Jake Wyatt is a relatively new cigar company that launched in February 2020 right at the start of a worldwide pandemic. That did not deter Neil Garcia and business partner Gerard Abajian from capitalizing on 30 plus years of family cigar legacy to build and launch a new cigar brand. Gerald has roots that go back to California based Mardo cigars, a retail operation that was founded by his father – Mardo. Gerald took the reins of the business upon his father’s passing and added an east coast operation in Sarasota, Fla. along with a successful online store.
Neil and Gerard got to know each other through working at Mardo cigars and decided that they should further branch out and create a cigar line that represents their collective knowledge of tobacco and cigars. When it came to the name of the company, the two friends could have named it Abajian-Garcia but instead they did one better and decided to name it after each of their sons Jake and Wyatt so as to truly build a family legacy.
Upon the official launch of the company – February 10, 2020 – the duo already had developed and made ready to ship to retailers, a full portfolio of cigars that included five full production lines and one Limited Edition line.:
- Fourth Dimension
- Herbert Spencer
- Lucid Interval
- U.S.I.R.
- Appendix II
- Special Essence (SE) 2019 Limited Edition
In addition to the limited SE 2019, each of the production lines offers a Limited Edition vitola and today I would like to offer a review of the Appendix II Limited Edition (L.E.) Figurado.
The company describes the Appendix II blend as:
- Wrapper – Ecuadorian Connecticut
- Binder -Dominican
- Filler – Dominican
The Jake Wyatt Appendix II L.E. is expressed in 5 vitolas:
- Robusto (5 x 50) – MSRP $10.52
- Toro (6 x 54) – MSRP $11.80
- Belicoso (6 x 52) – MSRP $11.80
- Gordo (6 x 60) – MSRP $12.56
- L.E. Figurado (7 x 49/64) – MSRP $26.00
Each of the production vitolas comes packaged in 22-count boxes, which is a nod to the 3 generations of Garcia’s who wore that number playing baseball. Neil himself was both a college and minor league professional player. The L.E. Figurado comes packaged in 10-count boxes.
For this review, I sampled one Jake Wyatt Appendix II L.E. Figurado which I received from the company at last years Tobacco Plus Expo in Las Vegas, for the purpose of reviewing on Stogie Press.
Pre-Light Examination
The Appendix II L.E. Figurado is simply a beautifully constructed and artful looking cigar. While to main wrapper is medium tan Ecuadorian Connecticut leaf, there are well applied Mexican San Andrés Maduro accents. The cigar has slight oily sheen and is firm to the touch throughout the body of the cigar. It is finished with an expertly applied figurado foot and a unique ‘flower top” cap, at least that is what I am calling it.
A single black and silver band adorns the cigar. It displays the company’s logo at the top and the name “Appendix II” on the bottom. I feel the simplicity of the band compliments the artful presentation of the cigar itself.
Running the Appendix II L.E. along the nose I did not pick up much aroma along the barrel of the cigar and of course with a Figurado foot tip there was sensing aromas off the foot.
I was not sure how to open this one up. Do I tear off the flower cap? Maybe pull it out? Neither of those thoughts made sense and it might damage the cigar, so I chose to give it a straight cut and proceeded to take some cold draw puffs. The cold draw offered a hint of cedar and pepper and with the small tip of a foot you can not judge the restriction until it is fired up and burns down a little.
Using y single flame torch, I lit the Figurado tip and started to take some puffs to get the journey started. It takes some time to get the burn going but once it does the palate was graced with notes of pepper and toasted caramel. Follow along as I burn the Appendix II to ash.
Cigar Review Notes
- Peppery start with a nuance of toasted caramel
- Flaky light grey ash forms on a wavy medium thick char line
- Cedar notes join the profile once it burns past the maduro foot.
- Wave starts to develop into an off burn that requires a touch up
- Smoke volume opens up after an inch of burn
- Ash fell reviealing an off centered burn cone
- The caramel fades and a bitter notes hits the palate in the second third
- Floral notes join midway
- Burn begins to behave midway
- Spice notes develop deep in the second third
- Nuance of dark chocolate graces the palate with mostly spice resting on the palate down to the final
- Medium Strength
- Total Smoking Time was 1 hour and 30 minutes
Final Analysis
As much as the Jake Wyatt Appendix II L.E. Figurado is a beautifully crafted cigar, it fell short when it comes to burn and overall flavor. The start was enticing with its pepper and toasted caramel but neither really lasted long and was replaced with more of a bitter note moving through the late first and second third. The palate is rewarded again with nuances of floral, spice and even hints of dark chocolate through the second half. At the high price point I would not try this one again, perhaps the other vitolas in the line will fare better. I rate this an 85.
Point Deductions: (-1) No Pre-Light Aromas; (-1) Wave in Burn; (-1) Off burn; (-1) Touch up require; (-1) Extended bitter notes; (-1) Flaky Ash; (-1) Off Centered Burn cone; (-2) Not Recommended
