Southern Draw Fraternal Order Blue Corona

Over the years, Southern Draw has built quite an impressive portfolio of brands and brand extensions for its cigars. While many of these are well-known, the one brand that has floated under the radar has been Fraternal Order. Fraternal Order is a line that has been primarily (but not always exclusively) sold through Cigars International. It was originally introduced in two blends, but in 2020 a third blend was added known as Fraternal Blue. Fast forward another year and a 6 x 42 Corona-sized line extension was introduced to the Fraternal Blue line. Today we take a closer look at the Fraternal Order Blue Corona.

Fraternal Order as a brand can actually be traced back to 2019. At the time there were two blends introduced: Fraternal Order Black, a San Andres Maduro offering; and Fraternal Order White, a Barber Pole offering. Fraternal Order Blue adds a Nicaraguan Corojo-wrapped offering into the equation. Some of the Fraternal Order Blues are now being offered nationally. To our knowledge, the Fraternal Order Blue Corona remains an exclusive offering to Cigars International.

Without further ado, let’s break down the Southern Draw Fraternal Order Blue Corona and see what this cigar brings to the table.

SPECIFICATIONS

Blend and Origin

The blend to the Fraternal Order Blue is a Nicaraguan-forward blend with Nicaraguan tobaccos used for the wrapper, binder, and filler. This is highlighted by the Nicaraguan Corojo wrapper used. The fillers also incorporate Brazilian and Honduran tobacco. Production is handled by Southern Draw’s long-time manufacturing partner, AJ Fernandez.

Wrapper: Nicaragua Corojo
Binder: Nicaragua
Filler: Brazil, Nicaragua & Honduras
Country of Origin: Nicaragua
Factory: Tabacalera AJ Fernandez Cigars de Nicaragua S.A.

Vitolas Offered

The Southern Draw Fraternal Blue is offered in two sizes. Each is presented in ten-count bundles. The Corona size is box-pressed.

Corona: 6 x 42
Toro: 6 × 52

Appearance

The Nicaraguan Corojo wrapper of the Southern Draw Fraternal Order Blue Corona was medium brown with a strong cinnamon-colored tint. There were very light amounts of oil on the wrapper. The wrapper had some thin visible seams and was void of any visible veins. The box press was one that was on the sharper side – meaning this had more of a square/rectangular look as opposed to a Cuban Soft Press which has more of a rounded look on the corners.

There are two bands on the Southern Fraternal Order Blue. The primary band has a blue background. On the band is the text “SOUTHERN DRAW” in silver. Below that text is the text “SOLI DEO GLORIA” (which is Latin for Glory to God alone) in a thin white font font. Sitting under the “SOLI DEO GLORIA” is the text “EXCLUSIVE” – also in thin white font. The remainder of the band has white adornment and some red stars. On the left side of the band is the text “AGED” while on the right side of the band is the text “HAND MADE” – both in white font. The band is finished with white trim around the edges.

There is also a secondary band located just below the primary band that also has a blue background with white trim. This features the text “FRATERNAL ORDER BLUE” in thin white font. There are also white adornments surrounding the text.

PERFORMANCE

Pre-Light Draw

Prior to lighting up the Southern Draw Fraternal Order Blue Corona, a straight cut was used to remove the cap. Once the cap was removed, it was time for the pre-light draw ritual. The cold draw delivered a mix of baker’s spice, mixed fruit, and natural tobacco. Overall the pre-light draw experience was satisfactory. At this point it was time to toast up the footer of the Southern Draw Fraternal Order Blue Corona and see what the smoking phase would have in store.

Tasting Notes

The Southern Draw Fraternal Order Blue Corona started out with a mix of cedar, earth, natural tobacco, and fruit notes. The retro-hale started out with some notes of black pepper. These notes soon emerged on the tongue. As the cigar moved through the first third, the earth notes moved into the forefront. Meanwhile the cedar, natural tobacco, fruit, and pepper notes settled in the background. Toward the end of the first third, the cedar notes joined the earth in the forefront.

Going into the second third of the Fraternal Order Blue Corona, the earth and cedar remained in the forefront. In the background, the natural tobacco and fruit notes diminished. By the midway point the cedar notes displaced the earth notes as the sole primary note.

The final third saw the cedar notes remain in the forefront. There was now an increase in the pepper notes which closed in on the forefront. The cedar-pepper combination added some spice, but overwhelmed the earth, natural tobacco and fruit notes. This is the way the Fraternal Order Blue Corona came to a close. The resulting nub was soft to the touch and cool in temperature.

Burn

While the Southern Draw Fraternal Order Blue Corona had a straight burn path and relatively straight burn line, smoking it did require frequent touch-ups along the way. The resulting ash was light gray in color and was skewed toward the firmer side. As for the burn rate and burn temperature, both maintained ideal levels.

Burn of the Southern Draw Fraternal Order Blue Corona

Draw

The draw of the Southern Draw Fraternal Order Blue Corona was on the open side, but it wasn’t what I considered to be a loose draw. There was a decent amount of smoke production from this 42 ring gauge cigar and I’ll infer the open draw contributed to this.

Strength and Body

In terms of strength and body, the Southern Draw Fraternal Order Blue Corona started out medium. There was a nominal increase in the strength, and a more significant increase in the body as this cigar progressed. By the last third, the strength remained in the medium range, but the body had progressed to medium to full.

OVERALL ASSESSMENT

Final Thoughts

For over seven years we have been covering Southern Draw, this brand has had quite an impressive record in terms or ratings and end of year rankings. However, the past three cigars I’ve reviewed (Manzanita Toro, Firethorn Augusta, Fraternal Order Blue Corona) just have not been up to the level I have come to expect from Southern Draw. The Fraternal Order Blue Corona had its moments early on, but as the cigar progressed the flavors became unbalanced, and toward the end they delivered some harshness. I’m not ready to pass completely on this cigar and I’m inclined to see what this blend could do in the rounded Toro format. I’m still recommending that if you can, try a sample to see if this cigar is in your wheelhouse.

Summary

Key Flavors: Cedar, Earth, Natural Tobacco, Fruit, Pepper
Burn: Very Good
Draw: Very Good
Complexity: Medium Minus
Strength: Medium
Body: Medium (1st Half), Medium to Full (Final Third)
Finish: Good