AJ Fernandez New World Dorado Robusto

Back in 2014, AJ Fernandez Cigar Company launched what would become the company’s most successful brand, New World. The original intent of the brand was to pay homage to the days of exploration, in particular when the Europeans observed natives smoking tobacco. New World introduced a box-pressed Oscuro-wrapped offering at a very attractive $6.00 price point. Since then, the brand has expanded to five different lines. In 2022, AJ Fernandez unveiled the fifth blend in the line, the New World Dorado. Today, we take a closer look at the New World Dorado in the Robusto format.

Dorado means “gold” in Spanish, and this cigar is named Dorado because most of the tobacco comes from AJ Fernandez’s Dorado farm in Estelí, Nicaragua. He called this farm Dorado because of the soil’s golden tint and the tobacco leaves’ slightly golden hue. This differs from many of the soils in Estelí, which are volcanic and have a dark, more black-looking color. The Dorado farm is also one of Fernandez’s newer farms.

As mentioned, there are five lines under the New World brand in the AJ Fernandez portfolio:

New World Oscuro – a box-pressed Nicaraguan puro
New World Connecticut – a U.S. Connecticut Shade offering
New World Puro Especial – a Nicaraguan puro featuring a Criollo ’98 wrapper
New World Cameroon – featuring a Cameroon wrapper over all-Nicaraguan tobaccos
New World Dorado – a Nicaraguan puro where the wrapper, binder, and filler all include tobacco from the Dorado farm

Let’s break down the AJ Fernandez New World Dorado Robusto without further ado and see what this cigar brings to the table.

SPECIFICATIONS

Blend and Origin

The tobaccos from Dorado farm are used for the wrapper, binder, and a portion of the filler. Specifically, the wrapper is a Habano Sun Grown leaf. Production comes from AJ Fernandez’s factory in Ocotal, Nicaragua.

Wrapper: Nicaraguan Habano Sun Grown (Dorado Farm)
Binder: Nicaraguan (Dorado Farm)
Filler: Nicaraguan (includes Dorado Farm tobacco)
Country of Origin: Nicaragua
Factory: San Lotano

Vitolas Offered

The New World Dorado was initially released in four sizes. This past summer, the Corona size was added, bringing the total number of vitolas to five. Each is presented in ten-count boxes.

Corona: 5 5/8 x 46
Robusto: 5 1/2 x 52
Toro: 6 x 54
Figurado: 6 x 56
Gordito 5 1/2 x 60

Appearance

The New World Dorado Robusto’s Nicaraguan Habano wrapper had a dark caramel color. There were some oils on the surface of the wrapper. The surface of the wrapper also had some visible veins and wrapper seams. The cigar itself had a Cuban-press style, a “softer” box-press that doesn’t have sharp corners on the box press.

PERFORMANCE

Pre-Light Draw

A straight cut was used to remove the cap of the New World Dorado Robusto. Once the cap was removed, it was time to commence with the pre-light draw ritual. Quite a bit was going on with this pre-light draw as I was treated to notes of leather, earth, natural tobacco sweetness, and a slight floral note. While I’m not the biggest fan of floral notes on a cigar, I would still deem this pre-light draw experience satisfactory. At this time, it was time to remove the ribbon of the New World Dorado Rosado, toast up the footer, and move on to the smoking phase.

Tasting Notes

The New World Dorado Robusto opened with notes of earth, baker’s spice, and natural tobacco. The earth notes moved to the forefront early on. A berry note then surfaced and joined the earth notes in the forefront. Meanwhile, the baker’s spice and natural tobacco settled in the background. There was a layer of black pepper on the retro-hale. Later in the first third, the black pepper joined the background notes.

During the second third of the New World Dorado Robusto, the natural tobacco notes moved into the forefront, joining the earth notes. Concurrently, the berry notes joined the baker’s spice and pepper in the background. By midway, the earth notes took over as the sole primary note. The natural tobacco, berry, baker’s sauce, and pepper rounded things out.

By the final third, the earth notes remained primary. The pepper, natural tobacco, berry, and baker’s spice remained in the background. There was more in the way of pepper here, but it was still a secondary note. This is the way the New World Dorado Robusto came to a close. The resulting nub was soft to the touch and cool in temperature.

Burn

The New World Dorado Robusto required touch-ups to keep the burn on a straight path. The touch-ups did the trick, but many were needed. There was some ongoing jaggedness on the burn line. The resulting ash wasn’t overly firm. Some light flowering occurred from time to time. This was an ash that had a salt-and-pepper complexion to it. Meanwhile, the burn rate and burn temperature both maintained ideal levels.

Burn of the A.J. Fernandez New World Dorado Robusto

Draw

The draw to the AJ Fernandez New World Dorado Robusto was open but not loose. I usually prefer a little more in the way of my resistance on my draw. Ultimately, this didn’t result in any adverse experiences during the smoking experience.

Strength and Body

The AJ Fernandez New World Dorado Robusto opened up as a medium-strength, medium-bodied cigar. There was a slight increase in both attributes along the way, but both characteristics stayed in the medium range. In the end, In terms of strength versus body, the second half saw the body take a slight edge over the strength.

BANDING AND PACKAGING NOTES

I have always liked the portrait of the European explorers landing in the New World on the bands of the AJ Fernandez New World series. Given Dorado means gold, it makes sense for the color gold to be used in the color scheme of the band. Instead of making a gold foil band, the gold is used for the band’s background – creating a nice effect on the band.

OVERALL ASSESSMENT

Final Thoughts

Overall, I thought the New World Dorado Robusto delivered a solid smoking experience. In terms of flavor, the cigar excels during the first third. Once this cigar moves into the second half, the flavors become ordinary. On one hand, the flavors are solid and avoid getting harsh. On the other hand, it’s fair to say the cigar didn’t really have a “wow” factor like I was expecting. Still, this cigar scores a very respectable 88 points. It’s enough for me to recommend this cigar to any cigar enthusiast – novice or experienced. It’s also a cigar that I would go and purchase and smoke again.

Summary

Key Flavors: Earth, Natural Tobacco, Berry, Baker’s Spice, Pepper
Burn: Very Good
Draw: Excellent
Complexity: Medium
Strength: Medium
Body:: Medium
Finish: Very Good