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| Casa Fernandez Aniversario Serie 2014 – The Ares |
Last year, Casa Fernandez unveiled a cigar to commemorate the company’s 35th anniversary called the Casa Fernandez Aniversario Boheme No. 35. The Aniversario Boheme 35 was the company’s first true limited edition. Once released, this cigar has received much praise and acclaim as one of Casa Fernandez’s best cigars. For 2014, Casa Fernandez decided to introduce another limited run Aniversario cigar. This one has a different size, and a different blend and is called the “Casa Fernandez Aniversario 2014 – The Ares”. The cigar was launched at the 2014 IPCPR Trade Show. I have recently had an opportunity to smoke this cigar. Without a doubt, this is one of the best cigars I smoked at the trade show, and easily continues the high standards set by the Aniversario Boheme 35.
Blend Profile
As mentioned, the blend itself for the Casa Fernandez Aniversario Serie 2014 differs from last year’s Boheme No. 35. The blend is positioned to be a little stronger and fuller than last year’s. In addition, like the Boheme No. 35 the Aniversario Serie 2014 is a Nicaraguan puro.
The cigar is made at the Casa Fernandez factory in Miami, Florida.
Wrapper: Aganorsa Corojo, Nicaragua
Binder: Aganorsa, Nicaragua
Filler: Aganorsa, Nicaragua
Vitolas Available
As mentioned the Casa Fernandez Aniversario Serie 2014 has one vitola known as “The Ares” meaasuring 6 1/2 x 52.
Like the Boheme No. 35, the Casa Fernandez Aniversario Serie 2014 Ares is a box-press vitola. There are ten cigars per box.
Appearance
The corojo wrapper of the Casa Fernandez Aniversario 2014 Ares has a combination of light caramel and rosado color to it. The wrapper itself has some oil on the surface. There are some visible veins while the wrapper seams can be seen under close examination. The cigar itself is a softer box-press. I found it well packed with no soft spots.
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| Casa Fernandez Aniversario Serie 2014 – The Ares (Without Sleeve) |
The Aniversario 2014 Ares has two bands. The primary band is similar to the band of the Aniversario Boheme No. 35. It contains a white background and silver font. Prominently on the center of the band is the Casa Fernandez Miami logo. This logo contains a series of concentric ovals. Inside the inner oval is the text “MIAMI”. Above the inner oval is the text “FABRICAS DE TOBACOS” while below the oval is “CASA FERNANDEZ”.
The secondary band is silver with white stripe at top. The text “CASA FERNANDEZ” is in silver font on the white stripe. The silver stripe has the text “Aniversario” in a classic white cursive font. Just below that text is the text “SERIE 2014” in a white printed font.
Below the secondary band is a parchment paper sleeve that goes all the way to the footer. On the sleeve is the Casa Fernandez Miami logo in wallpaper mode.
Preparation for the Cigar Experience
Prior to cutting the Aniversario 2014, I removed the parchment sleeve from the cigar. I then proceeded to place a straight cut into the cigar. The cold draw provided a nice variety of flavor – including earth, natural tobacco, cherry sweetness, and some floral spice. Overall I was quite pleased with this cigar. At this point I was ready to light up the Aniversario 2014 and see where the smoking journey would take me.
Flavor Profile
The first few puffs of the Casa Fernandez provided a mix of cherry, pepper, and earth. As the flavor profile evolved, I found the flavor profile expanded greatly. A sweetness emerged in the forefront that had a combination of both caramel and cherry flavors. This was also joined by notes of baker’s spice and earth. I found the baker’s spice to be present on the draw, while pepper was more prominent on the retro-hale and finish. There were also some secondary earth notes that had a slight bready component to them.
Throughout the first third, there was a nice amount of sweetness. The sweetness took on sometimes more of a cherry taste and at other times more of a caramel taste. By the second third, the cherry / caramel sweetness combination was still present, but started to decrease. Meanwhile the baker’s spice was still present in the forefront. As the sweetness diminished, I found the earth and bread notes increased.
In the last third, spice notes joined the cherry / caramel sweetness combination as a primary note. The pepper spice was now much more prominent in the forefront and I found less of the baker’s spice present. This is the way the flavor profile held until the end. The resulting nub was cool in temperature, but slightly soft to the touch.
Burn and Draw
The Casa Fernandez Aniversario Serie 2014 Ares has some outstanding construction and scores extremely well when it comes to burn and draw. I found this cigar to score very well when it came to burn. The burn line remained sharp from start to finish. The resulting ash was not overly tight, but still maintained enough firmness where flaking or unexpected ash falling was not an issue. The ash itself was a light silvery gray with some darker speckling in there. The burn rate and burn temperature were ideal.
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| Burn of the Casa Fernandez Aniversario Serie 2014 – The Ares |
The draw scored very nicely as well. It wasn’t a loose draw, but it wasn’t overly tight either. This made the Aniversario Serie 2014 Ares an enjoyable smoke from start to finish.
Strength and Body
In terms of strength and body, I did notice a slight increase in both attributes from the Aniversario Boheme No. 35, but not a significant increase. From a strength perspective, I found the Aniversario Serie 2014 Ares to be medium to full in strength. The Aniversario 2014 Ares is not a nicotine bomb, so you can easily enjoy the flavor. I found the flavors to have a little more depth with the 2014 as well. I assessed the Aniversario 2014 Ares to be a full-bodied smoke. In terms of strength versus body, I gave a slight edge to the body for this cigar.
Final Thoughts
This cigar is the total package from start to finish. It delivers great flavor, has plenty of complexity, and has outstanding construction. I did find the Casa Fernandez Aniversario 2014 Ares to have a lot of subtle differences. The flavors were slightly different, I found a touch more complexity, and as I mentioned the strength and body are slightly amp’d up. When you sum all of these deltas, you get a delta that is large enough to make the Aniversario 2014 Ares a very different experience than the Aniversario Boheme No. 35. Throughout 2014, I found the Aniversario Boheme No. 35 a cigar that is getting better and better. Coming out of the gate the Aniversario 2014 Ares is already giving it a run for the money. This cigar is a home run. It is a cigar I’d probably steer more toward an experienced enthusiast. As for myself, this is one of the best cigars I had out of the IPCPR Trade Show. It’s not only one I’d smoke again, but I’d fight Chuck Norris for a box.
Summary
Burn: Excellent
Draw: Excellent
Complexity: High
Strength: Medium to Full
Body: Full
Finish: Good
Assessment: 4.5 – Fight Chuck Norris for Them
Score: 94
References
News: Casa Fernandez Aniversario Serie 2014 – The Ares
Price: $12.50
Source: Sample Provided by Manufacturer (*)
Stogie Geeks Podcast: n/a
Stogie Feed: n/a
* Cigars for this assessment was provided by Casa Fernandez. The samples were received in order to provide feedback. Cigar Coop is appreciative for the samples, but in no way does this influence this write-up.
