Tag Archives: Casa Fernandez

by CigarCraig | May 14, 2014 · 8:42 pm

JdN Quatro Cinco, Casa Fernandez Miami Reserva and the Nomad Connecticut Fuerte

I’m going to lead off with the usual reminder to head on over to http://cigarrights.org/fda-response.php and make sure you make an educated comment on the FDA deeming document. This is scary stuff, folks. Nuff said. I also wanted to make a bit of a policy statement. Rest assured that when I receive products they are either for evaluation or for contest prizes. At no time will I ever sell, raffle, or otherwise profit from any items I receive from vendors or manufacturers. I feel that the purpose of these items being in my possession is for the promotion of said products. If you’ve been reading long, you’ve seen me pass along my good fortune more times than not. Stay tuned for a contest coming soon, it’s been a while since I had one and I have some cigars I want to share. Enough ranting for now, lets talk cigars!

Sunday I decided to celebrate Mother’s Day with my last Joya de Nicaragua Quatro Cinco.We had the kids over, then did some running around, so I was ready to relax with a really nice cigar. As you might recall, this cigar celebrates 45 years of the Joya de Nicaragua factory in Esteli, a factory I’ve had the privilege to visit twice and is one of my favorites. I can’t think of a cigar from that factory that I don’t enjoy. This is the top of the line smoke and is really quite tasty. It’s smoother and more refined than the excellent Antaño Dark Corojo and 1970s. I love both of those, but the Quatro Cinco really takes it up a notch in flavor and sophistication. This is a wonderful treat. It’s only available in one vitola, a 6″ x 54 slightly pressed toro with a dark and oily wrapper with filers aged in oak barrels and even some 5 year old ligero. The burn was perfect and it was a terribly satisfying cigar from start to finish. These are pricey, in the $12 range, but certainly worth a try if you like big, bold Nicaraguan flavor. I can’t wait to see what they do in five years if they put this much love and effort into a 45th anniversary cigar! Thanks to JB at DE for sending this to me last year.

Monday I revisited the Casa Fernandez Miami Reserva Maduro Corona Extra. I got a late start, so the smaller 5” x 46 size worked well with my schedule. This has been in the humidor since last October or November and came from the folks at Casa Fernandez. This is a Nicaraguan puro rolled in Miami, with Aganorsa tobacco grown in the three growing regions, Jalapa, Condega and Esteli. The size is really nice, it’s a little bigger than a corona, and smaller than a robusto. It smoked for over an hour though, and was very flavorful. I have enjoyed the cigars I’ve smoked from Casa Fernandez, I just don’t seem to see them around much. I think I like the Aganorsa Maduro the best, it’s like a chocolate bar. I’ve got to dig around and see if I can find one in the humidors.

Last night I smoked the new Nomad Connecticut Fuerte from Fred Rewey’s Nomad Cigar Co. This one came in a goodie bag from Gary Griffith of The House of Emilio which distributes the brand. The tag line “Not you father’s Connecticut cigar” is a little over used, but in this case, the cigar has some horsepower. I really enjoyed the contrast of the spice and relative strength of the filler with the creamy and slightly bitterness of the wrapper. I appreciate the Connecticut wrapper on a cigar, but it’s not one I reach for first, probably because I worry that the cigar will be too mild for my tastes. This one has enough flavor and strength to be satisfying at any time of the day. In the Nomad portfolio, while the original Dominican line is good, and the Nicaraguan blends are really good, this one is my new favorite of the line. It’s different from anything else out there. I liked it.

That’s it for now. I’ll work on putting a contest together, I already have a pretty good selection set aside from various vendors and my own humidors. It may not be Twelve Days of Giveaways spectacular, but it’ll be worthwhile.

Until the next time,

CigarCraig

6 Comments

Filed under Editorial, Review

Tagged as Casa Fernandez, cigar, cigars, Emilio, joya de nicaragua, Nomad

by CigarCraig | November 6, 2013 · 7:46 pm

A Tortuga, a Nica Rustica and a Pair of Casa Fernandez Cigars

I was just thinking how I really haven’t had a bad cigar, or even one I didn’t care for, in a very long time! I hope I don’t jinx myself having said that. I still have a bunch of IPCPR samples to get into, so all hope isn’t lost. 🙂

Saturday I was gifted a new size of the Tortuga 215 Reserva by Victor Vitale. This is a 5” x 48 cigar with a cedar sleeve and is yet to appear on retailers shelves. The Tortuga line is a limited edition, boutique line made in Honduras. In the past I’ve enjoyed the 215 Edition Limitada, and 1948 Connecticut, and my favorite, the 1950 Maduro, as well as a few of the new 215 Reserva which was released at the 2013 IPCPR show. The Cedro is a Nicaraguan puro that starts out with a delicious cedar flavor, no doubt a result of being wrapped in cedar! It’s a very savory, woody smoke with a little sweetness thrown in. I love the size. IF you can find these treat yourself to one.

Any time we have to change the clocks it causes a disturbance in The Force, but it’s hard to pick up on the first day. When the work week begins and you get a full appreciation of it being almost dark on the way home, it sinks in. I prefer not to smoke in the dark. I’m weird, but I get as much enjoyment out of watching my cigar burn as I do enjoying the flavor. It also makes it easier to know when you’re going to burn your fingers! Anyway, I needed a Monday sure thing, so I took a gamble on an IPCPR sample of the Drew Estate Nica Rustica which shipped this week. I loved the pre-release sample I brought back from Nicaragua last May, it was something special. It seems that they removed the “wild” Esteli leaf from the production blend (ironic that this “jungle” leaf was used in the above mentioned Tortuga 1950 Maduro, or something very similar). The production Nica Rustica is still an excellent smoke. It’s rustic, but it burns arrow straight, and the flavor isn’t what I’d call refined, but it’s heavy and right up my alley. If the Undercrown is the poor man’s Liga Privada, then this is the poorer man’s Undercrown, and I’ll probably get in trouble for that comparison. At around $6 for a Toro if you like fuller bodied cigars you really can’t go wrong. This is a cigar I could smoke every day. Even without that special “wild” tobacco, it’s another winner. It even has a pigtail cap and a closed foot!

A couple weeks ago I received some samples from the folks at Casa Fernandez Cigars. My experience with this line was previously limited to an Aganorsa Leaf Toro, which I loved, and a similar cigar with the secondary CRA bad which I didn’t love so much. The cigars I received were both similar in size to the Tortuga Cedro, the Casa Fernandez Reserva Maduro Corona Extra 5” x 46 and the Aganorsa Leaf Maduro ‘Ilustre’ 5 x 48. Once again, these are a perfect size for my evening walks now that the weather is colder and it’s dark early. Both cigars are made in the Miami factory, and both carry a retail price of $8.90. I smoked the Reserva Maduro last night after a nice steak, and it shared the savor, meaty flavors and was a really nice cigar. The performance was perfect, it burned well, it drew well and, as much as I like the size, I ended up wishing is was longer! Same with the Ilustre. This one has my favorite wrapper, the San Andrés, and it was reminiscent of strong, black coffee. It also was constructed perfectly and also left me yearning for more. Both fit the time I had allotted though, I hate it when I have a nice cigar that I can’t finish. I certainly have smoked cigar that contained some of the Aganorsa leaf, and I will need to seek out some more of the Casa Fernandez lines to sample. I’ll state publicly that I don’t care for their website, and I said that privately as well, and was assured that they are working on it. Flash sites are impossible to link directly to various pages, and I couldn’t view it at all on my Android tablet. I think more and more people are using devices that don’t work with Flash these days, and it doesn’t seem wise to alienate that large an audience.

I’d like to thank all of my readers and visitors. Alexa is a site that tracks the relative popularity of websites around the world, and I’m pleased to see that I’ve broken the top one million websites worldwide, and have what I consider a pretty respectable ranking in the US. So thanks for reading, and as your reward I will have a couple contests in December (regular readers will know that I’ve been having pretty terrific contests for the last couple Decembers!). Stay tuned.

That’s all for now, until the next time,

CigarCraig

11 Comments

Filed under Review

Tagged as Casa Fernandez, cigar, cigars, drew estate, Nica Rustica, Tortuga

by CigarCraig | July 14, 2011 · 8:46 pm

Oja Cigar Contest Winner Announcement, and a Casa Fernandez Comparison

First, I’d like to thank Luis Garcia, owner of Oja Cigars, for generously providing this box of his Oja Mestizo Artefacto cigars for this contest. I’d also like to thank everyone who voted for helping me select a winner. There’s no way I could have decided on my own. The poll says it all, winning with 42% of the vote is Lloyd Ladrillono! Congrats Lloyd! I know you will enjoy these cigars and thanks for being a loyal reader!

Earlier this week I decided to try a little experiment. The Casa Fernandez Aganorsa Leaf Toro called to me, it just looked so good in the humidor that I had to smoke it. I had picked this cigar up on my Father’s Day cigar ride, and I usual don’t smoke a cigar so soon after purchase, but, as I said, it looked too good. It WAS good! It was a little looser than I prefer and burned faster than I would have liked, but it was definitely a cigar I would smoke again in a heartbeat. It was rich and satisfying with a pleasing flavor.

The following evening I grabbed the Casa Fernandez CRA edition which had come with my membership renewal. The cigar looked just like the Aganorsa Leaf, same size, same shade, the only difference being the secondary band. I was hopeful that I’d have the same, if not better, experience as the previous cigar. Sadly, that was not the case. I wrestled with lighting this cigar, had to make frequent corrections to the burn, and the draw was not as free as it’s sibling. It took a little more effort to get it to give up the smoke. I didn’t find the flavor to be as rich as the other cigar either. It’s very strange to me that these should be SO different, but such is the way of cigars, I suppose.

I’m quite sad to announce the passing of one of my family’s cherished pets, our eldest cat Molson. He had served on the contest judging committee, starring in a selection video featuring balloons. He had severe diabetes and kidney problems. We gave him 14 years worth of love, and he returned it and will be missed, by us, as well as by our other feline family members. He was as loyal as a cat is likely to be. I reached for one of the best cigars in my humidor last night, a 7 year old Trinidad Reyes, to smoke in his memory.

That’s about it for now. My next post should be from the IPCPR show in Las Vegas. Stay tuned for updates from the show here and via twitter (@cigarcraig).

Until the next time,

CigarCraig

6 Comments

Filed under Contest, Review

Tagged as @cigarcraig, Casa Fernandez, cigar, cigar rights, cigars, Contest, habana, IPCPR, Oja, trinidad, twitter

by CigarCraig | June 19, 2011 · 7:58 pm

Father’s Day Cigars, A Ride, and a Big Oja Contest!

Today is Father’s Day, and recently on LivingSocial.com, which is a site like Groupon.com for the Philadelphia area, a local cigar store chain called Light’n Up Cigars ran a special for $20 worth of cigars for $10. Of course, I purchased one of these, and both my wife and daughter surprised me with one for Father’s Day. So this afternoon I hopped on the old scooter and took a ride to two of the shops in the area. You had to specify which of the 5 shops you wanted the deal at and I received certificates for two different shops. I headed to the Glenmoore, PA location with is about 10 miles or so from home. I shopped through the humidor for a bit and settled upon 3 cigars, an Casa Fernandez Aganorsa Leaf, an Alec Bradley Family Blend, and a Perdomo Reserve Champagne, all cigars I have yet to smoke. From there I took the 12 or so mile trip down PA Rt 401 and made my way to the Frazer, PA store. I selected a pair of Fuente Hemingway Best Sellers, and a Brick House. I thought both stores seemed a bit sparse in their stocks as there were a lot of empty boxes. The clerk in the Frazer store blamed the winter months and the economy, both valid points, but I would have expected more cigars in the store, especially with the added business coming in from the special coupon deal. I have one more coupon to use and the pessimist in me thinks I should probably use it soon, although my suspicions are probably off base and I’ll see the stocks restored in the next month or so. The Frazer, PA store has a very large walk-in humidor, while the Glenmoore store’s is smaller, but the later store has a more comfortable lounge area. The cheap bastard in me is appalled at 6 cigars for $40, but I guess the same cigars for $20 is a great deal.

As I compose this edition, I am smoking my annual Father’s Day cigar, an Esperanza para los Niños. I Have smoked one of these every Father’s Day since I bought a box in 2000. I detailed the background of this cigar in my June 20th post last year, so I won’t repeat it. I’m enjoying this tasty, well-aged cigar with an IBC root beer which was a gift from my son. As it has been for years, it’s a chocolaty maduro that’s burning very well and goes well with the root beer. This is a tradition which I can only continue for another 4 years, at which time my prized stash of these will be exhausted, never to be replenished. I will savor each and every one until then, and remember that they were made “For the Children”.

Contest

For the last couple weeks you will, no doubt, have noticed the name “Oja” coming up in my posts. I have been enjoying sampling these cigars made in Nicaragua and blended by Luis Garcia, whom I had the pleasure of meeting in Nicaragua. I most recently smoked the 6 x 60 Mestizo (Habana2000) Artefacto. I really enjoyed the sweetness that dominated this cigar. It was a really nice cigar and I seem to be getting used to this idea of 60 ring gauge cigars (a good thing, since I also received a couple of Jonathan Drew’s newest cigar, the My Uzi Weighs a Ton). The other two lines, an Ecuador Connecticut wrapper and a Brazilian Araparica wrapper, have also been very tasty, but this H2000 is my favorite of the bunch. Luis has very generously provided me with a BOX of the Oja Mestizo Artefactos which is the prize for this month’s contest! That’s right, a whole box of very nice cigars to be won by a lucky reader. The contest will run until Sunday, July 3, in honor of the July 4th holiday, and I’m going to have to make you work a little harder than the usual random selection that I normally do. In the comments of this post, place a link to a picture of ~~you smoking a cigar in a patriotic setting of some sort~~ any patriotic theme which includes a cigar or cigars. Let’s try to keep the photos g-rated and within the bounds of good taste (I have the power to edit and delete and disqualify at my discretion). I will close the comments at Midnight on Saturday, ~~July 2~~ July 9 and a selection committee of my choosing will select a winner. The only other proviso is that the photos must be publicly accessible, so all can enjoy, and I’m going to suspend the six month rule for this contest to give everyone a chance to win. This is a pretty big prize in my opinion, so let your creative juices flow! A big THANKS to Luis at Oja for providing such a great prize!