Distinguished Ruffians

Generoso by Ferio Tego
Generoso by Ferio Tego

Now here is a cigar that certainly brought a lot of joy; not only to smoke but to review as well. When you read and hear the word Generoso what comes to mind? Generous! I wanted to make sure my facts were correct and they were, Generoso means Generous and that describes the abundant amount of flavor that comes through while smoking this cigar; but first a little about Ferio Tego. 

“Ferio Tego, LLC is a premium cigar and accessories company launched in 2021 by Michael Herklots, former Vice President of Nat Sherman international, LLC and Brendon Scott, former Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Nat Sherman, LLC. In Addition to the company’s flagship Ferio Tego brand the company also owns the “Timeless Collection” and the “Metropolitan Selection” lines of premium cigars as well as the Ancora accessories brand and other brands formerly owned and sold by Nat Sherman, LLC.” (Taken right from Ferio Tego’s website.)

“Ferio Tego is choosing to dare; to take risks and follow dreams, rather than to settle. We continue a legacy of honor in all dealings.” And for this cigar they certainly created a dream come true! 

As I gaze upon this cigar to get ready for a few dry pulls to fully get the complete dimension of the Generoso cigar; the wrapper color has a nice darker than usual sun grown look to it. With the few dry pulls I get a nice cardamom, milk chocolate, with a tad swirl of floral notes. Instantly invoking my glands to salivate and bring a smile to my face knowing I’m in for a treat. 

First light up; I instantly tasted salted milk chocolate with a spicy toasted cashew and a tad nip of black pepper as the layers of goodness unfold. As I begin to smoke the first 1/3rd the spiciness smoothed right out with a salted caramel, milk chocolate, the essence of cardamom still lingers, and that floral note wants to make its presence known. Very good start to this cigar! 

Smoking right into the 2nd 1/3rd of this Generoso; still standing up to its name with huge amounts of flavor coming through to make my palate dance with happiness with some bakers chocolate, a creamy mocha latte yet the sweetness I was tasting went away but, there is a lavish flavor of toasted Brazilian nut’s mixed in with what tastes like coconut to me. Even though that up front sweetness drifted away there is a subtle sweetness that you would naturally get from a bakers chocolate mixed in with ANY nut mixed in with coconut. I have to include that this “Generoso” is very slow and smooth, burning very consistent, and lots of smoke with no draw issues whatsoever. Flavor profile stayed prominent with cedar, milk chocolate, that rich soil/earthiness taste, leather, the sweetness came back with a swirl of floral notes again. 

Down to the last 1/3rd of the cigar and it certainly finished strong. With a wrapper grown in Honduras, binder and fillers both from Nicaragua, and made at the Plasencia Cigar Factory in Nicaragua its no wonder why the profiles really came through especially molasses joining the palate party as I continued to smoke it down to the nub. 

What an amazing cigar and as I read through the website to learn all I could I came across their story “Ferio Tego is never to arrive, but rather to voyage, making brief stops along the way, recognizing achievements and failures alike; and, with humility and thoughtfulness, adjusting course if necessary, to continue the journey. Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.” AND that folks is exactly how I felt when I finished this cigar. I was taken on a journey a voyage of a great tasting cigar. 

This cigar only comes in a Toro size (6×50) with a price tag of $21; boxes of 10 at around $210 but worth every penny. Certainly one you should try. In 2021 they were very limited but with this year upon us they will be making it a little more available to find and purchase. Now go find one to enjoy!!

Wrapper –  Honduran

Binder – Nicaraguan

Filler – Nicaraguan

Website: www.feriotego.com

Rating: 4.8 out of 5 pints.

Rare Leaf by Aganorsa Leaf
AGANORA RARE LEAF

First; I have been a big fan of Aganorsa Leaf for years, even before when the company was Casa Fernandez. I feel honored and humbled to share these next few moments with you in regards to this dynamite creation. 

When one thinks of rare leaf, what comes to mind? Well, that’s exactly what I typed into my search engine and you know what popped up? Two topics to be specific; mind altering plants AND the four leaf clover. In fact, there was a question that happened to appear in my search “what is the rarest leaf?” Answer: The Four Leaf Clover Collections and to be documented that the most leaves found on a clover stem was 56 found in Japan. But this article is not being typed up for you to learn about clovers, yet; this article will in fact assist in broadening your horizons AND maybe learn something new today in regards to this absolutely fine cigar by Aganorsa Leaf named “Rare Leaf”. 

It’s always nice when you have that moment to enjoy a tasty cigar. It’s even nicer when you have enjoyed that tasty cigar and then learn about the dedication that goes into making it. Which is why it gives me great joy to share my experience with you and learn about what serious dedication that not only goes into the process of day to day operations within Aganorsa Leaf BUT the utmost quality that Aganorsa Leaf produces within this “Rare Leaf” for YOU to enjoy. 

“First you crawl, then you walk, and then you run. It’s a process you can’t skip or else it comes back to haunt you” spoken from Eduardo Fernandez, owner of Aganorsa leaf. The man who had a dream and followed his dream; in 1998 his dream had become a reality. In 2021 Aganorsa Leaf introduced another reality into this world, the release of a new line of cigars named “Rare Leaf Reserve”. As the Name indicates, it is a line to showcase some of Aganorsa’s low-yield tobaccos. Typically when a blend uses a significant amount of low yield tobaccos, it will be limited. But for the Rare Leaf Reserve, Aganorsa Leaf wanted to showcase some of its rarer tobaccos as an ongoing production. In order to do this, the Rare Leaf Reserve was made available to retailers that are a part of the “Aganorsa Select” program. 

There are two tobacco crops that Aganorsa Leaf is known for; Corojo ‘99 and Criollo ’98. Over the past few years, it is the Corojo ’99 that has gotten much of the attention. The blend for the Rare Leaf Reserve is described as being predominantly Criollo ’98. The blend consists of 100% Aganorsa farm-grown tobacco. “A constant challenge is utilizing tobaccos to create blends which are outstanding expressions of our signature flavor and aroma while still producing them in quantities viable to sustain production consistently rather than just as one time limited editions or available only sporadically throughout the year,” said Terence Reilly, Aganorsa Leaf’s VP of sales and marketing “Rare leaf will be the first project using selections of our leaf in short supply that will be maintained in regular production. In order to achieve this, Rare Leaf will be available only to our Aganorsa Leaf Select Retail partners.” 

Lets get into this Aganorsa Café Nicaraguan wrapper, Criollo ’98 double binder, Criollo ’98 with a touch of Corojo’99 dubbed the “Rare Leaf Reserve”. After taking a few dry draws I discovered my palate was picking up a bakers chocolate, some dried fig with a hint of cedar notes. Not a bad profile (for me) to pick up before lighting up. Upon light up; immediately a full strength of flavor came through, not a super strong smack you in the head kind of strength but a very robust, swirling notes of salted milk chocolate, white/black peppers, and cinnamon. Certainly wasn’t expecting the explosion of goodness right off the rip but definitely peeked my curiosity to say “WOW, what’s next” 

The first 1/3rd calms down and settles in to a nice bakers spice profile with some dried dates, toasted walnuts, cocoa, and a super subtle hint of dried cherries . Very smooth, consistent, exactly what you would hope for on the start of an amazing journey. The second 1/3rd stayed consistent with certain profiles like milk chocolate, dried dates, cinnamon, nutmeg, with a very light cedar taste coming through. During this second 1/3rd session I did run into some tunneling issues, nothing that had taken away from the complete enjoyment of my experience, through my years of smoking cigars I’ve learned a few tricks to fix such issues without altering the cigars taste or construction. With that said, problem was fixed; a few touch ups with my single flame touch and moving on to the last 1/3rd of the cigar. Some notes that came back around were the hints of white and black peppers. I want to take a second to express what I mean when I say “White and Black” peppers. For me; white pepper has that soft subtle almost creamy kind of peppery taste, yet; black pepper, well, most of us know that profile of black pepper and I will say that I get more white pepper profiles then black pepper but that spice of the black pepper still lets my palate know what I’m experiencing. Continuing on my journey, I will say that some nice dark rich chocolate and molasses came through which was adding to the nice finish of this Rare Leaf Reserve cigar. 

There is currently three different sizes and come in boxes of 15 that are offered: Titan (6×60) $12.10, Toro (6×54) $11.50, Robusto (5 ¼ x 52) $10.99. So, your step is to find your nearest “Aganorsa Select” brick and mortar shop and pick yourself up one, two, or a box! You will not be disappointed! And I’ll leave you with another inspirational quote from the Owner of Aganorsa Leaf Eduardo Fernandez “Along the way, people say that it can’t be done… America taught me that it can be done.”

Wrapper –  Nicaraguan Jalapa

Binder – Nicaraguan Criollo

Filler – Nicaraguan

Website: www.aganorsaleaf.com

Rating: 4.8 out of 5 pints.

Drew Estate Expands Availability of Liga Privada H99 Connecticut Corojo
Drew Estate Liga Privada H99

Drew Estate’s prized Liga Privada H99 (Hybrid 99) Connecticut Corojo is now available as a regular production cigar exclusively to qualifying Drew Diplomat Program participants.

While all Liga Privada cigars have limited production capacity due to the rarity of the tobacco leaves used in each of the offerings, the magnificent capa leaves from the Connecticut River Valley that stand as the hallmark for each Liga Privada expression remain by far the most difficult component to procure. This has been especially true for Liga Privada H99 Connecticut Corojo. 

Just one Connecticut River Valley farmer cultivates Liga Privada H99 Connecticut Corojo’s capa leaf, a hybrid derived from Stalk-Cut Habano and Connecticut Corojo tobaccos that’s grown exclusively for Drew Estate. Since introducing Liga Privada H99 Connecticut Corojo cigars in 2018, Drew Estate has only periodically released small batches of them due to the rarity of the capa leaf. Working alongside this farmer, we planted more H99 hybrid tobacco every growing season, and we have steadily aged and stockpiled this precious leaf. We are ramping up Liga Privada H99 Connecticut Corojo’s production, and it is now regularly available to all qualifying Drew Diplomat Program partners and their customers.

Liga Privada H99 Connecticut Corojo’s capa leaf is naturally sweet and contrasts perfectly with the robust spiciness of the Mexican San Andres Otapan Negro Último Corte capote and the dense earthy notes from the well-aged blend of Nicaraguan, Honduran and Pennsylvania Green River One Sucker tripa tobaccos. These cigars offer complex earth, leather and espresso notes, which dance on the palate in a luxurious and deceptively full-bodied smoking experience that builds with every puff and climaxes in an attention-grabbing finish.

“The H99 Connecticut Corojo is the triumphant result of hybridity, including traits of … dysfunction, functionality, flexibility, adaptability, survival, replicability, and most importantly procreation,” says Drew Estate Founder and President, Jonathan Drew. “In all my 26 years of experience as a tobacco man, I have never witnessed a tobacco hybridization with the depth and body of this Stalk-Cut Habano and Connecticut Corojo leaf. It’s nice to walk into the storage area at the factory and finally see some bales aged and stacked up, ready for production. Get your lighters ready … let’s burn.”

Available exclusively at qualifying Drew Diplomat Program participants, Liga Privada H99 Connecticut is packaged in 24-count boxes with an MSRP of $382.80/box and $15.95/cigar.