Cigar Review: Casa Fernandez Aganorsa Leaf

Robusto, 5" x 52 ring gauge / $7.90, Burns

My first thought after picking up the new Aganorsa Leaf cigar was, "Why can't they pick a name that's easier to pronounce?" Seems that I am starting to fit in here in East Tennessee, butchering the Spanish language in ways I never did when I lived in Southern California. This newest release from Casa Fernandez was named for a shortened version of the company that grows the tobacco for Casa Fernandez, Agricola Ganadera Norteña, S.A. It is available in 3 sizes and contains all Nicaraguan leaf from Condega, Jalapa and Esteli.

The Aganorsa Leaf was an attractive cigar right off the bat--the banding had a quality look, the leaf had a decent oily sheen and veins that were not too big. The stick was what I call a "mild box press"--almost more oval than squared off. It had a nice heft in the hand and an oily feel despite its lack of cellophane. From the wrapper leaf I got some hay and a whiff of leather; on the foot I got just a little chocolate as well as some earth. The prelight draw was excellent; I tasted cocoa powder and some earthiness.

Immediately upon lighting I got a very strong peppery flavor on both the palate and the nose. When that settled down a bit, I tasted earth and cocoa powder along with just a touch of sweetness. This was a great start--if the rest of the cigar tasted this good, I was considering throwing this in as a new contender for best new stick of 2010! After a few more minutes the flavor profile did settle a bit--it was earthier than I had noted at the start with some dark roast coffee to go along with the semi-sweet chocolate, and a full body right from the start.

The second third got even deeper and more full-bodied, still with earth and coffee flavors predominantly, but some interesting autumn spice notes kicking in from time to time as well. The draw was flawless, although the burn line was uneven and had to be touched up before the third was through.

In the last third, the coffee flavor finally triumphed over the earthiness and I also got a little cayenne pepper on the retrohale as the cigar started to burn down to the end. I really enjoyed this cigar; beginning to end it was full-bodied and full-flavored without having a high nicotine content to make me feel like my butt had been kicked. This was easily my favorite Casa Fernandez that I have tried so far and, yes, it will be in the running for my favorite new stick of the year, pending repeated sampling. I simply could find nothing I did not enjoy about this cigar on this first encounter with it.

Body: 9/10

Strength: 7/10

Complexity: 8/10

AFP Scale

Prelight: 2/2

Construction: 2/2

Flavor: 5/5

Value: 1/1

Total: 10/10

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