"Jose L. Piedra" Churchill, circa 1996

[MontrealRon]

There is no such thing as a Jose L. Piedra Churchill.

Check Trevor's site.

No such thing!

So what are these?

So the story goes, sometime around 1996,

a quantity of unbanded cigars,

hand made and long filler,

were shipped from Cuba to Havana House,

the authorized distributor for Cuban cigars in Canada.

The cigars were shipped in bulk, and sold as unnamed singles,

at prices considerably below those for equivalent vitolas.

In spite of their fairly decent quality, (IMHO), sales were poor.

The otherwise very knowledgeable manager of Montreal's LCDH

knew nothing about their origins or history, and despite some effort,

could find no one who would admit to knowing anything,

neither in Canada, nor in Havana.

Were they some kind of factory seconds?

Perhaps a test run for a new, lower priced marca?

After some time, the unbanded smokes disappeared from the market,

soon to be re-released in a new presentation.

Meanwhile, also in 1996, the new Jose L. Piedra line of machine-made cigars

was released, first in the UK, then worldwide, to great success.

Originally a pre-revolutionary brand, the name was later used

for one of the local-market "peso" cigars.

In this new incarnation, the JLPs were marketed as cheap "Cuban country cigars",

essentially a commercialization of the "peso" cigars for the export market.

Back in Canada, the new JLPs sold well.

And now there was a new release, of hand made, long filler "JLPs".

These "new" cigars were sold in five-packs, or as singles

The following vitolas were available,

shown in the photo above, from left to right :

Double Coronas; Churchills; Jose No. 1, (cervantes); Jose No. 2 (piramides);

Jose No. 3, (coronas gordas); Gorditos (hermosos No. 4) - not in photo - ;

and Robustos (my memory fails if these had another trade name).

Note that on the cardbard five-pack of Churchills shown above,

the Canadian legal health warnings, in English and French,

are printed on the pack, not applied as stickers as on every other pack,

including the "real" JLP machine-mades.

This is because both the bands and the cardboard packs were printed in Canada,

most likely without the knowledge or permission of anyone in Cuba.

These newly banded and packaged cigars flew off the shelves!

Within the year, certain vitolas were getting hard to find,

and before the second year was over, they were pretty well sold out.

So what about the cigars themselves?

Yesterday afternoon, I smoked one of the Churchills.

I was in a cigar bar, among fellow BOTLs, so I didn't take any photos.

To be brief :

- construction was excellent, with a perfect draw and even burn throughout.

- strength was medium, typical for most Churchills.

- the body was medium as well.

- the taste was mostly fine woods, with a seasoning of bean tastes and light herbs.

- easy on the palate, it got richer as it progressed, but never overwhelmed.

- it gave me two very pleasant hours, and was perfect as an afternoon smoke.

I would score it in the range of 88-89.

It has been some time since I've smoked any of the other vitolas,

but I remember the smaller smokes as much stronger and more rustic,

though this may have since been moderated by aging.

I also remember both the No. 2 and the No. 3 as my particular favorites.

Construction was generally excellent,

and I don't remember ever coming across a plugged cigar.

One further footnote.

The Vegueros brand was released in 1997,

and apparently there was some Canadian involvement in its conception and development.

Were these "JLPs" perhaps trial runs,

produced at the Francisco Donatien factory in Pinar del Rio,

and then rejected when the four (different) vitolas were chosen for the Vegueros?

Someone, somewhere, knows the whole story,

but will the truth ever come out?

[bolivr]

Very interesting Ron, appreciate the review. I am a bit of a fan of the JLP Cremas but those Churchills sure look the goods, as you say higher quality than anyone would expect.

"This is because both the bands and the cardboard packs were printed in Canada,

most likely without the knowledge or permission of anyone in Cuba.

These newly banded and packaged cigars flew off the shelves!

Within the year, certain vitolas were getting hard to find,

and before the second year was over, they were pretty well sold out. "

That's great. Its the sort of maverick marketing that you just cannot imagine happening nowadays with all the control over branding and product. I love it.

[Trevor2118]

There is no such thing as a Jose L. Piedra Churchill.

Check Trevor's site.

No such thing!

So what are these?

These is a note on page 217 of MRN's "An Illustrated Encyclopaedia of Post-Revolution Havana Cigars" regarding these cigars.

In short:

They were no brand name bundle cigars from Habanos SA (in various sizes).

In 1999 Havana House repacked these cigars under the José L. Piedra brand.

They appear to have "borrowed" the José L. Piedra brand.

MRN's opinion is that they should not be considered as "José L. Piedra" cigars.

That's why there is no mention of these cigars in my website.

Trevor.

[MontrealRon]

These is a note on page 217 of MRN's "An Illustrated Encyclopaedia of Post-Revolution Havana Cigars" regarding these cigars.

In short:

They were no brand name bundle cigars from Habanos SA (in various sizes).

In 1999 Havana House repacked these cigars under the José L. Piedra brand.

They appear to have "borrowed" the José L. Piedra brand.

MRN's opinion is that they should not be considered as "José L. Piedra" cigars.

That's why there is no mention of these cigars in my website.

Trevor.

Hi, Trevor -

Yes, I was aware of MRN's note on these cigars,

and I totally concur with his and your conclusions that these are in no way

to be considered as JLPs.

This is why, throughout my text, I have used quotation marks

when refering to the Canadian "JLPs", and none for the real JLPs.

That bit at the beginning about your website is in no way a criticism;

on the contrary, I go on to explain why these cigars are not listed as JLPs,

as they were banded and packaged as such in Canada,

"most likely without the knowledge or permission of anyone in Cuba."

By the way, Trevor, your website is not perfect.

It contains one spelling mistake.

Other than that, it is perfect!

[Trevor2118]

Hi, Trevor -

Yes, I was aware of MRN's note on these cigars,

and I totally concur with his and your conclusions that these are in no way

to be considered as JLPs.

This is why, throughout my text, I have used quotation marks

when refering to the Canadian "JLPs", and none for the real JLPs.

That bit at the beginning about your website is in no way a criticism;

on the contrary, I go on to explain why these cigars are not listed as JLPs,

as they were banded and packaged as such in Canada,

"most likely without the knowledge or permission of anyone in Cuba."

By the way, Trevor, your website is not perfect.

It contains one spelling mistake.

Other than that, it is perfect!

Hi Ron, I certainly did not take (in any way) your comments as a critism.

If you let me know the spelling mistake, we can make it perfect

Seriously though, there is still a lot to do on the website....I just don't seem to have enough time. Don't know why?

[MontrealRon]

If you let me know the spelling mistake, we can make it perfect

I'll have to take that under advisement.

Perfection on Earth is unheard of, and may have dangerous consequences,

sort of like the Large Hadron Collider.

Besides, imperfections add charm -

though I am still trying to convince my wife of that...

[Edy]

I saw these Jose L. Piedra sizes reviewed by Cigar Insider newsletter, which is part of Cigar Aficionado magazine, from 1999. I looked them up and found this page as the only other reference online. Great history and background. Thanks!