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| Casa Fernandez Aniversario Series Boheme No. 35 (pre-release) |
Just prior to the IPCPR Trade Show, Casa Fernandez announced they would be making a limited edition cigar to commemorate the 35th anniversary of Tabacalera Tropical (the brand’s parent company). The cigar would also mark the brand’s first foray into a true limited edition release. This cigar is being dubbed the Casa Fernandez Aniversario Boheme No. 35 and is a Nicaraguan puro. At press time, the Aniversario has still yet to be released. Recently, I have had an opportunity to smoke some pre-release samples of this blend. Overall, not only did I find this an excellent cigar, but one worthy of being a brand’s anniversary cigar.
The 35th Anniversary of Tabacalera Tropical is traced back to the founding of the company by the late Pedro Martin (the father of Maria Martin, formerly known for her Martin Family of Cigars company). Tabacalera Tropical was actually purchased by Eduardo Fernandez back in 2002. The company owns the famed Agarnorsa farms in Nicaragua. While they produce cigars for themselves and others at factories in Nicaragua and Honduras, the Aniversario cigar is coming out the company’s Miami, Florida-based factory.
Without further ado, let’s take a closer look a the Casa Fernandez Aniversario Series Boheme No. 35 and see what this cigar brings to the table. Because pre-release cigars were smoked for this write-up, we will default to our pre-review format. This will allow us to share thoughts and perspectives on this cigar. Once the Aniversario is released, it will be revisited again and an assessment rating and score will then be assigned.
Blend Profile
As mentioned above, the Casa Fernandez Aniversario Series Boheme No. 35 is a Nicaraguan puro. The blend uses tobacco from the company’s Aganorsa farms.
Wrapper: Nicaraguan Cuban-seed Corojo ’99
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan
Vitolas Available
The Casa Fernandez Aniversario Series Boheme No. 35 is being made in a single size – a 6 x 54 box-pressed toro. The cigars are being packaged 10 per box. At total of 2,000 boxes are being produced. Each box will be individually numbered and signed by Fernandez and company president Paul Palmer.
Appearance
The Nicaragua Corojo ’99 wrapper of the Casa Fernandez Aniversario has a caramel color to it. The wrapper itself has some oil on the surface. There are some visible veins and visible wrapper seams. As mentioned, the cigar is a box-press vitola. The box-press is well-packed with no soft spots on it.
The pre-release sample received was unbanded.
Preparation for the Cigar Experience
Prior to my smoking experience of the Casa Fernandez Aniversario, I started with a straight cut to remove the cap of the cigar. After clipping the cap, I moved on to the pre-light draw. The cold draw yielded a nice combination of wood, cocoa, natural tobacco, and mild cedar spice. Overall, the pre-light draw to the Casa Fernandez was impressive. At this point, I was now ready to light up the Aniversario and see what the overall smoking experience would deliver.
Flavor Profile
After lighting up the Casa Fernandez Aniversario, I detected some notes of earth and pepper spice right out of the gate. This was soon joined by notes of cocoa and dried fruit. In the early stages, the earth flavors became primary while the cocoa, dried fruit, and pepper notes became secondary. The retro-hale established itself rather quickly in the early stages – delivering a nice herbal spice which would be a constant throughout the smoking experience.
Throughout the first half, the earth notes continued to be the primary flavor. The dried fruit and pepper remained secondary. The cocoa notes tended to move between being a background flavor and being a primary flavor. I liked how the cocoa notes gave the earth flavors an extra dimension in the forefront.
By the start of the second half, the dried fruit notes diminished. I found it became more of a distant tertiary note. The cocoa notes were probably at their peak at midpoint – continuing to complement the earth notes nicely. The spice on the tongue now took on more of the herbal spice qualities that I was getting on the retro-hale.
The last third saw the cocoa notes diminish, while the dried fruit notes pretty much dissipated. The Aniversario took on more of an earthy and spicy profile. The herbal spice still was present on the tongue and on the retro-hale. The Aniversario never got overly spicy or harsh. The cigar closed very nicely – finishing with a nub cool in temperature and firm to the touch.
Burn and Draw
The Casa Fernandez Aniversario is a well-constructed box-press cigar. This outstanding construction is reflected in the burn and draw very nicely. The burn to the Aniversario was truly what I term “no maintenance”. It performed flawlessly from start to finish. The burn line remained straight from start to finish – requiring minimal touch-ups along the way. The resulting ash had a mostly white color to it. The ash was on the firm side and did not flake or flower along the way. The burn rate and burn temperature were ideal.
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| Burn of the Casa Fernandez Aniversario Series |
The draw also scored very well. This box-press toro was a pretty easy cigar to puff on. I categorize the Aniversario’s draw as not too tight, yet not too loose.
Strength and Body
From a strength perspective, I found the Casa Fernandez Aniversario to deliver just enough kick without overwhelming you. I assessed this cigar as having enough pop to qualify it as a medium to full strength cigar. As for the flavors, there was some nice depth to them. I also assessed the Aniversario as being medium to full-bodied. I liked how these flavors had a little less weight to them and were not full-bodied as I think it worked nicely for this blend.
Overall when it came to looking at strength versus body, I found the Aniversario balanced both of these attributes perfectly – with neither attribute overshadowing the other.
Final Thoughts
2013 is shaping up to be a banner year for Casa Fernandez. Between the Casa Fernandez Miami Reserva Maduro and now the Casa Fernandez Aniversario, this delivers a great 1-2 punch for releases by this particular brand. When looking at the Aniversario, there is no doubt that Casa Fernandez is bringing a winner to the retailers. The fact that only 20,000 cigars are being made is going to make this cigar even more special. While it is a classic Nicaraguan puro in a lot of ways, it also delivers so much more in terms of flavor nuances as you smoke it. This is easily a cigar I’d recommend to an experienced cigar enthusiast – especially those who appreciate Nicaraguan puros. I’d also encourage a newer cigar enthusiast who is looking for a special cigar and wants to graduate to something fuller to try this. As for myself, this is a cigar I would smoke again – and if the final release smokes as good as these pre-releases, it certainly is box worthy.
Summary
Burn: Excellent
Draw: Excellent
Complexity: High
Strength: Medium to Full
Body: Medium to Full
Finish: Excellent
Source: The cigars for this assessment was provided by an authorized representative of Casa Fernandez Cigars. The samples received were in order to provide feedback. Cigar Coop is appreciative for the samples, but in no way does this influence this write-up.
