Cigar Review: New World by A.J. Fernandez

Vitola: Navegante (Robusto)
Size: 5.5” x 55 ring gauge
MSRP ~$6
Sample provided by A.J. Fernandez

Background

“In 1492 Columbus sailed the ocean blue…” And then some people say he and the people that followed him invaded, enslaved and eradicated the indigenous peoples of the Caribbean and Americas. It all seems pretty brutal by modern standards, but then some of these indigenous types were cutting hearts out of live people and entire “nations” would go to war with each other, so the whole “living in harmony with nature” thing about the indigenous peoples really is poppycock (I keep looking for ways to use that word). And anyway, in “discovering” the New World, Columbus also discovered for the Old World the joys of tobacco. And since that’s what we’re here to talk about, maybe you should just celebrate Columbus Day and be happy!

Anyway, this year, A.J. Fernandez decided to celebrate the discovery of tobacco in the New World with a cigar aptly named…”New World.” This is the first time A.J. has worked together on a blend with his father, Ismael, and they carefully selected some of the best Nicaraguan leaf to create this latest offering. It features a filler blend of Ometepe, Jalapa and Estelí leaves, a Jalapa binder, and a Nicaraguan Oscuro wrapper. I picked up a couple of these from the cigars that were sent to Burns Tobacconist for this year’s Chattanooga Tweet-Up; this review is based on my second one.

Prelight

In contrast to the recent “Oval” lines of A.J. Fernandez, the New World is definitely box-pressed. Cigar shapes are a personal preference thing, but after coming up with the oval shape, I had hoped to see AJF Cigars use it on a more regular basis, instead of only on the San Lotano Oval series. The band is a large size with what looks to be a classic painting of Columbus landing, circled as many classic cigar bands are with gold foil medallions. The foot is adorned with a red ribbon that has the AJF logo on it.

When I picked up this stick and looked at the wrapper (before looking up the country of origin information), my first thought was “Could be Broadleaf.” I sniffed at it and decided, “Pretty sure it’s San Andres.” And I was wrong both times. The color was a dark chocolate or espresso bean hue with an oily touch and veins that appear to have been rolled flat before the leaf was applied. The aroma from it was dark earthiness with just a touch of dark roast coffee. The foot had a sweeter chocolatey aroma with some more earthiness to it. The impression I had of “San Andres” came up again with the cold test draw; it had a bit of that chalky earthiness along with semi-sweet cocoa powder that some of the better Mexican leaf has.

Flavor

I lit up the New World and was quickly rewarded with flavors of cocoa powder, red pepper flake, espresso bean and cedar. The retrohale had mostly coffee and pepper notes. The body was—as advertised—medium to full and as I continued through the first third, I noticed the pepper diminish a bit while the cedar flavor increased a bit.

In the second third I found earthiness taking the lead role, with cedar playing a strong supporting one. The pepper spice had pretty much exited stage left and I have to say, it was missed. As I continued I found the profile became dominated more by a chalky dry cocoa powder; I really could have used some added sweetness in the blend at this point.

In the last third, I got more earth, more cocoa powder, and a touch of cedar. And I saw some return of pepper spice and a little sweetness.

Construction

The samples I had of New World were very well built. I saw even-enough burn lines, solid ash and great draws.

Value

The price tag on this represents one of the best values in the AJF Cigars line up. Great price for a great stick!

Conclusions

The AJ Fernandez New World turned out to be an enjoyable cigar, although there were some hiccups along the way for my palate. Others may find it right up their alley, but there were it did fall a bit flat for me in the middle third. At the end I found the body edging into the full region, where AJ apparently feels his most comfortable based on many of his other blends. There was also a bit of a nicotine kick, but not too much. At the asking price, this is one you should definitely try; you might just find yourself a new favorite everyday smoke.

By-The-Numbers

Prelight: 2/2
Construction: 2/2
Flavor: 3.5/5
Value: 1/1
Total: 8.5/10