Casa Fernandez Aganorsa Leaf

Casa Fernandez cigars are sold by the Tabacalera Tropical company out of Nicaragua. The Aganorsa leaf line is one of two new blends from Casa Fernandez to build on their original line. The other new line is called the Casa Fernandez Arsenio. Tabacalera Tropical is located in Esteli Nicaragua and has been in business for nearly 30 years offering a variety of bundle, premium and super premium cigars. Their leaves are grown from authentic Cuban seed tobacco and hand-made to be sold across the world. You can read more about the company and their cigars at www.casafernandez.com. Be sure also to read “The Process” which is a nice write up of the growth of tobacco as well as some nice pictures.

Now back to the cigar. The Casa Fernandez Aganorsa Leaf a Nicaraguan Puro cigar. It’s leafs are grown in a few different valleys or Nicaragua which as Esteli, Jalapa and Condega. The are box pressed and packed in boxes of 15. They are currently offered in 3 vitolas which are Robusto, Toro and Torpedo. The band on the cigar is the same as their normal line but the Aganorsa Leaf has an additional band with it’s name on it just below.

The Aganorsa has received a lot of positive press in the cigar blogging community, Cigar Aficionado Magazine listed the original Casa Fernandez as one of the top 25 cigars of 2009. The original Casa Fernandez line was met with a lot of positive press so they had a lot to live up to. I’m lighting this cigar up on a sunny but cold afternoon and hoping to have a nice enjoyable and relaxing experience. Let see how it fares.

Cigar: Casa Fernandez Aganorsa Leaf
Drink: Graham’s Late Bottled Vintage Tawny Port (2005)
Vitola: Robusto (5 x 52)
Wrapper: Nicaraguan Aganorsa
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan
Price: $8.00
Burn Time: 1.5 hours

Construction:
• This cigar has a slightly box pressed look to it
• The wrapper is a medium dark, almost chocolate brown tone with some spots being lighter than others
• There are quite a few visible veins but they are all small and will not affect the burn
• Fairly clean triple cap
• The foot appears to be well packed and clean
• Cut was even and clean although it required a little more effort than usual
• The draw was just about perfect from start to finish

Burn:
• Toasting was fairly quick and even, very little effort to even out the toast
• The burn started going wavy soon after lighting leaving a small peninsula, gonna leave it alone for a bit and see if it corrects itself
• The crooked burn fixed itself fairly quickly and now we’re burning nice and even
• As the cigar progressed there were a few minor corrections I had to make but nothing major
• The cigar also stayed lit easily without much attention needed from me

Smoke & Ash:
• The smoke produced a strong aroma of burning wood, almost like a bonfire
• Comfortable amount of smoke from each draw
• Lots of resting smoke that is consistently pouring out
• Ash is fairly strong with no flaking and wrapped tightly
• The color of the ash varies from a light brownish near the foot and getting progressively whiter
• Ash held on for about an inch before tumbling into the ashtray

Tasting Notes:
• The wrapper aroma is mostly just tobacco with a slight barnyard type scent
• The foot still has some barnyard aroma but mixes in some cedar and spice
• The pre-light draw brings more spice and some cedar
• Initial draws are full of pepper and some cedar, a little dry on the finish
• I usually don’t enjoy peppery starts but this one is very smooth and mixing well with the cedar
• The retrohale has a nice little bite to it with a smooth cedar finish, the body has started in a mild-medium range
• Just a short ways in the peppery notes have tapered off a bit with the cedar taking control, picking up earthy and nutty notes now
• Some light coffee notes are popping up now and again but not consistent
• I’m approaching the half-way mark and I’m already noticing the body of the cigar building up
• At the half-way point now and the cigar has turned mostly a mild peppery spice and leather
• The bite on the retrohale has dialed down now and the finish is leathery but the body is holding on the stronger side of medium
• Coming up on the last third, the peppery notes are starting to gain traction again, this time mixing with the leather, the cedar has mostly disappeared for now
• The body lingered at full as I approached the nub with the flavors staying consistent to the end
• Didn’t get much harshness or bitterness and was able to smoke this happily until my fingers burned

Final Thoughts:
The was an interesting cigar that had a fair bit of complexity to it and some dimension on the flavors. The start was very in-your-face but smooth and balanced at the same time. The flavors mellowed out a bit as the cigar progressed but the body kept building at a slow and steady pace. The burn was fairly good with only a couple minor corrections and the draw was always good. The price on this cigar is a tad high but nothing crazy and still within reach to be included in a normal rotation. These are definitely worth giving a try even if you aren’t normally a fan of peppery/spicy cigars. On the other hand, if you are a fan of peppery and spicy notes I think you will really enjoy this cigar. The body is a fairly full but not a knock you on your ass type of full. I’ll be looking to pick up a few more of these to keep on hand as they were definitely enjoyable.

Pairings:
In my eyes, Tawny Port and cedar/spicy cigars go hand in hand! I did a bit of research before lighting this up to find out the prominent notes and I knew Port was going to be my match here. I decided on a Graham’s Late Bottled Vintage Tawny Port which was bottled in 2005. This is a fairly inexpensive bottle that boasts a lot of flavors. You’ll find oak, blackberries, cherries and a tarty sweetness that mixes perfectly with this type of cigar. Other good pairings would include scotch, dark soda, a full Porter or Stout, or a full bodied red wine. A nice cup of strong coffee would also be a good match here.