2023 Cigar of the Year Countdown (Coop’s List) #12: Aging Room Quattro Nicaragua Sonata Vibrato

#12 2023 Cigar of the Year: Aging Room Quattro Nicaragua Sonata Vibrato

SPECIFICATIONS

Wrapper: Nicaraguan
Binder: Nicaraguan
Filler: Nicaraguan
Country of Origin: Nicaragua
Factory: Tabacalera AJ Fernandez Cigars de Nicaragua S.A.
Vibrato: 54 x 6
Price: $13.24

Sponsor: Yes
Samples Provided for Initial Review: Yes
Review: Aging Room Quattro Nicaragua Sonata Vibrato(10/25/23)
Appearances on Countdown (By Year/Company): 8 (2010, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2017, 2019, 2023)

The Details

The #12 2023 Cigar of the Year is the Aging Room Quattro Nicaragua Sonata Vibrato.

While it’s distributed by Altadis U.S.A., Aging Room is a brand owned by Altadis’ Director of Product Capability, Rafael Nodal. Aging Room, and particularly the original Aging Room Quattro line, has seen tremendous success. In 2019, the Aging Room Quattro Nicaragua garnered critical acclaim, including a Top 20 Cigar on Cigar Coop and a Cigar of the Year from Cigar Aficionado. This past year, Nodal introduced a new line, an offshoot of the Quattro Nicaragua line known as the Aging Room Quattro Nicaragua Sonata. Like many Aging Room Cigars, the Aging Room Quattro Nicaragua Sonata is inspired by Nodal’s love of music. A Sonata is a classic music composition for an instrumental soloist, often accompanied by piano. After the success of the original Aging Room Nicaragua Quattro, Nodal decided he wanted to compose his own interpretation of a sonata, but in the form of a cigar.

Nodal explains:

The Sonata is built “not with notes or to be played on the piano, but with tobacco leaves to be enjoyed by adult consumers looking for something unique. The Aging Room (Quattro) Nicaragua Sonata is composed of leaves grown in the valleys and mountains of Nicaragua and nurtured by the dedicated people of Nicaragua.”

To produce the Aging Room Quattro Nicaragua Sonata, Nodal once again teamed up with AJ Fernandez, with whom he has worked on several blends for both Tabaalera USA and Aging Room, including the Aging Room Quattro Nicaragua. Like the original Aging Room Quattro Nicaragua, the Sonata features 100% Nicaraguan tobaccos and is box-pressed. The Vibrato measures 54 x 6.

The smoking experience of the Sonata delivers complexity and flavor. The Quattro Nicaragua Sonata Vibrato features notes of natural tobacco, classic wood, earth, cocoa, coffee, clove, citrus, and pepper. This one isn’t as heavy as the initial Quattro Nicaragua. It starts out with medium strength and medium-bodied flavors but progresses to medium to full for both attributes in the second half.

If you count the cigars from the Aging Room under Nodal’s Boutique Blends umbrella, this is the eighth year a cigar has landed on a Cigar Coop Countdown and the first appearance since 2019. Nicaragua is now taking control of the Countdown as this is the 11th Cigar from Nicaragua to land on the Countdown.