Cigar Review: The Legend by Jordan Alexander III

Vitola: Robusto
Size: 5” x 52 ring gauge
MSRP ~$9.00
Samples provided by Jordan Alexander III

Background

Several weeks ago, I was contacted by Robert Murphy, co-owner of Jordan Alexander III Cigars. He was curious about becoming a sponsor for the 2014 Chattanooga Tweet-Up (tickets available now…call Burns at 423-855-5200!). I sent him the info and he ended up committing to sponsorship, but I also mentioned I wrote reviews as well and he sent me several samples for review. I did ship a couple of them off to Keith and Jon (who may end up offering their opinions…or may not) and I smoked a few of them myself, both in Robusto and Toro sizes.

You can read all about the story of one Jordan Alexander III on their website (“The Legend Lives On…”). The company was founded in the early 2000s, although they did not officially launch to the public until 2013: “the Jordan Alexander III lines are meant to start a conversation and infuse the smoker with that same deep passion.”

The first retail blend is called “The Legend Corojo,” which they describe as mild-to-medium-bodied cigar “with a unique flavor combination that will keep even the pickiest smoker entertained.” They used a mix of Dominican, Bahian (Brazil), Nicaraguan and Honduran tobaccos for the filler, then covered it all with Honduran binder and wrapper leaves. The cap features a “Cuban classic pigtail” and the foot is closed. They are offering the blend in Toro and Robusto sizes.

Prelight

The Jordan Alexander III band is simple and classy, yet I can’t shake the feeling that something is just a bit “off” from a design and appearance standpoint. The red background with gold foil and embossing is nice. Can’t quite put my finger on what feels wrong, but I think there are two things that could improve the look: first, less glossy paper (satin finish, perhaps…the red is just too shiny); second, a deeper, more distinct emboss (few factories put out the sharp, deep embossing and when it’s used, it just looks higher-end).

The wrapper leaf on the cigar was in that “almost there” category as well. It was a beautiful shade of dark tan / light brown with just a bit of red coming through at certain angles. The feel of the leaf was oily and velvety. But there were several larger veins in evidence, too. The pigtail was finished off nicely, although there were some strange lines around where the cap would normally be, like the cut had been uncertain before finishing the stick. I’ll say right up front that I’m not the biggest fan of this particular kind of pigtail. There is no “triple cap”…just a twisted pigtail finish of the wrapper leaf, which stretches the leaf at the top. When you cut these, they seem to always leave extra ragged bits of tobacco on the head of the stick. It’s just a personal preference. At any rate, the pigtail did look very good, as did the foldover foot. When I gave the wrapper a sniff, I picked up faint wood and grassy notes; the foot had some more earth coming through the closed foot.

Since the first attempts at using my Xikar Xi cutter had resulted in a larger cut than I preferred, I decided to use my MTX Multi-tool this time around…and I had much better results. The prelight draw was excellent; I got flavors of hay, cedar, and citrus.

Flavor

The Legend was a little hard to get lit, not surprising with a closed foot cigar in my experience. Once I got it going good there was an overwhelming mix of cedar and citrus flavors while I burned through the wad of extra wrapper leaf on the foot. As soon as the bunch started burning with a little more fervor, though, the flavor profile changed to one more characterized by earth and pepper spice, while the cedar and citrus flavors remained in the background. The retrohale had a sharp, but short-lived red pepper blast as well.

As I cruised into the second third, I noted that the pepper spice was steadily increasing in intensity on my palate. The blend under the pepper was mostly earthy, with ever-present sweet citrus notes and a fading woody quality.

In the last third, the pepper spice virtually took over the flavor profile, which is something that Honduran Corojo leaf is apt to do. Basically, if you like a spicy smoke…it’s good; if you don’t want your mouth on fire…it’s not.

Construction

During smoking, I experienced no construction problems with the Legend. It had a great draw, solid ash and relatively even burn line.

Value

The asking price for these is not out of line for a small production cigar.

Conclusions

I’ll admit: I came into the Jordan Alexander III experience a little dubious. What could they possibly bring to the table in a world full of cigar blends? Turns out the result is a very fine blend that features a very nice complexity, starting off milder and almost grassy, and ending up fully in the medium-bodied range with the focus on the Corojo leaf. I found it a nice change of pace from something like a Camacho Corojo, which is pure Honduran Corojo and pure pepper and full-body right from the first. That’s nice at times, but being able to relax a bit and take a journey that ends up with loads of pepper makes for a very nice experience as well.

By-The-Numbers

Prelight: 1.5/2
Construction: 2/2
Flavor: 4/5
Value: 1/1
Total: 8.5/10