Reserva Especial El Jocko Natural by La Flor Dominicana

Fun little story about this vitola name.  Apparently, many years ago a cigar retailer names Jacko visited Litto Gomez at the Flor Dominicana farms and attempted to ride a donkey.  It didn't go well, but the incident was enough to inspire Litto to name both the donkey and cigar, "El Jocko."

BRAND / CO:  La Flor Dominicana
CIGAR:  Reserva Especial Natural [El Jocko]
VITOLA:  Perfecto - 4.5" x 54
STRENGTH:  Medium - Full
WRAPPER:  Ecuadorian Connecticut Shade, Natural
BINDER:  Dominican Republic (La Canela)
FILLER:  Dominican Republic (La Canela)
ORIGIN:  Dominican Republic, Tabacalera La Flor S.A.

APPEARANCE & CONSTRUCTION:   Good
I appreciate any Ecuadorian Connecticut wrapper that has more brown than yellow to its hue and this is a nice, light tannish brown.  It has an extremely subtle sheen and some light mottling.  The veins are thin and the seams are tight, blending in nicely.  It has good firmness and a beautiful shape to this perfecto roll.  The band is nicely done, but large relative to its diminutive size.  I pull it before smoking because you won't get far if you don't.

DRAW & BURN:   Good / Great
The draw is spot on while the burn starts a little wavy but quickly settles into a dead even burn line that never wavers.  The ash is a medium gray and a little flaky but holding well.  The ash holds for the entirety of the smoke. 

FLAVOR PROFILE:   Average 
Lots of cedar wood on the initial draw with medium spice, pepper and mild grassiness.  There's a lot of mild flavors like coffee, earth and leather popping in, but it's a very dry woodiness on top.  Pepper and cinnamon increase in the first inch with additional coffee bitterness.  I'm getting that astringent, metallic taste I get from some Ecuadorian Connecticuts... Ugh.  Some nuttiness appears an inch in but not enough to offset the cedar.  I'm a little surprised and disappointed to not be getting the smooth or creamy finish I had expected at this point. 

Somewhere between the end of the first third and halfway the sweetness finally appears.  Caramel like, it's a welcome addition because to this point it was dry, woody, spicy and coffee heavy.  The sweetness is bringing more balance and complexity that were sorely missing.  It's still bringing a lot of bitter notes and missing a creamier finish.

It takes until the final third for the blend to really coalesce and find a balance that I'm truly enjoying.  Bitterness and cedar step back; nuttiness, breadiness and caramel come more to the forefront with cinnamon and pepper providing great color and balance.  Where was this the first two thirds? 

OVERALL EXPERIENCE:   Average 
This was a bit of a bummer because there were so many bitter and metallic notes for the majority of the smoke.  The blend didn't find its groove until the final third and by then it was too little, too late.  If the final third had been the majority of the smoke it would've been far more enjoyable. I'm going to give my second example more time to rest before revisiting this cigar and see if that helps.  Otherwise, this is one I'll probably not smoke again in any vitola.  The final third is what redeemed it enough to keep me from lumping it with the Montecristo White Series as another disappointing Ecuadorian Connecticut.  Shame because every other aspect of the smoke was fantastic.  

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Reviewed by Sean McCloskey of The Collective