Vitola: Toro- 6.5” x 54 ring gauge
- MSRP $9.00
- Purchased at Burns Tobacconist
Background
If you read much cigar industry news, it really is starting to look like 2017 is the “Year of A.J. Fernandez.” AJF Cigars—the company, the factory, the man behind them—seem to have their hands all over the biz right now, with several news blends under their own banner, in addition to numerous offerings for other companies large and small. One of the new blends for his own company is the Maduro version of the Enclave.
The Enclave was introduced two years ago, almost as an addition to New World philosophy: good, solid smokes at relatively inexpensive prices. The Enclave Broadleaf is a very different follow-up blend, sharing virtually nothing with the original blend except a name and band artwork.
Enclave Broadleaf uses Nicaraguan filler and binder leaves from Estelí, Jalapa and Pueblo Nuevo, as well as a Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper. Early reports (and some reviews) indicated that the cigar used a Pennsylvania Broadleaf, however news reports from the 2017 IPCPR show and on the manufacturer’s website indicate that it is, indeed, Connecticut-grown.
I smoked one of these the first day we got them in at Burns, and picked up a couple the next day for review purposes. This is my second time smoking this blend.
Prelight
The band and box for this release are very similar to what AJF did for the New World Puro Especial…plain painted boxes, this time a darker red…shaped bands that incorporate the artwork from the original release, but in a new and different way. They both also use secondary bands proclaiming the name of the blender/company.
The wrapper leaf of this release was a dark chocolate color with some lighter coloration around the veins. It had that rough and oily feel that the best Broadleaf wrappers have and a rich earthiness to the nose. The foot of the cigar had more earth, as well as chocolate and coffee notes.
The cold draw was excellent and featured notes of earth and semi-sweet chocolate.
Flavor
I lit up the Enclave Broadleaf with my single-flame torch and it was a speedy and even light. At the start I got a definite earthiness and sweetness that I would expect from a Connecticut Broadleaf-wrapped cigar. There was also a bit of a tangy note, almost citrusy, fairly high up in the flavor profile. Behind that was a touch of cedar and pepper spice. The retrohale was a peppery as one might expect from the combination of Nicaraguan and Broadleaf tobaccos. As I burned along the first third continued with a sweet earthiness combined with pepper and citrus, as well as some savory, almost grilled meat notes.
The second third had a continuation of the sweet and savory notes, with a slight decrease in the amount of pepper spice. The citrus twang was still present and served to set this blend apart from nearly every other Broadleaf blend I can remember.
In the last third the Enclave Broadleaf picked up in body, going from medium-to-full to a solid full body. Earthiness was dominant, though there was definitely enough sweetness to balance it well.
Construction
The draw on both samples I smoked was perfect. The burn line was very even for a Maduro and the ash was rock solid until I tapped off.
Value
Like most every other AJF cigar on the market the price point on these is excellent, making them very easy on the wallet.
Conclusions
I said it before and I’ll say it now: I like the Enclave Broadleaf better than the original Habano version. After this second smoking, I can say that I like it a lot more. This is an excellent Connecticut Broadleaf wrapped cigar that stands out from the others on the market with its citrusy notes and slow building of body. Definitely a must-smoke for Broadleaf fans like me.
By-The-Numbers
Prelight: 2/2
Construction: 2/2
Flavor: 4.5/5
Value: 1/1
Total: 9.5/10
