AJ Fernandez

Ramon Allones

Great till about the last third then got a bit bitter for me

Man what a smoke. Started off with notes of coffee and dark chocolate. The midway added a light creamy and black pepper taste but not much actual spice. Finished off with a tastes of bread and black pepper. Good burn and draw. Toothy wrapper

Let this sit for 9 months. Draw was a little tight, but construction (seamless appearance, very nice oily dark wrapper) and burn were very good. Paired with J&B scotch, neat. With their increase in popularity, Nicaraguan cigars are going to have to rely more on unique curing methods and aging to distinguish themselves. The flavor profiles are converging. This cigar falls squarely in that category. I suspect better draw would improve the flavor profile. The black pepper is just too strong. The cigar blender who figures out how to end a Nicaraguan puro in any other way except black pepper is going to win a Nobel prize. Dark, meaty, give it some age...even more than the 9 months I did. There are hits of fruit and cream that want to come out. Middle third is the star here.

Beautiful long ash, has the right mix between draw and firmness. Dark, oily Ecuadoran wrapper. Been sitting for awhile in the humidor and survived my transition to Boveda humidification. Spicy. But this is a very nice cigar. This is a 2" thick ribeye. Second third is the strongest, final third is a welcome relief with the introduction of oak. The blend bears no resemblance to its Cuban counterpart. This has the marks of a cigar that will age very well. I'm going to drop the last of this five pack down for a one year rest.