Cigar Review

Bellas Artes Maduro From AJ Fernandez

AJ Fernandez Bellas Artes MaduroThe Bellas Artes from AJ Fernandez is inspired by the Bellas Artes National museum in Cuba, and if you’ve ever been able to go there it’s easy to understand why it’s an inspiration. The Bellas Artes stands as AJ Fernandez testament that making cigars is a fine art.

When looking at the cigar the most obvious thing to notice would be the incredibly dark Brazilian Malta Fina wrapper. It is burnt umber in color with lite veining, a slight oily sheen and a bit of toothyness to it. The seams are tight and the cigar has that pillow like feeling that box pressed cigars have and no dead spots could be found along the body. The smell from the body is cedar, tobacco and hay while from the foot a sweeter black licorice sent is noticed. The cold draw has the flavor of sweat tea and tobacco.

The first half has flavors of earth and spices with a sneaky sweet finish to it. The burn stays even with the exception of having to touch it up once early on but we can chalk that up to user error. The ash hold tightly for about 3/4″ before I chicken out and knock it loose. There is plenty of medium weight aromatic smoke that adds to the smoking experience.

In the second half the flavor kicks up a bit with stronger flavors of full tobacco and spice taking the wheel. The burn continues to be even throughout the cigar, the ash is perfect and the smoke production does not disappoint. Like most every thing from AJ the construction is flawless and smokes perfectly down to a nub.

The Bellas Artes Maduro is definitely finishes off strong and full in flavor it never becomes harsh. Typical of blends from the Fernandez cigar lines. This is a great smoke for an experienced smoker but, I would only recommend this for beginning smokers if you give them the caveat that this will be a lot of flavor and a fair amount of strength. Like I always say, how is someone going to know what they like if they don’t try things different from what they normally smoke. For me this is an easy go to cigar when I’m having trouble deciding what to smoke, if you haven’t tried it yet grab several the next time you see them at your local shop.

 

Wrapper: Brazilian Mata Fina
Binder: Mexico San Andrés
Filler: Nicaraguan
Price: Around $9.00 – $11.00 a stick.
Website: Ajfcigars.com
Rating: 4.6 out of 5 pints

 

La Flor Dominicana Ligero

La Flor Dominicana LigeroWhile I might not remember my first cigar or even my first few, I do remember the first cigar that kept me coming back to it. For me that was the La Flor Dominicana Ligero. Even though it’s not a brand new cigar on the market it’s definitely worth writing about. La Flor Dominicana was founded in 1996 in Santiago, Dominican Republic by Ines and Litto Gomez. They personally supervise every stage of production; from farming the tobacco at their farm in La Canela, to the art of manufacturing in their factory. For this article I smoked the Ligero 300 again.

The color of the wrapper is the first thing that gets your attention. It has the color or dark roasted espresso beans and a heavy oily sheen. I was told they use a proprietary technique for aging their wrappers to achieve this look but could not be told anymore. It does have some noticeable veins but the seams are tight and hard to find along with being both firm and yielding to the touch with no dead spots.

The body has smells of chocolaty sweetness, leather and tobacco. the pre-light draw has a light resistance to it and the flavor is a mix of cinnamon, chocolate and black pepper. The cap cuts causing no damage to the construction.

The first half has a smooth bread like flavor with pepper and nuts on the finish. There is plenty of well weighted smoke that is produced and the burn is even requiring no touch ups.

Reaching the second half the flavors shift to being more tobacco driven along with leather and spice on the end. That spice becomes more prominent nearing the end of the cigar leaving you with a, truly satisfying, full tobacco and spice flavor. The smoke production and burn remain consistent proving the companies boast of its excellent construction.

Even though this cigar is a full bodied smoke I find it to be quite smooth with a creamy texture to it. While some newer smokers might pass it by thinking that it’ll be too much for their pallet but I would disagree. Even though it is a powerhouse of a cigar the great blending on this makes it easy to be smoked by anyone. There is generally a limited quantity available each year so make sure to stock up when you see them at the shop.

Wrapper: Ecuadorian Sumatra Oscuro
Binder: Dominican
Filler: Dominican
Price: Around $8.00 – $10.00 a stick.
Rating: 4.8 out of 5 pints

 

 

Alma Del Fuego From Plasencia

Plasencia Alma De FuegoAlma Del Fuego or Soul Of Fire is the third in a line of five Alma themed cigars from Plasencia. Don Eduardo Plasencia began growing tobacco in Cuba in 1865 and has been one of the worlds leading growers ever since.  Continuing this heritage now in Nicaragua they are in their fifth generation of tobacco growing. One such area is the Ometepe island where they began cultivation in the 1990 and is where half of the filler and half of the binder leaves have come from. The reason this is important is that on Ometepe Island there are two volcanoes which have created very rare and special soil conditions leading to a great place to grow tobacco. These leave used have been aged for seven years prior to being rolled.

This boxed pressed cigar is covered in a dark brown wrapper that has a touch of mottling. There is a noticeable oily sheen to it along with thin but visible veining and the seams are tight and well hidden. It feels dense and well rolled and has just that little bit of give between the wrapper and body that a pressed cigar should have. There are odors of wet earth and leather from the body and foot and the pre-light draw is easy and has the flavors of dried tea leaves and cinnamon.

In the first half there are lots of earth notes with spicy finish. Smoke production was plentiful and medium in weight. The burn stays straight and requires no touch ups..

Moving into the second half a predominately woody flavor takes over with more of a nutty finish however the spice remains as well. Normally I don’t normal discus retrohale as I do not find a lot of new flavors and some people don’t use this technique however, in this cigar this is where I find some citrus notes so it’s worth noting. Smoke production continues to be the same and the burn never wavers.

There was never a shortage of flavor with this cigar and it truly does show the difference that well aged tobacco from Ometepe can give. Medium full in strength it makes for a great way to start your day or a nice stick to pair with a bourbon or rye in the evening with your friends.  While the price point might make you want to save these for more special occasions there should definitely be a few in your humidor at all times

Wrapper: Nicaraguan Sun-Grown
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan
Price: Around $13.00 – $15.00 a stick depending on vitola.
Rating: 4.7 out of 5 pints