The initials in JRE Tobacco stand for the name of the firm’s founder, Julio R. Eiroa — a storied figure in the cigar industry who’s cultivated tobacco and blended cigars for more than seven decades. Born in Cuba, Eiroa is probably best known for perfecting the corojo-seed tobacco that he began growing in Honduras with the help of Cuban ex-agricultural official Jacinto ‘Tino’ Argudin, who, when he was still working for the Cuban government, secretly smuggled out the country’s prized corojo seeds to the Central American nation in the early 1960s.
Using these seeds, Eiroa began growing and then improving corojo-seed tobacco outside of Cuba, to the point where — 60 years on — he can claim to have a supply of some of the best grade-A “Authentic Corojo”-seed tobacco anywhere in the world, as attested to by any number of authorities, including the late legendary grower Angel Oliva of Oliva Tobacco, for whom Eiroa worked nearly 60 years ago.
After being tempted out of retirement almost a decade ago, Eiroa set up JRE and its brand Aladino (the name comes from an old cinema the Eiroa family converted to a cigar factory) to take maximum advantage of the world-class corojo-seed tobacco his farms were growing. In 2015, Eiroa and JRE showcased Aladino to the world with a line of cigars that won praise and acclaim from the industry, and in 2018, Eiroa introduced the Corojo Reserva series of the Aladino family, which is formulated to be bolder, heartier, and more concentrated than the initial Aladino cigars.
All of the components of the puro Honduran Corojo Reserva series — the wrapper, the binder, and the fillers — make use of JRE’s famed corojo-seed tobacco. This vitola of the series — the Aladino Corojo Reserva Toro — features a smooth milk-chocolate-toned wrapper over a firm interior that affords an excellent draw, an immaculate burn, and superior construction. With flavors of creamy peanut butter, cedar, earth, leather, and traces of cocoa nibs, raisins, espresso beans, floral notes, pepper, and nuts, the Corojo Reserva Toro offers reliable consistency from end to end and mild-to-medium strength.
Available on a limited basis in boxes of 20, the Aladino Corojo Reserva Toro doesn’t fail to impress. Pick up a box today, and get the taste of a vintage Cuban without having to pay for one.