Top AJ Fernandez Cigars
AJ Fernandez cigars are hot today. The brand is named for its founder, Abdel Josef Fernandez, who was born in Cuba’s famed Pinar del Rio region where he learned to grow and blend tobacco from neighboring tobacco farmers. Like many of the island’s most talented cigar-makers, Fernandez left to pursue his talents blending cigars that could be sold in the U.S. He departed in the mid-1990s and settled in Nicaragua where he worked with his uncle, cigar-maker Nestor Plasencia, and carved out a niche making house brands for big online companies. By 2006, Fernandez was making several million cigars per year and had landed contracts producing blends for Rocky Patel and other big brands. Over the next decade, he bought more farmland, expanded his factory, and began making his own brand. Today, AJ collaborates with a number of small-batch brands, like Foundation and Southern Draw, and Cuban-legacy labels, including Montecristo, Romeo y Julieta, and H. Upmann. AJ’s own cigars, though, have picked up considerable steam and are what he’s best known for now. When you’re navigating his vast portfolio, here are the top AJ Fernandez cigars to smoke now.
1. New World
New World is far and away the top AJ Fernandez cigar to start with. Its all-Nicaraguan profile, including its dark and oily wrapper leaf, is an excellent specimen of what AJ does best – he blends meaty and spicy tobaccos that display a nice mix of sweet and earthy taste. New World is named for Christopher Columbus’ arrival in the Caribbean in 1492 because the event led to the introduction of tobacco to Europe. The collection is rolled in bigger ring gauge shapes that deliver notes of espresso, dark chocolate, and earth with big, thick aromas.
2. New World Cameroon
A glistening Cameroon wrapper leaf hugs a hearty and leathery interior of premium Nicaraguan long-filler tobaccos. Although the blend is unusually full-bodied for a Cameroon wrapper, plenty of nuances develop without overwhelming the palate. Notes of coffee, cocoa, and wood mingle before a nutty, zesty finish resonates. Taste a more intense take on an authentic Cameroon from AJ.
3. AJ Fernandez Last Call
AJ Fernandez Last Call evolves with chewy notes of red pepper, nuts, mesquite, and a hint of milk chocolate in a simple but noticeable smoke. Last Call earned a 93-point score by the critics in Cigar Aficionado. A deep-brown Cuban-seed wrapper grown in Ecuador conceals well-aged Nicaraguan binder and filler tobaccos in a series of traditional and more diminutive shapes for a great value.
4. AJ Fernandez Bellas Artes Maduro
A toothy Brazilian Maduro wrapper embraces a complex blend of long-fillers from San Andres and Nicaragua in AJ Fernandez Bellas Artes Maduro cigars. Sweet and succulent notes of hickory, espresso, dark cocoa, and black pepper provide a plethora of transitions in slightly chunky shapes. AJ showcases the smoky and earthy taste Brazilian wrappers are well known for imparting by blending them over excellent supporting tobaccos.
5. AJ Fernandez Last Call Maduro
AJ Fernandez Last Call Maduro is drawn from an oily Pennsylvania Broadleaf wrapper and Nicaraguan binder and filler tobaccos grown on select farms. Notes of molasses and black pepper reveal a touch of zest in a series of smaller, well-balanced formats. Pennsylvania wrappers aren’t as common as other Maduros, but this blend is a solid introduction to the leaf. Last Call Maduro teems with flavor that is original, earthy, and sweet. Clouds of its rich aroma swell into the air with ease thanks to the blend’s meticulous construction.
6. AJ Fernandez Enclave
A Cuban-seed Rosado wrapper shimmers with a reddish-brown hue over a complex blend of Cameroon and Nicaraguan long-fillers in a peppery and sweet profile. Tasting notes of baking spices, nutmeg, and fresh-ground coffee meld before a medium to full-bodied finish lingers. AJ Fernandez Enclave is an excellent blend to smoke in each size if you want to taste the difference a cigar’s length makes, because each shape is rolled in an identical 52 ring gauge. Smoke a Churchill, a Robusto, and a Toro to find your favorite length.
7. AJ Fernandez Enclave Broadleaf
AJ Fernandez Enclave Broadleaf is drafted from an extra-dark Connecticut Broadleaf wrapper and a hearty blend of premium Nicaraguan binder and filler tobaccos. Earthy and intense notes of dark chocolate, maple, leather, and wood leave a deep aftertaste on the palate. The room note is smoky, dense, and enticing. Enclave Broadleaf received a 93-point rating following its debut in Cigar Aficionado.
8. New World Connecticut
While milder cigars aren’t AJ’s specialty, he pulls off a mellow and easygoing profile with New World Connecticut. A golden-blond Connecticut Shade wrapper conceals an intricate blend of long-fillers from Brazil and Nicaragua tucked inside a San Andrés binder. Notes of cedar, white pepper, wheat, and baking spices meld in a collection of popular sizes. Fans of AJ’s cigars who crave a lighter blend to smoke earlier in the day appreciate the tasteful nuances in New World Connecticut.
