Aganorsa is one of my favorite brands. I will always keep some cigars from the company stocked in my humidor and that’s that. If you’ve read any coverage here at The BS Lounge, you probably know this already. You can also probably figure out that I had high hopes for the JFR 20th Anniversary, a relatively new cigar from the brand in its budget-friendly or more accessible line.
JFR, if you didn’t know, stands for “Just for Retailers.” The goal of the brand was to be a retail-focused offering with premium quality tobacco, premium crafting, and all at an inexpensive price. When Aganorsa first hit the scene back in the day, most of its dealings were commercial. Hence, JFR.
Some love the brand, some hate it, I’ve seen a lot of speak on social media as you usually do, but as for myself, I’ve always been happy with it. I smoke the JFR Corojo all the time and it’s an excellent yard-gar.
But the JFR 20th is a little different. It’s celebrating the 20th anniversary of the brand, obviously, and it’s meant to be slightly more high-brow than usual offerings. Does it hold up? Is it a satisfying and delicious smoke? Am I happy with it? That’s precisely what we’re here to talk about.
Grab yourself a tall glass of something strong, or sweet, light up your choice of a stogie, and let’s smoke this thing out.
JFR 20th Anniversary — What is it?
Source: Briley Kenney / The BS Lounge
Source: Briley Kenney / The BS Lounge
Source: Briley Kenney / The BS Lounge
Source: Briley Kenney / The BS Lounge
Source: Briley Kenney / The BS Lounge
Source: Briley Kenney / The BS Lounge
Source: Briley Kenney / The BS Lounge
Source: Briley Kenney / The BS Lounge
Source: Briley Kenney / The BS Lounge
Source: Briley Kenney / The BS Lounge
Source: Briley Kenney / The BS Lounge
As far as I know, the JFR 20th Anniversary is not a limited release. It is a regular production now, albeit new to Aganorsa’s lineup. It celebrates the twenty-year milestone of the JFR brand, as you’ve hopefully surmised at this point.
At the top, or head, you’ll notice a pigtail cap. That’s aligned with JFR’s core portfolio, including the Maduro, Connecticut and Corojo — pigtails up! It also has an unfinished foot, which means a leafy-like makeup as opposed to a smooth, sliced foot. It’s a nice little flair if you’re into that sort of thing. It doesn’t really affect the light or change the burn, it’s more of a novelty add.
The JFR 20th is medium to full-bodied and filled with Nicaraguan tobacco, something we’ve all come to know from both Aganorsa and JFR. The delectable San Andres wrapper shines here, both in appearance and the experience it offers. This cigar is packed with a peppery flavor. That said, it’s very much a flavor not a feeling, so you don’t have to worry about burning your face off if you retrohale.
The biggest difference here is that it’s available in boxes of 21, when the other JFR core lines come in boxes up to 50. That 50 count is one hell of a value.
Storage and burn
Source: Briley Kenney / The BS LoungeSource: Briley Kenney / The BS Lounge
As always, I’ve had numerous cigars to balance out the review. They were stored in my humidor and allowed to rest, meaning I didn’t smoke them right away. I keep my humidor’s relative humidity (RH) between 64 and 67 and the temps in my house stay around 75 degrees Fahrenheit. That will give you some idea as to the conditions they’re stored in and hopefully, it will allow you to compare if and when you have your own experience.
Each one burned well, evenly, and with a relatively straight ash line. One of the evenings, which I’ll admit was windier than usual, the cigar had a little trouble keeping up and wouldn’t stay lit. The rest were fine, however. It didn’t affect the experience, or rather, the flavors, and I still enjoyed myself. There were no issues with tunneling, uneven burns or plugged draws.
When you’re talking about a more accessible stick like this, that’s very impressive to see. I would expect no less from Aganorsa, of course, but a lot of times there’s a quality tradeoff for going with something on the low-end of the pricing range. That’s not the case here and I’m very happy to report it as so. Not that this is a cheap cigar.
They cut well, too, using a straight cutter, V-cutter and punch. I didn’t notice any unraveling of tobacco at the head or much debris — meaning dry tobacco falling out after a cut.
Flavors and experience
Source: Briley Kenney / The BS LoungeSource: Briley Kenney / The BS Lounge
I tend to like my cigars on the stronger side, with more pepper, more kick and a satisfying crescendo somewhere in the running time. I don’t care where. But if I get to the end of the cigar and it hasn’t kicked things up a notch, I usually feel let down, unless I’m specifically looking for something light and creamy. With the latter, I know what to grab and where to look for something like that.
What’s interesting about the JFR 20th is that the pepper is there, in full force, and it’s delicious. But it’s mostly flavor that you’ll pick up on your tongue. The retrohale does introduce some pepper, but again in flavor, not kick or spice. This is not a spice bomb that’s going to blow out your sinuses. For those of you out there who swear off pepper, you might still enjoy this one, so long as you’re okay with, again, the flavor.
It’s sweet, it’s salty, and it’s nuanced, just how I want my cigars to be. I picked up pepper off the cold draw and tasted pepper all the way through. I also recognized flavors like baking spices, cocoa, gingerbread, dough, and from the second-third on, kept getting strong cedar on every retrohale. These flavors are my jam, so, naturally, I enjoyed smoking this one.
It will pair well with sweet beverages, from Pepsi and soda to stronger offerings like bourbon. But actually, this one would go okay with scotch and more overpowering drinks. The pepper will definitely shine through, even with those smokey flavors.
JFR 20th Anniversary review: Closing statements
Source: Briley Kenney / The BS LoungeSource: Briley Kenney / The BS Lounge
JFR has always been a go-to brand for me. I can’t speak for anyone else, though.
I have had some cigars from the brand burn wonky, but they usually even out over time. They’re versatile and they seem to hold up well in a variety of conditions, which is exactly why I use them as a yard-gar. The JFR 20th is a marked step-up from that.
Now, we’re still talking about a $10 to $12 stick here. For the money, I’d say it’s great value. There’s a lot of pepper flavor, some nuanced notes in there that keep the experience interesting, and it’s medium-to-full, which means, for me, it fits right into my evening line ups. This will certainly become a staple in my collection, as the core JFR lines have before it.
Would I recommend it? Yes, especially if you like what Aganorsa normally puts out. If you don’t like pepper at all, you might want to steer clear of this one. While it’s not the kind of pepper that burns your nose on a retrohale, it’s still a bold flavor that sticks around. I dig it, though.
Briley specifics
Recommended: Yes
Would I smoke it again? Yes.
Will I buy more? Yes, definitely.
My preferred size: Toro
JFR 20th Anniversary specs
Profile: Medium to full-bodied
Approximate smoking time: 1 to 1.5 hours
Box count: 21
MSRP: $210 or ~$10 per stick (Super Toro size)
If you like this, you might also like: JFR Maduro, JFR Corojo, JFR Lunatic Torch, Guardian of the Farm Cerberus, Boneshaker Full Body Cast, Aganorsa Rear Leaf Reserve Maduro, Tatuaje Black Label, My Father La Flor De Las Antillas, Oliva Serie V, 601 La Bomba, LFD Double Ligero.
You’ll notice that my format is meant to be short and sweet, like this La Aurora Fuerte Sol review, or the previous Aganorsa Rare Leaf Maduro review. I don’t intend to keep up with the big leagues, I’m one guy. There won’t be any scores. However, I do want these reviews to be a resource for those looking for similar smokes or experiences.
Briley has over 16 years in the publishing and content marketing business. He's been writing about cigars for nearly half that in various forms. What makes him a tour de force is he also smokes them.
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