Quick Reviews of Four Jopito Cigars

By: Gary Manelski

While visiting the Dominican Republic, I purchased a small box of Jopito Cigars containing a variety of four of the brand's Dominican offerings. The box was priced at $40 and there was no tax nor duty on the purchase. Jopito cigars have limited availability in the U.S., and only some versions might be found online at the Privada Cigar Club.

Cigars Reviewed:

• Jopito Originals are made with a blend of Dominican filler tobaccos and an African Cameroon wrapper. The box contained both the Small Corona (5 x 38) and Corona (6 x 44) sizes.
  
  + The Small Corona was a smooth and mild-to-medium bodied smoke appropriate for new cigar smokers. I ashed the cigar three times during the 35 minutes that it took to smoke down to 1½ inches remaining. The Small Corona had a good draw, even burn and held a medium length ash. No relights nor touch-ups were required. I rate it with 3.25 points on a 5-point scale.
  
  + The Corona had a more pronounced naturally sweet tobacco flavor than the Small Corona. It was smooth and mild-to-medium bodied, and lasted 65 minutes down to 1½ inches remaining. No relights nor touch-ups were required, the cigar had a good draw, even burn, and I flicked off its medium length ash four times. However, the Corona was much more enjoyable than the Small Corona. Although both cigars had the same blend, the size, shape and ratio of wrapper to filler can explain why they smoked differently. I rate the Corona with a very good 3.75 points on a 5-point scale.


• Jopito Gallow Indio is made with a Dominican wrapper and binder together with an interesting blend of 60% Dominican, 20% Cameroon and 20% Connecticut Broadleaf filler tobaccos. The box contained one Robusto (5 x 50) size, but I also purchased a single for $10 bucks to smoke while in the Dominican Republic. The cigar had a very smooth, mellow and creamy texture, was medium bodied, and delivered a very enjoyable nutty flavor along with a subtle natural tobacco sweetness. I ashed the cigar three times and applied three minor touch-ups during the 50 minutes that it took to smoke down to 1¼ inches remaining. This is a simply delightful cigar that would be appropriate for all levels of cigar smokers, and I rate it with a superior 4.25 points on a 5-point scale.


• Jopito La Cancion Del Caballo is made with Dominican filler tobaccos and a Corojo wrapper. The box contained one Toro (6 x 50) size. This cigar was medium-to-full bodied and started off with a modest spicy flavor along with a very subtle sweetness. After a few minutes, the spicy taste moved into the background to compliment moderate flavors of earth and leather. I ashed this cigar three times and applied three touch-ups, but a relight was also needed about 10 minutes before the conclusion. The cigar took me 80 minutes to smoke down to 1½ inches remaining. I rate it with a very good 4 points on a 5-point scale and consider it to be more appropriate for seasoned cigar smokers.