Vitola: Orpheus (Lonsdale)- 6” x 44 ring gauge
- ~$9.25
- Purchased at Burns Tobacconist
Background
As a followup to the 2016 Guardian of the Farm, a project that was a collaboration between Kyle Gellis (Warped Cigars) and Max Fernandez (Aganorsa Leaf), Aganorsa has released a new version blended solely by Fernandez and wearing the same wrapper leaf they used for two other 2019 new releases.
The original Guardian of the Farm used Nicaraguan Criollo and Corojo for filler, a Nicaraguan binder, and another Nicaraguan Corojo leaf for the wrapper. Guardian of the Farm Nightwatch uses Corojo and Criollo from Estelí and Jalapa for the filler, a Corojo binder from Jalapa and the new Nicaraguan Shade Grown Corojo Maduro wrapper. I’ve been excited about this wrapper leaf since I first heard about it early this year and so far, it’s been pretty spectacular on both the Aganorsa Leaf Signature Selection Maduro and the Lunatic Loco.
I have smoked several samples of the GOTF Nightwatch already, including at least a couple more of this lonsdale size, and at least one of the JJ box-pressed Robusto. I settled on the Orpheus for review, but it really was a toss-up between this and the JJ as to what I was going to pick in the end. Both are very, very good. I will note that because of weird inconsistencies in the burn line and a bit of a propensity to go out unexpectedly, I did dry-box this sample (in cellophane, but out of my humidor) for about 5 hours before smoking it.
I bought my sticks at Burns Tobacconist where I work. If you don’t have a great B&M near you, check for them on Small Batch Cigar…they were out of stock as I wrote this, but could be back in at almost any time. I got information for this background section from Cigar-Coop.
Prelight
The design of the boxes is the same, but different. While the original Guardian of the Farm used plain wood boxes with black type and art, these boxes are painted white and the type and art is all in gold foil. Same design, but different color scheme. The band shared the white and gold motif, while a secondary band in red has “Nightwatch,” “Aganorsa Leaf” and the Aganorsa logo on it in gold. Overall, a good way to differentiate this release from the original while still keeping a family resemblance.
The wrapper was dark chocolate brown with some darker mottling and a nice smooth oiliness to it. It mostly smelled of earth and cedar, and although the wrapper was folded over the foot, there was some rich coffee and cocoa powder aroma coming through the leaf on the foot.
After clipping the head I got a very good cold draw that had flavors of natural tobacco, earth, espresso bean and black pepper.
Flavor
Once fired up, the Guardian of the Farm Nightwatch had solid earthiness up front, with wood and anise and coffee notes coming in right behind. Sweeter dark fruit notes were behind that with a little red pepper spice. The retrohale had sweet, almost cake-like notes, along with a stronger red pepper heat. The Nightwatch was very slow-burning and still did threaten to self-extinguish during the first third, even after the dry-boxing. As the first third burned along I got more chocolate sweetness with coffee and earth strongly bolstering it, anise and pepper spice continued at a low level.
The second third exhibited more cedar up front with a continued sweetness while coffee and earthiness backed it all up. The pepper spice had died down to a low-level heat. I had to relight a couple times during this time.
The final third had more chocolate with a resurgence of some pepper spice, all still supported by earth and espresso bean.
Construction
The draw was very good the entire time. The burn line was a little wonky, but nothing you wouldn’t expect from a Maduro wrapper. The ash was solid. But the cigar had trouble keeping lit. I don’t know that it was necessarily a construction problem, but I don’t know where else to put it. It probably just needs to rest longer…like 4 to 6 months longer.
Value
I really like this cigar and find it worth the price of admission.
Conclusions
I really enjoyed this cigar, but it’s a shame that it has such trouble burning so much of the time. I had to relight or almost relight (cigar almost went out) at least 5 or 6 times, and I was puffing on a very regular basis. I really think the wrapper leaf may just need additional time to properly dry out before smoking, but that could mean a matter of months. Besides that the flavor profile was excellent with plenty of complexity on a full-bodied smoke.
By-The-Numbers
Prelight: 2/2
Construction: 1.5/2
Flavor: 4.5/5
Value: 1/1
Total: 9/10
