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Image courtesy AJF Cigars
Vitola: Short Churchill
- 6” x 48 ring gauge
- ~$8.50
- Purchased at Maxamar Cigars
Background
A.J. Fernandez Cigars is on a roll. Two years ago, they released the New World, a bargain-priced Nicaraguan puro that has remained a top seller at my shop. A year or so later they introduced New World Connecticut (which also sells out frequently) and Enclave (which doesn’t sell quite as well in the shop, but still moves decently). This year, the company teamed up with General Cigar to produce lines from Foundry and Hoyo de Monterrey, they are producing blends for several smaller companies, and I hear that another big collaborative effort is planned for next year.
With all that activity, the new Bellas Artes might just be their most ambitious blend, though. They wrapper is a 3-way proprietary hybrid they are calling Rojita, a cross-pollination of U.S. Connecticut Shade, Corojo 99, and Havana 2000. The binder is from Quilali, a region of Nicaragua northeast of Esteli, and unknown to me before this time. The filler is a mix of Honduran, Brazilian, and Nicaraguan leaf. The company’s website called the cigar “Spanish box-pressed” and it’s available in 4 vitolas.
Because this cigar is designed to show more mastery of tobacco blending, growing and manipulation, the name “Bellas Artes” is appropriate…the English translation is “Fine Arts.”
I picked up a couple samples from Maxamar in Orange, California, while I was out there in October, as well as one at Burns when they showed up. I’ve paid for them all and this is at least my third time smoking this blend. (Some background was gleaned from Cigar-Coop’s news report on this cigar.)
Image courtesy AJF Cigars
Prelight
My immediate thought on the band and box of this blend was that it looked a lot like what My Father Cigars has been doing with the Flor de las Antillas and Antiguedad. That basically means a reliance on classic art to represent the cigar, though the Bellas Artes may be the most modern interpretation of the three in terms of looks. It’s an attractive band with plenty of gold foil and embossing, both of which match the secondary band which just states “A.J. Fernandez” (and is, in fact, the exact same secondary band used on the Hoyo Amistad by A.J.).
The wrapper leaf was a medium brown, the color of toasted caramel and didn’t have much oiliness to it. The veins that were visible were practically flat in texture and the aroma was a mix of hay and cedar mostly, with just a whiff of citrus. The foot had a lightly earthy aroma with a touch of sweetness.
The cold draw was excellent and tasted of cedar and citrus.
Flavor
Bellas Artes started off medium in body with definite cedar and pepper up front. A note of orange sweetness and citrus zing comes in just after that, followed finally by notes of hay, all riding on a fairly thick and creamy smoke. The retrohale had cedar and nuts along with a sharp, but short-lived pepper burn. The first third developed into a nice mix of cedar and orange peel with an excellent amount of red pepper to spice things up.
In the second third the pepper eased off a bit, allowing more notes of hay and earth to come through, mixing with the cedar and citrus. The retrohale got more nutty, but still had plenty of cedar and a bit of pepper.
The Bellas Artes continued with mainly cedar flavors in the final third, accented still by notes of citrus and pepper. The earthiness made a good foundation for the whole and roasted nuts and hay were present on the finish.
Construction
I saw an ash almost an inch long at one point along with a very straight burn line. The draw was pretty much perfect.
Value
Though not as inexpensive as the other AJF offerings of late, the price tag of the Bellas Artes is still very reasonable, especially for the amount of complexity.
Conclusions
The Bellas Artes is a great addition to the AJF line-up, presenting a medium-bodied smoke with plenty of complexity in terms of lots of flavor notes being present at any given time. There wasn’t a great deal of change along the way, just individual notes coming the fore at times, then receding back, but the varied flavors present at all times made up for the lack of change-up. It had a very nice balance of sweet and savory flavors and makes for a very easy recommendation for those on the look-out for complex and interesting cigars that challenge your palate but not your nicotine tolerance.
By-The-Numbers
Prelight: 2/2
Construction: 2/2
Flavor: 4/5
Value: 1/1
Total: 9/10
