Others similar to Djarum Coklat?

[texasthomas]

In all my times smoking cloves, I'd say Djarum Coklats are my all time favorite, but I haven't tried them all yet. Does anyone know of other smokes similar in taste to this one? I've heard good thing about Djarum 76s, but I haven't tried them yet.

Comments

[kretek4me]

I’ve tried almost all of the big names (there are hundreds of smaller, independent brands that are not as readily available if you don’t live within Indonesia) and I’ll just throw my two cents in here. Coklat and 76 are kind of in a class of their own in terms of fragrance and flavor - 76 being stronger in both categories, but the differences are plenty among the two. The 76s are my preferred between those two, but I still keep Coklats around. However, I’ll say that those are not the most flavorful - I find myself preferring the Gudang Garam unfiltereds more often - still a very intense flavor, but they’re not as heavy. If you want a real treat then I’d recommend the Gudang Garam Special Deluxe - very hard to find, but Ciggies World carries them.

Also, don’t forget, there are variations of the Coklat that are also worth trying that are also unfiltered: Coklat Extra & Coklat Retro. Pass on the filtered Coklats - they have the same fragrance as the unfiltered, but the taste is muted and it doesn’t have as great of a taste. These are easier to find - most distributors carry these.

[kretek4me]

I almost forgot about Apache - underdogs of Kretek that really have most of the other brands beat

[ext_5077336]

I smoked Jakarta’s for years before they went out of business. They were very sweet and fruity. Also very thin hand rolled, but were the best I’ve ever had. Any idea if 76’s are similar? Or any others perhaps close to Jakarta?

[coklataddict]

I think you would be better off with the unfiltered Coklat if trying to replicate a Jakarta flavor. The Coklat is much richer flavor, but you get the deep clove hit that Jakartas always offered. The 76 (unfiltered) blend is very mild and imo, less related to the Jakarta.