deep scent of cedar and smoked meat, this should be smoked along with a great cup of black coffee.
First thing we all agreed when we first saw this cigar was how greatly constructed it was. The Honduran Habano oily wrapper is just flawless, a thing of beauty, seamlessly wrapped, what appears to be triple capped, with very small veins. The body is firm and has an earthy straw-like aroma. The foot smells of earth and chocolate. After we cut the heads, Meatloaf has an effortless draw, mine has slight effort, not sure if that it is due to the different size Vitolas we each have.
Upon light, we are greeted with black pepper to the palate. Fratboy and Meatloaf agree together that their cigars are mild to medium in strength. I Would describe this cigar as a solid medium in body, but very mellow. I keep getting nutty aromas from the smoke. Meatloaf and I agree that this cigar has a very distinct taste to it, much like Onyx cigars. Fratboy says that he is getting a sort of "tang" on the flavor, almost bitter to him, which lingers. He does agree though that there is a straight sweet woody taste to the cigar that is quite enjoyable. Meatloaf an I disagree with Fratboy on the "tang" that he is getting.
I am finding that this cigar is very peppery through the nose. When I ask Meatloaf if he is getting the same he states "I don't blow smoke through my nose." Guess that's because of his deviated septum, and no I didn't give it to him. We start to get more of that sweetness to the smoke along with those woody tones, that linger on the back of the palate. A good amount of smoke is produced from these cigars, thickening as the cigar progresses.
About an inch and a half in my dark grey flaky ash fell off, producing no cone. I must say that on 3 or 4 instances when the ash was tapped off, you could visibly see a hollow spot in the foot. What I have learned is that they bunch the filler leaves in an old way that produces a better draw in the cigar. These hollow spots may be due to this, but in no way affect the cigar itself. The burn was remarkably even throughout the whole smoke.
Meatloaf and I start getting dark chocolate about the halfway to 3/4 mark. On the last 2 inches of my cigar I get a big spicy blast through the nose, then Bam! It hits me........BIG BUZZ! The rest of the crew don't get affected the same way as me, not sure why, but I am enjoying it.
In the end we are all in agreement that this cigar is very good for a company that has been in business for just two years. Quite impressive! Despite the different sizes, Fratboys Robusto size lasted him around an hour. Meatloaf and my cigars were close in size and lasted us close to an hour and a half.
Initially, the prices we first saw for these cigars hovered around the $10 mark, which in our opinion was a bit too much for our tastes, as equally as good cigars were less from the big name distributors. We did though take in account the price was for a cigar that is not widely out there yet keeping the costs higher until the big distributors started mass selling them. But further inspection online found prices to be around $6 to $8 for singles, a much more agreeable and comparable price for these great cigars. We all agreed, with exception to Fratboy, that at this price we would by this cigar at our local shop. It wasn't that Fratboy didn't like it, he did. For the price, he prefers Full bodied spicy cigars, and he just didn't see it in his cigar. This cigar is clean to the mouth and has no long lingering tastes.
Ratings are as follows:
Buzz Rating:
Mr.Cigar Moose: 8 out of 10
Fratboy : 2.5 out of 10
Meatloaf : 6.5 out of 10
Overall:
Mr.Cigar Moose: 4 out of 5
Fratboy : 3.5 out of 5
Meatloaf : 3.5 out of 5
There are only 2 online retailers I have found to sell these cigars: http://www.pipesandcigars.com/ and http://www.2guyscigars.com/ .
Pipes and Cigars sells boxes of 20 for $135 to $144. Also on their site you can get singles for $6.75 to $7.25.
2 Guys Smoke Shop sell just singles for comparable prices.
Like it? Yes
Buy again? Yes
Recommend? Yes, for the price it would make a good everyday cigar for smokers used to Medium to full cigars.
And now for the next cigar: J Grotto Series Reserve
This cigar is touted as the cigar for the guy who wants some real power, but a balanced and refined blend.
Again, like the first cigar, the construction is just perfect. The rollers in the Raices Cubanas Factory in Honduras are to be commended. The Criollo wrapper is again flawless, seamless, with little veins, and what appears a generous triple cap.
The body and foot have the same characteristics of straw and earth as the first cigar, only the straw-ness is a little bit stronger. Pre light draw on mine is effortless. Turk's draw required a bit more effort, but said it was the way he liked it.
Turk surprisingly says he is getting a buzz right away. I personally never had a buzz that fast, but everyone is different.
Turk and I had much discussion on the flavors we were getting, like the first we got sweet woody tones to the palate. It is starting off more medium than the first cigar. We decide that this also like the first has a very distinct flavor like the Onyx series. "It tastes like there is Peruvian tobacco in it" Turk comments. He is surprised to hear that it only contains Honduran and Nicaraguan Ligero. We both get alot of spice through the nose. Fratboy says he just had a cup of coffee prior to smoking this and thinks it is affecting his palate as he is only getting straight woody tastes. He is still getting the "Tang" but not as much as the first cigar. He comments that this would make a great breakfast/morning cigar.
Turk and I start getting a nice leather taste with sweet woody tones. Turk asks how much these cigars sell for. He says that because it has such a unique taste he would spend $8-$9 on a single for this cigar at a local shop. "With some of the crap they are making for the younger crowd, this is F**king Awesome!" he states.
At about an inch in, the dark grey ash falls of my cigar revealing no cone. I am starting to get coffee flavors
coming through.
We crank up the 80's Big Hair bands on the Ipod and enjoy this cigar a bit.
As we get to the end, I start getting that "Tang" Fratboy is getting. It is not unpleasant at all like the Cuban cigars I have had before. Fratboy and I get thick volumes of smoke out of my cigar while Turk's cigar seems to produce a low amount. We think it might be due to the draw. But he is still pleasantly happy this cigar. He did get a 3 inch ash before it fell off. Burn is again even like the first cigar. Very clean to the mouth, it is like it's predecessor and has no long lingering tastes.
This cigar was a bit more mellow to me. The buzz I got was a bit less than the first one, but every much as enjoyable. In my own opinion, and Turk agrees, I like this cigar more than the first. It is a great balaced cigar that to us is quite eventful. Unfortunately for Fratboy, it's just not his type of cigar and wasn't as eventful to him. Even though he liked it, he says he gets much better cigars, for his tastes, from the big online retailers for much less.
Ratings are as follows:
Buzz Rating:
Mr. Cigar Moose: 6 out of 10
Fratboy : 2 out of 10
Turk : 6 out of 10
Overall:
Mr. Cigar Moose: 4.5 out of 5
Fratboy : 3.5 out of 5
Turk : 4.5 out of 5
The only place online to get these is Pipes and Cigars ( http://www.pipesandcigars.com/ ). In singles they will run you $7.75 to $8.75. In boxes of 20 it will run you $154 to $173. A bit pricier to me than the regular series when you have to consider shipping, but if sold locally, worth every cent.
Like it? Yes
Buy it again? Yes. Definitely if my local shop starts to carry it!
Recommend it? Yes. This would be a good cigar for new guys wanting to try a more medium cigar.
In conclusion of these two cigars we reviewed, the general consensus is that they are both good cigars, especially the Reserve Series. These cigars are hard to find on the NET, mostly because they are a boutique cigar and the fact they are only sold through authorized retailers. To find if one is near you go to Ocean State Cigars website here: http://oceanstatecigars.com/index.php/retailers
There you can look up retailers or requeest to become a retailer. So if you don't have these cigars in our local smoke shop, have them visit the site and become a retailer.
Excellent cigars Paul! And thank you for taking a chance on us!
Till next post...............................PEACE!
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