Until recently, in my area of Florida, it was difficult to find anything from Leaf by Oscar which of course included the Island Jim. Thanks to the cigar bombing list I’ve been lucky enough to try a few and this time when I was sent an Island Jim #2 I knew I needed to write about it for a couple of reasons. First, they are difficult to get around here, next they look amazing, and third I knew exactly which prop I was going to use, (come on you know my love of toys…excuse me deluxe action figures) and so the photos began. After the “photo shoot” with the cigar and its model it was time to smoke it. Luckily Distinguished Ruffian_Juice was free to go grab some drinks at one of our local hang outs, The House of Brews.
The initial look of this stick is delightful. The wrapper is smooth with light veining and none of it heavy. Its shape is that of almost a torpedo with an unfinished foot and an open head. The construction feels solid with no dead or open spots to be found. The smell from the body was not overbearing and gave off notes of leather, wet grass, and a bit of nuttiness. From the foot these odors were more prominent and gained slight spice and coffee notes.
Lighting is easy thanks to the “shaggy” foot that everyone seems to be referring to it as. I chose not to cut the head since it was already open. The draw offered little resistance and it was easy to get a nice, full mouthful of medium weighted smoke that delivered all the flavors this cigar had to offer.
From the first draw I immediately picked up the peppery taste that I noticed from smelling the foot. That flavor was well complemented by the taste of nuts and a distant flavor of hay. As I continued to smoke, the construction of this cigar held up to its looks. There was a consistent even burn with no runs and a tight greyish ash that held for 1.5” to 2” before falling off each time. I made it through the first half with virtually no change in flavor, which was fine by me since it was fantastic.
As I neared the second third of the cigar the spicy flavor started to take a back seat to new heavily roasted coffee tones and a bready taste becoming more prominent. While the change this late in the cigar was unexpected it was not detrimental to the smoke. It didn’t change my over all opinion of the stick rather it added a new dynamic to it that made me more interested. With this new flavor I smoked this cigar down to the nub until it began to burn my fingers and then used my knife to hold it until I could smoke no more of it.
In total this is a great cigar. Aesthetically it is a great looking cigar, the construction is phenomenal, the lighting is easy, the draw is comfortable, it provides plenty of medium weighted smoke and the flavor is well balanced and more than enjoyable. I would recommend this to anyone who likes a cigar in the medium to not quite heavy range and it is great for either daytime or a nighttime smoke.
Wrapper: Nicaragua Jalapa
Binder: Honduran
Filler: Unreleased
Honduras
Size: 6.5 x 52
Taste: Medium body.
Website: Leafbyoscarcigar.com
Price: Around $10.00 a stick depending on location.
Rating: 4.4 out of 5 pints.
Heck yeah! If your in Texas or even close to the state you won’t want to miss this one. Texas is having their official annual meet up this year at CATS Fest V in Bulvetde, TX (that’s basically San Antonio). Will be kicking things off Friday May 26th in the evening at the CATS pre-party and of course we’ll really be getting things going on Saturday May 27th at the event.
distinguished ruffian 