Initial Thoughts
J. London has been making cigars for over 10 years. And, for many years, they've only made one cigar, the Gold Series (as far as I know). With that cigar, they established themselves as a premium brand in the market.
Then their warehouse burned to the ground.
I'm not sure if today's cigar, the J. London Ripper Robusto, is a byproduct of the struggle and innovation that came after their tragedy of if this cigar was in the works beforehand, but it is quite different form the Gold Series.
The J. London Ripper Robusto was an interesting cigar with a moderately creepy label to celebrate (I assume) Jack the Ripper. The wrapper leaf, while it looked good, wasn't quite as perfect as I'd come to expect from J. London Cigars.
On the cold draw, the J. London Ripper Robusto tasted leafy. Once lit, the Ripper offered up flavors that were doughy and spicy.
Is the Ripper a worthy addition to the J. London brand? Let's find out.
CigarScore:
Brand: J. London
Line: Ripper
Size: 5 1/4 x 50
Cut: Guillotine
Light: Torch
Price: $13.94 – Luxury Cigar Club
Wrapper: Ecuadorian Corojo
Binder: Ecuadorian Habano
Filler: Nicaragua, Dominican Republic
Smoke Time: 76 minutes
Strength: ••••
Final Thoughts
The J. London Ripper is a cigar that was blended by Jesus Martinez of Martinez Cigars in New York. And in this cigar, London and New York come together to create something delicious and complex.
The flavors were smooth, sweet, spicy, and creamy, all at the same time. The flavors also had an evolution about halfway through.
However, the construction of this cigar was questionable. The burn was uneven at parts. The wrapper had a hole in it near the smoking end. There was also a significant canoe at the start.
If my cigar hadn't had those construction issues, the Ripper would've scored higher. With the delicious flavors but imperfect build quality, the J. London Ripper Robusto earns a CigarScore 4.
