Protocol Jane Doe 3.0 – Blind Cigar Review

Cigar Info

Back in November of last year, Protocol Cigars announced the third version of their Jane Doe Series, Jane Doe 3.0. Jane Doe is the name given to unidentified females by law enforcement until they are identified.

Jane Doe 3.0 comes in plain paper bundle of 10 cigars, each cigar with an MSRP of $9.50. There is only one vitola, a 5 x 52 robusto. Each size in the series has been slightly different; Jane Doe 2.0 was a 6 x 50 toro, and the original Jane Doe was 6 x 52. The bands are also plain white paper with type lettering that simply says “Jane Doe 3.0.” As with previous Jane Doe releases, the blend is “unidentified” or undisclosed. The only info given is “Place of Birth” or where it was rolled, which is the La Zona Factory in Estelí, Nicaragua.

As with the previous Jane Doe cigars, this is a very limited release with only 200 bundles made. The company says this size will never be released again. Jane Doe 3.0 was an exclusive for The Royal Leaf.

Vital Stats:

Vitola: Robusto
Length: 5″
Ring Gauge: 52
Country of Origin: Nicaragua
Wrapper: Undisclosed
Binder: Undisclosed
Filler: Undisclosed
Factory: La Zona
Blender: Juan Cancel, Hector Alfonso Sr.
Number of reviewers: 5 – Jai P. (Jai) Chris M. (Chris) Angel M. (Angel) Joseph S. (Bearded Bastard) Randy B. (randobush)
Price: $9.50
Age: 6 Months
Release Date: November 2021
Contributed by: Protocol Cigars

Initial Impressions – Protocol Jane Doe 3.0

Appearance: 90

“This appears to be a robusto size cigar, with medium brown wrapper reminiscent of habano. The cigar wrapper above the band is completely split open, hopefully just a one off with my particular cigar other than that it has visible veins and tight visible seams, with what appears to be a large triple cap.” –Angel M. (Angel)

Aroma: 86

“Not getting much other than musty closet nursing home smell.” –Randy B. (randobush)

First Third

Flavor: 90
Strength: Medium
Body/Complexity: Medium

“Going into the first third definitely picking up some black pepper spice and cedar, along with sweet tobacco and a bit of bitterness. Definitely leaves a lingering tingle on the lips and the pepper sticks around all the way till the next draw.” –Angel M. (Angel)

“Cedar, sticky cola sweetness and leather rest on top of a background layer of mixed pepper and ginger spice. Leather slowly makes its way to the back and the cola shifts to more of a floral sweet tea as I get into this one. I also get a gritty, toasted grain that joins closing in on the second third.” –Chris M. (Chris)

Second Third

Flavor: 89
Strength: Medium
Body/Complexity: Medium

“Nice creamy baking spice, with a dry crisp toast, Brach’s butterscotch candy and cornstarch in the retrohale.” –Randy B. (randobush)

“Woody, cashew, just a hint of spice, creamy.” –Joseph S. (Bearded Bastard)

Final Third

Flavor: 88
Strength: Medium
Body/Complexity: Medium

“Cedar and creamy peanut are closely followed by a dry pepper and slightly sweetened floral tea. Generic bread and light cocoa come through on the finish.” –Chris M. (Chris)

“Going into the final third a definite flavor transition, as although the black pepper is still very present it has dropped to the background and the cedar and baking space have picked up, the leather is very faint and the smoke has smoothed out significantly.” –Angel M. (Angel)

Overall Impressions – Protocol Jane Doe 3.0

Draw: 95

“A straight cut provided a slightly loose draw. It did firm up a bit once lit, providing a decent resistance.” –Chris M. (Chris)

Burn: 94

“Very good burn, I wouldn’t call it razor sharp but never required a touch up and any waves in the burn quickly corrected themselves without any issue.” –Angel M. (Angel)

Construction: 94

“This cigar performed very well, and was a dime stacking machine.” –Randy B. (randobush)

Overall Strength: Medium
Overall Body/Complexity: Medium
Experience Overall: 91

“As soon as I sparked this stick my eyes lit up with amazement at blend of chocolate kisses by coffee. As the cigar burned the coffee notes were replaced by a silky earthiness, through the middle of the experience. As the cigar came to a close the coffee notes rejoined the symphony to leave the palate wanting more.” –Jai P. (Jai)

“This one didn’t have a hard time keeping me interesting with a fair amount of shifts. Some worked better than others for me, but it was still easy to appreciate. Great construction added some extra enjoyment as well.” –Chris M. (Chris)

“This was a good cigar overall I was disappointed with the construction but once again hopefully it was a one off. Starting off, the wrapper was a bit of a pitfall but once I adjusted to it the flavors were very interesting and enjoyable. The heavy black pepper was not off-putting and the spice was not too overpowering, the transitions into the final third with the smoothing out of the smoke took this cigar to the next level. There was a great amount of smoke output. I wouldn’t recommend this to someone new to cigars but I would definitely recommend this to my friends with a pallet for bolder flavors, this was an enjoy stick.” –Angel M. (Angel)

“Great smooth and creamy smoke, great combo of flavors.” –Joseph S. (Bearded Bastard)

“Overall this cigar was a performer. It’s draw, burn, construction, smoke output, were all top notch.
Flavors were not necessarily in my wheelhouse , therefore, I would not pick up again, but I’m glad I smoked it. It was far from bad, just not my cup of tea. But that ash……it never fell. Just sayin’.” –Randy B. (randobush)

Smoking Time (in minutes): 57

To view the complete scores and notes, click here.

Protocol Jane Doe 3.0 – Blind Cigar Review