Aganorsa Leaf Guardian of the Farm Cerberus Gran Robusto

Aganorsa Leaf has been well-known as one of the premier growers of tobacco in not only Nicaragua but worldwide. The company has been best known for its Corojo, Criollo, and Habano tobaccos and has developed many blends using these tobaccos for itself as well as for many other cigar companies. While many of these blends utilize these staple tobaccos, the company has also focused on innovation. 2019 saw Aganorsa Leaf introduce its Shade-Grown Corojo Maduro leaf. In 2021, Aganorsa Leaf began working with a variant of Corojo tobacco known as Corojo 2012. This started to appear in blends made for Illusione and HVC. In 2022, Aganorsa Leaf would introduce its own release using the Corojo 2012 leaf – the Aganorsa Leaf Guardian of the Farm Cerberus. This release would mark the first time the Corojo 2012 leaf would be used as a wrapper. Today, we take a closer look at this blend, the Aganorsa Leaf Guardian of the Farm Cerberus in the Gran Robusto Size

Guardian of the Farm is a brand in the Aganorsa Leaf portfolio that pays homage to the guard dogs at the Aganorsa Farms. The original Guardian of the Farm release was a Nicaraguan puro developed in conjunction with Warped cigars. The second Guardian of the Farm was a release done solely by Aganorsa Leaf and would leverage the Shade Grown Corojo Maduro wrapper. The name for Cerberus comes from Greek mythology and refers to a mythical three-headed hound that stood watch at the gates of Hades – thus fitting in with the theme of dogs used in the Guardian of the Farm line.

As mentioned, the Corojo 2012 leaf had been seen on two prominent projects produced at the Aganorsa Leaf factory. The HVC 10th Anniversary cigar would incorporate Corojo 2012 into the filler. The PIV Robusto, a cigar developed for Jeremy Piven in conjunction with Illusione, would use Corojo 2012 as a binder. The next logical step was taken to use Corojo 2012 as a wrapper, and as mentioned this would be a project that Aganorsa would release for its own brands under Guardian of the Farm.

Without further ado, let’s break down the Aganorsa Leaf Guardian of the Farm Gran Robusto and see what this cigar brings to the table.

SPECIFICATIONS

Blend and Origin

In addition to the Corojo 2012 wrapper, the remainder of the blend consists of all-Nicaraguan tobaccos. The filler also includes a single leaf of Medio Tiempo. Medio Tiempo is one of the highest priming leaves that only grows on a small percentage of tobacco plants. Since Medio Tiempo is a high-priming leaf, it is a leaf that gets the most sunlight and nutrients, so it tends to make a blend bolder.

All of the tobaccos are sourced from the Aganorsa farms in Nicaragua. Production comes from Aganorsa’s factory in Estelí, Nicaragua.

Wrapper: Aganorsa Corojo 2012, Nicaragua
Binder: Aganorsa, Nicaragua
Fille: Aganorsa, Nicaragua
Country of Origin: Nicaragua
Factory: Factory: Agricola Ganadera Norteña S.A.

Vitolas Offered

The Aganorsa Leaf Guardian of the Farm Cerberus is offered in three regular production sizes. Each is presented in 15-count boxes.

Gran Robusto: 5 x 54
Toro: 6 1/4 x 52
Lonsdale: 6 x 44

In addition, there was a special 6 x 52 Toro-sized vitola that was made available to the Cigar.com Elite Advantage Loyalty Program prior to the launch of the regular production line. A total of 200 ten-count boxes was made available in this size.

Appearance

The Corojo 2012 wrapper of the Aganorsa Leaf Guardian of the Farm Cerberus Gran Robusto had a pristine look to it. This was a wrapper that was medium brown in color. The wrapper had a light coat of oil on it. There were a few visible veins as well as some thin visible wrapper seams.

PERFORMANCE

Pre-Light Draw

A straight cut was used to remove the cap of the Aganorsa Leaf Guardian of the Farm Cerberus Gran Robusto. After removing the cap, it was time to commence with the pre-light draw ritual. The cold draw had a combination of musty and cedar notes. Overall this wasn’t the most exciting of pre-light draws, but since the pre-light draw is not factored into the numeric score or value rating, there was no loss of points here. At this point, it was time to toast up the Aganorsa Leaf Guardian of the Farm Cerberus Gran Robusto and proceed to the smoking stage.

Tasting Notes

The Aganorsa Leaf Guardian of the Farm Cerberus Gran Robusto opened up with notes of classic wood, earth, raisin, black pepper, and cream. Early on the wood, raisin, and earth notes moved into the forefront. Normally when I taste raisin, I consider it a sign the cigar is not aged well, but this was not the case with the Cerberus Gran Robusto The cream and pepper settled into the background. As the cigar progressed through the first third, the wood notes receded into the background leaving the earth and raisin in the forefront. Meanwhile, the retro-hale produced an additional layer of black pepper.

During the second third of the Aganorsa Leaf Guardian of the Farm Cerberus Gran Robusto, there was a slow and gradual increase in the pepper. Just past the midway point, the raisin notes diminished but remained in the forefront with the earth notes. The wood and pepper remained background notes. Toward the end of the second third, the creaminess that was present dissipated.

The last third saw the earth notes remain in the forefront. The raisin notes receded into the background with the pepper and wood. By this point, the pepper was the most prominent of the secondary notes but was not overpowering. This is the way the Aganorsa Leaf Guardian of the Farm Cerberus Gran Robusto came to a close. The resulting nub was firm to the touch and cool in temperature.

Burn

It seemed like that on each of the samples of the Aganorsa Leaf Guardian of the Farm Cerberus Gran Robusto, the burn tended to get uneven and meander during the second third of the cigar. This required frequent touch-ups during this stage of the smoking experience. The resulting ash was skewed toward the firmer side. This was an ash that had a salt and pepper color to it. The burn rate and burn temperature both maintained ideal levels.

Burn of the Aganorsa Leaf Guardian of the Farm Cerberus Gran Robusto

Draw

The draw to the Aganorsa Leaf Guardian of the Farm Cerberus Gran Robusto performed excellently. This was a cigar that had a touch of resistance – which is something I have said many times is a preference of mine. This also was a low-maintenance cigar to derive flavor from.

Strength and Body

The Aganorsa Leaf Guardian of the Farm Cerberus Gran Robusto started out with medium strength and medium body. There was a slow and gradual increase in the intensity levels of both attributes along the way. By the last third, both attributes crossed the threshold into medium to full territory.

In terms of strength versus body, both attributes balanced each other nicely with neither attribute overpowering the other.

BANDING AND PACKAGING NOTES

While normally I am not a fan of large bands, I do like the band design of the Guardian of the Farm Cerberus featuring the three-headed dog. My one comment is that Aganorsa Leaf has been working hard to make its branding more standardized among the line, so I’m a bit puzzled why the Cerberus bands are different than the other two lines under Guardian of the Farm.

OVERALL ASSESSMENT

Final Thoughts

On one hand, I am quite excited to see Aganorsa Leaf come out with a blend utilizing a Corojo 2012 wrapper. In the case of the Aganorsa Leaf Guardian of the Farm Cerberus Gran Robusto, the cigar fell short of some of my expectations. For the most part, I found the cigar lacked a “wow” factor – and that was something I was hoping for with the Corojo 2012 wrapper. We are certainly in the early stages of the use of this tobacco, so I’m confident down the road we will see something that will be more interesting. For now, I’d recommend trying a sample and seeing what you think.

Summary

Key Flavors: Earth, Wood, Raisin, Cream, Pepper
Burn: Very Good
Draw: Excellent
Complexity: Medium (1st 2/3), Medium to Full (Remainder)
Strength: Medium (1st 2/3), Medium to Full (Remainder)
Body: Medium
Finish: Very Good

Rating

Value: Try a Sample
Score: 87

The Smoking Syndicate Review

Back in June 2022, Ben Lee of The Smoking Syndicate and Cigar Coop assessed the Aganorsa Leaf Guardian of the Farm in the Lonsdale size and gave it a 84.

Note: Due to age restrictions, you will need to click on Watch on YouTube to watch this video.