JR Alternative Monetecristo DR Robusto

[Opusfxd]

So this is my first review, I'll keep it short.

Being a born again noob after almost an eight year hiatus, I picked up one of the JR Cigars comparison B samplers with the ideas of finding something I'd like and being able to compare them to the Alternative lines they offer as an inexpensive choice. This of course being before I fell down the slope of cbid. (yeah, yeah, blah blah blah, get to the meat...)

I smoked the real Montecristo robusto last Thursday after lunch and the Alternate tonight. Well as advertised this one isn't an exact copy of the original but was a nice representation. It was nicely constructed all the way around with a good firm feel to it. The burn was nice and even with a good easy draw to it. Never had to relight it the whole length. As it was cold out tonight in Denver, the wrapper cracked in almost exactly the same spot about half way down that the original did. Didn't seem to effect much.

The smoke's characteristics seemed to remain unchanged the whole way down and the Alternative didn't seem to be as spicy as the Monte but still had some. It was a nice medium bodied smoke that also didn't seem to heat up even towards the end when I sped up the smoking.

Bottom line, would I try this again? Definitely. Would I pop the $28 they're listing for a bundle of 20? Maybe, depending on the purpose. Probably for sure if I was having to source a bachelor party for someone. For the totally uninitiated, I could probably pull the band off and tell them it's a Monte and they'd never know the difference. (Just like swapping a wine label on a date)

Hope this was helpful. :cb

 

[DETROITPHA357]

WOW U call that short:r Lets c when your long winded.:hn

OK j/k

Thxs4the review. I smoke alot of JR brands but havent had that1yet. So I guess I'll have to pick a few up the next time im up there. Great Job on the Review.:tu

 

[xu_chen]

I was talking to a guy at JR the other day in their Manhattan store and he says all their JR Alternatives are basically the same. They got the Dominicans and the Nicaraguans (also labeled as "Cuban Alternatives"). The blend is the same. The reference to name brands is just for purpose of wrapper and size differentiation.
Still pretty good smokes for the price though, and shipping's cheap!

 

[craigchilds]

I was talking to a guy at JR the other day in their Manhattan store and he says all their JR Alternatives are basically the same. They got the Dominicans and the Nicaraguans (also labeled as "Cuban Alternatives"). The blend is the same. The reference to name brands is just for purpose of wrapper and size differentiation.
Still pretty good smokes for the price though, and shipping's cheap!

I don't believe this. I've smoked enough JR Alts to know there are some I like and others that are consistently bad. The Ultimate Alternative is much different from the Excalibur Alternative which is different from the Perdomo Alternative, even though they all three come from Nicaragua.

Now, I do agree that JR has a limited number of blends (not 300-400 like they claim) and they probably reuse some of the same blends in imitation of more than one brand name.

 

[audilicious]

my girlfriends dad orders alot of jr's alt. cigars, he likes quantity over quality.

That being said, I've had quite a few good jr alt's, especially for the money, just wait until they have their sales on them, usually $10 off, so it's around $20/bundle, then find a size you like and base the purchase off that rather than what it's supposed to be an alt. for.

The cuban LE alt's were actually pretty good as well.

In the $30/bundle range there are alot of other choices as well from other places, like Holts and Famous

 

[Wigg]

my girlfriends dad orders alot of jr's alt. cigars, he likes quantity over quality.

That being said, I've had quite a few good jr alt's, especially for the money, just wait until they have their sales on them, usually $10 off, so it's around $20/bundle, then find a size you like and base the purchase off that rather than what it's supposed to be an alt. for.

The cuban LE alt's were actually pretty good as well.

In the $30/bundle range there are alot of other choices as well from other places, like Holts and Famous

I always have a bunch of these on hand. Right now I have some maduro sticks. They taste, and burn great. They come in handy when you have a friend, or neighbor who doesnt really smoke too much, to really care, or know the difference. I like them in cases where I may have to put the thing down. They are cheap enough not to care. A good smoke to have on hand, if you have room. The only complaint is the construction consistancy, the caps seem to come off easily.
mark