AJ Fernandez New World Cameroon Selection Toro

Late in 2018, AJ Fernandez Cigars released its fourth blend under its New World line, the New World Cameroon Selection. As the name indicates, it features a Cameroon wrapper and is the first Cameroon wrapper to be released in the AJ Fernandez Cigars portfolio. The first New World was introduced in 2014 in the form of a value priced Nicaruguan puro. This was followed by the New World Connecticut (a U.S. Connecticut Shade wrapper offering) later in 2014, and the New World Puro Especial (another Nicaraguan puro featuring a Criollo ’98 wrapper that was a slightly more premium offering) in 2017. Like the original New World release, the New World Cameroon Selection is a value-priced cigar positioned in the $5.00 to $7.00 range. Today we focus on the New World Cameroon Selection in the Toro size.

When the New World was announced, AJ Fernandez Cigars explained the significance of the name New World and how it ties in with cigars:

In November 1492, Jerez and Luis de Torres first observed natives smoking as they were searching for the Emperor of China. Not knowing they landed in what is now known as Cuba, they came across natives that made rolls of palm and mais leaves in the manner of a musket formed of paper with tobacco on the inside. One would light one side and drink the smoke out of the other.

Without further ado, let’s break down the New World Cameroon Selection Toro and see what this cigar brings to the table:

SPECIFICATIONS

Blend and Origin

In addition to the Cameroon wrapper, the remainder of the blend features all-Nicaraguan tobaccos that include tobaccos sourced from AJ Fernandez’s Nicaraguan farms.

Wrapper: Cameroon
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan
Country of Origin: Nicaragua
Factory: Tabacalera Fernandez

Vitolas Offered

The AJ Fernandez New World Cameroon Selection comes in seven box-pressed sizes. Each is packaged in 20-count boxes.

Petit Lancero: 5 x 38
Short Robusto: 4 x 48
Robusto: 5 1/2 x 54
Corona: 6 x 46
Toro: 6 x 50
Torpedo: 6 1/2 x 52
Churchill: 7 x 48

Appearance

The Cameroon wrapper of the AJ Fernandez New World Cameroon Selection Toro had a medium brown color, but also was a darker shade compared to many Cameroon wrappers. On the surface, there was a slight amount of mottling as well as a thin sheen of oil. This was a relatively smooth Cameroon wrapper. There were very few visible veins and the darker shade did a good job at hiding the wrapper seams. As for the box press, it had a near square shape.

The band to the AJ Fernandez New World Cameroon Selection has a parchment-colored background with green trim across the top and bottom. There is a portrait style print representing some Columbus-era New World explorers. Above the portrait is the text “NEW WORLD” in red font arranged in a slight arc. Below that text is the text “by A.J. Fernandez” in thin green cursive font. To the left of the portrait is the text “PREMIUM AGED CIGAR ” in green font and “CAMEROON SELECTION” in red font – arranged in landscape mode. There are gold medallions across the lower part of the portrait anfd some green and gold adornments on the far left and right.

Image Credit: AJ Fernandez Cigars

There is a secondary band just below the primary band. It is green with thick gold trim. On the green section is the text “CAMEROON SELECTION” in red font.

PERFORMANCE

Pre-Light Draw

The cigar experience of the AJ Fernandez New World Cameroon Selection Toro commenced with a straight cut. Once the cap was removed, it was on to the pre-light draw. The dry draw delivered a mix of wood and natural tobacco sweetness. While it was a simple flavor profile, I found the flavors of the dry draw to be satisfactory. At this point, it was time to light up the New World Cameroon Selection and move on to the smoking phase.

Tasting Notes

The New World Cameroon Selection Toro started off with notes of sweet natural tobacco, wood, and red pepper. Early on the natural tobacco notes moved into the forefront. There was a caramel component to the natural tobacco that gave it some enhanced sweetness. Meanwhile, the wood and red pepper notes settled in the background. The pepper notes definitely coated the back of the throat. On the retro-hale, there was some additional pepper and natural tobacco sweetness present.

During the first third, the caramel component was prominent on the flavor profile. By the second third, the richness of the natural tobacco emerged. The caramel component now became more of a secondary note. As the New World Cameroon Selection Toro reached the midway point, there was a slight increase in pepper.

The last third of the New World Cameroon Selection Toro saw the natural tobacco remain the primary note. There was now more in the way of pepper notes. Meanwhile, there still were notes of wood and caramel in the more distant background. This is the way the AJ Fernandez New World Cameroon Selection Toro came to a close. The resulting nub was soft to the touch and cool in temperature.

Burn

From a construction standpoint, the New World Cameroon Selection Toro was flawless – and this was reflected on the burn and draw. The burn maintained a straight burn path and relatively straight burn line from start to finish. The resulting ash was tight with a near white color to it. Both the burn rate and burn temperature maintained ideal levels from start to finish.

Burn of the AJ Fernandez New World Cameroon Selection Toro

Draw

The New World Cameroon Toro’s excellent construction was also reflected on how the draw performed. This was a cigar that struck a nice equilibrium between openness and resistance. As a result, this was a low maintenance cigar to puff on and derive flavor from.

Strength and Body

The New World Cameroon Toro is a cigar that is on the lower end of medium strength. For the most part, I found the strength level to remain relatively constant. As for the body, the New World Cameroon Toro started more dead-center medium. There was a gradual increase in intensity and by the second half, the New World Cameroon Toro was in medium to full territory. Midway through the second half, the increase in body leveled off.

As for the strength versus body, the body maintained the edge from start to finish

OVERALL ASSESSMENT

Final Thoughts

One thing I will say right out of the gate. If you are looking for an aber-complex cigar with lots of flavor nuances and transitions, the AJ Fernandez New World Cameroon is not going to be the cigar for you. But if you are looking for a well-constructed cigar that scores nicely in the flavor department then this is the cigar for you. This blend also seemed to sync up nicely with the Toro sized vitola. Finally, one cannot ignore this cigar’s $6.00 price point makes it a great value. This is a cigar that can be smoked by a novice or experienced cigar enthusiast any time of the day. As for myself, this is a cigar I would smoke again – and take advantage of the price point and buy multiples for my humidor.

Summary

Key Flavors: Natural Tobacco, Caramel, Wood, Red Pepper
Burn: Excellent
Draw: Excellent
Complexity: Low to Medium
Strength: Medium
Body: Medium (1st Half), Medium to Full (2nd Half)
Finish: Very Good