Vitola: Lonsdale- 6” x 44 ring gauge
- MRSP $9.50
- Samples provided by Aganorsa Leaf rep
Background
I first looked at the Guardian of the Farm line of cigars back in 2017. At the time, it was billed as a collaboration between Kyle Gellis of Warped Cigars and Max Hernandez of Aganorsa Leaf. The original Guardian of the Farm was named in honor of the watch dogs that protect the tobacco fields. It was followed up by a Maduro version, the Night Watch, a couple years later, and both blends have become a mainstay in fine tobacco shops, “best of” lists, and people’s personal humidors. 2022 sees the release of a third line in the Guardians brand: Cerberus.
Cerberus is the mythical 3-headed dog that stood watch at the gates of Hades. My immediate thought was that this should OBVIOUSLY be a culebra…but they didn’t ask me…#marketingfail. They are releasing it in 3 vitolas to start off with, though, so I guess that satisfies the 3-headed part of things. The blend is made of 100% Aganorsa-grown Nicaraguan leaf, with a Corojo 2012 wrapper leaf.
This review technically features a pre-release cigar, since it doesn’t ship until sometime in February and I’m writing this review in January. And technically I’ve had two before this one. All of which were provided to me by my local Aganorsa rep. But I’m treating it like a regular release because…well it really is…they aren’t changing anything about this before shipping it out. Cigar-Coop’s story about the release has more information.
Prelight
Let me just say…LOVE the band on this one. Love that they replaced the single cartoon-y dog’s head with the 3-headed Cerberus. Reminds me of what my new roommate/landlord’s dog would be if he were 3 dogs instead of 1. It also continues to differentiate each release by color or design.
The wrapper was a peanut-butter brown color, slightly oily, with a clean aroma of grass and cedar. I got a good whiff of the foot, picking up plenty of earth and faint notes of coffee and cocoa powder.
After clipping the head I got a slightly tight draw that had a nice mix of earth, buttered popcorn, and wood.
Flavor
I fired up the Cerberus and got loads of cedar and oak right off the bat, followed up by creamy hay notes, flecks of black pepper, and a very slight sweetness. The draw that was slightly tight before lighting was still just a little more snug than I prefer, but I figured it wouldn’t really be problematic. As the first third burned along, I judged the body at the milder side of medium and I started to get a little more pepper, especially on the retrohale.
The snug draw did lead to the cigar burning very slowly, but I did not take it as a bad thing as I was enjoying it. The second third had a little more body, going into the medium range. I got the buttered popcorn note from the corojo tobacco, as well as continued mild sweetness and cedar.
In the last third, the Cerberus had an increase in earthiness with a slight increase in pepper, while the popcorn and sweeter notes were relegated to the background.
Construction
As noted, I had a slightly tight draw, but nothing terrible. The ash was solid and the burn line was straight enough.
Value
At a recommended price point of just under $10, the Cerberus represented very good value for the experience it delivered.
Conclusions
The Cerberus is a very nice addition to the Guardian of the Farm lineup, with a little more body than the original release and a considerable amount less than the Night Watch. It was complex and flavorful, keeping within the medium-bodied range the entire time. It’s a sure bet to make fans of Aganorsa Leaf very happy…and to garner more fans to the brand, too.
By-The-Numbers
Prelight: 2/2
Construction: 2/2
Flavor: 4.5/5
Value: 1/1
Total: 9.5/10
