Vitola: Voleur (box-pressed Lancero)- 7.5” x 40 ring gauge
- MSRP ~$12.50
- Purchased at Burns Tobacconist
Background
In 2013, Casa Fernandez released the original Aniversario Series, celebrating the company’s 35th anniversary. They added a second size in 2014, and decided to double down in 2015 with two new vitolas and the suggestion that the blend might not be a “limited edition” anymore, but become a regular release. Whether they are technically a regular release at this point or not, we were able to order the 2015 Aniversario releases at Burns a couple months back. The 6 x 56 Toro-esque L.F. Celines didn’t really appeal to me much, but the Voleur—a box-pressed Lancero—seemed right up my alley.
It is no surprise that the blend is composed of 100% Aganorsa tobacco, the brand-name Casa Fernandez has been using for the tobacco they grow for quite some time. All Aganorsa is grown in Nicaragua and the wrapper on this one is a Corojo 99 leaf. They are made in CF’s Miami factory, thus explaining why “Miami” is featured prominently on the band. So prominently that quite a few of my customers are just calling it “the Miami”…this might change, though, in the near future as the company is changing branding soon to “Aganorsa” and that term has been seen to replace “Miami” in the logo in some instances.
I’ve smoked one of this blend and vitola before this review sample. I bought them both at Burns. I got some of the background from Will Cooper article on the original release.
Prelight
The slender cigar has a very small version of the CF Miami band in the traditional place. Whereas I’ve seen this band in red and gold before, in this instance it is white with silver foil type and ornamentation. It actually makes it a little hard to read at such a small size because the light is so prone to glaring off the white and silver. Most of the rest of the cigar is sheathed in a vellum paper, not quite an opaque white with the same logo printed on it in silver.
Once I removed the sheath, the wrapper leaf was revealed as a peanut butter light brown color, smooth to the touch, but not terribly oily. The aroma I got from it was a mixture of hay and natural tobacco, with just a bit of earthiness. The foot had a stronger cedar note and more of the natural tobacco aroma that honestly took me back to not of the first times I had ever gone in a humidor. It was just a rich “tobacco-y” smell and thoroughly pleasing.
I applied a straight cut to the puffing end of the cigar with my Xikar Xi cutter and got a very good cold draw from it. The prelight had flavors of cedar, hay and a little red pepper flake.
Flavor
The Aniversario 2015 really came to life when I lit it up. It started off with a sharp cedar note, followed on subsequent puffs by a thick earth note that mixed with it, along with pepper spice and a pleasing sweetness that was hard to define, but seemed almost syrupy thick and dried fruit-like. The retrohale was very peppery. As I made my way through the first third, the sweetness ebbed away a bit, but the pepper on the palate only grew. It became the dominant characteristic before long, with cedar and earth playing second-fiddle.
Pepper did ease off as the second third burned along, allowing the cedar flavor to come back to prominence. There was still a bit of earth and the sweetness came back up in the profile, as well. The retrohale wasn’t quite as peppery at this point, taking on a more nutty note.
The last third was more cedar and earth. Pepper spice was still strong in the mix, but was also joined by a more “baking spice” note that added to the intrigue.
Construction
I had a great draw, very even burn line and solid ash.
Value
The price tag is a little high on these, but it is a very good cigar and of a somewhat limited nature, so I’m good with the value here.
Conclusions
The Casa Fernandez Aniversario 2015 is quite a delight in this box-pressed Lancero format. The flavors of cedar and pepper really pop throughout, while notes of earth, dried-fruit sweetness and roasted nuts make appearances from time to time. The price will keep me from smoking this frequently, but I would definitely buy a few to enjoy from time to time.
Small Batch Cigar, a Leaf Enthusiast sponsor, carries the Casa Fernandez Aniversario Serie 2015 available (as of the time this review was written).
By-The-Numbers
Prelight: 2/2
Construction: 2/2
Flavor: 4/5
Value: 1/1
Total: 9/10
