Blind Cigar Review: AJ Fernandez | New World Almirante
Blind Cigar Review: AJ Fernandez | New World Almirante

Blind Cigar Review: AJ Fernandez | New World Almirante

Vital Stats:

Blind Cigar Review: AJ Fernandez | New World Almirante
Blind Cigar Review: AJ Fernandez | New World Almirante

This cigar was reviewed blind (no bands) by a panel of at least 4 reviewers. They did not know what they were smoking beforehand. The scores are an average of all the reviewers' scores with outliers removed. All of our cigars reviewed are shipped to the panelists with Boveda packs to ensure optimal smoking experience.

Vitola: Belicoso
Length: 5.5″
Ring Gauge: 55
Country of Origin: Nicaragua
Wrapper: Nicaraguan Oscuro
Binder: Jalapa
Filler: Ometepe, Condega and Estelí
Factory: AJ Fernandez
Blender: AJ Fernandez
Number of reviewers: 5—–Sandeep (Djangos) Jiunn (jliu) Wes (SosaCub4Life) Dave (mdwest) Robert (NavyPiper)
Price: $5.90
Age: 4 Months
Release Date: July 2014
Contributed by: AJ Fernandez

Blind Cigar Review: AJ Fernandez | New World Almirante
Blind Cigar Review: AJ Fernandez | New World Almirante

Initial Impressions

Appearance: 91

“A good looking box press Torpedo. Chocolate brown in color, dull with no sheen. Seams are tight and well blended. Torpedo head/cap looks good, coming to a pointed tip. No wrinkles or blemishes noticeable on wrapper.” –Robert (NavyPiper)

Aroma: 91

“Great aroma of coffee and chocolate are present, and on the dry puff, the very same flavors are present with some pepper and cinnamon.” –Sandeep (Djangos)

First Third

Blind Cigar Review: AJ Fernandez | New World Almirante
Blind Cigar Review: AJ Fernandez | New World Almirante

Flavor: 88
Strength: Medium
Body/Complexity: Medium

“Bitter chocolate and leather are the predominant flavors in the first third, and the stick produces a fairly high volume of nice creamy smoke. Not a bad start at all.” –Dave (mdwest)

“Started of with a powerful pepper blast for a couple of minutes, then eased up. Flavors are wood (Oak, I think) and mild pepper. There’s a slight harshness and bitterness that kind of reminds me of what you’d experience being around a brush fire- only way I can really describe it. It’s not overbearing to the point of being distracting, but it’s close.” –Robert (NavyPiper)

Second Third

Blind Cigar Review: AJ Fernandez | New World Almirante
Blind Cigar Review: AJ Fernandez | New World Almirante

Flavor: 89
Strength: Medium
Body/Complexity: Medium

“The middle third is slightly more complex than the initial third with the appearance of a cedar and sawdust like quality along with the leather and tobacco. The pepper is still present in each puff and adds to the complexity. No issues still with the draw and burn.” –Sandeep (Djangos)

“During the second third, the spice has really settled down. It’s still there, but now in the background. The creamy side of the flavors have now come out. There’s almost a bit of chewyness to it. Every now and then you get just a pinch of sweetness.” –Wes (SosaCub4Life)

Final Third

Blind Cigar Review: AJ Fernandez | New World Almirante
Blind Cigar Review: AJ Fernandez | New World Almirante

Flavor: 89
Strength: Medium
Body/Complexity: Medium

“Final third mainly tells the same core notes of the first and second third (red thai chili, leather, cedar). In addition to those core flavors, I get a good amount of non-sweet cream mixed in. Oddly, I enjoy it.” –Jiunn (jliu)

“And the spice returns. The last third has been a great combination of the first two. Nice balance of spicy and creamy with little hints of sweetness. This last third is right in my wheelhouse. Very enjoyable.” –Wes (SosaCub4Life)

Overall Impressions

Draw: 96

“Close to perfect draw. Not too tight, not too loose, just right!” –Jiunn (jliu)

Burn: 97

“Combustion was consistent from start to finish, and a reasonably straight burn line was maintained the entire time with no touch ups required.” –Dave (mdwest)

Construction: 92

“The overall construction has been great. Just from the appearance, it looked well constructed and it smoked the same. Great burn. Held a great ash. Produced a good amount of smoke.” –Wes (SosaCub4Life)

Overall Strength: Medium
Overall Body/Complexity: Medium
Overall Experience: 88

Blind Cigar Review: AJ Fernandez | New World Almirante
Blind Cigar Review: AJ Fernandez | New World Almirante

“Overall, the cigar was a pleasant experience with a decent level of complexity. The predominant flavors are that of leather, tobacco and cedar. There is also a decent amount of pepper that persists throughout the cigar. I would definitely smoke this one again, but no super premium.” –Sandeep (Djangos)

“Overall, this cigar was very good. I find it odd I enjoyed it. I typically do not like very spicy ligero bombs but this one was different. It’s not the typical black or white pepper spice. The thai chilis made it very unique, especially whilst inter-playing with the cedar and leather. I guess sometimes I just need that nice blast in the face. I would purchase a fiver of these for those face blast times.” –Jiunn (jliu)

“This has been a very good cigar for me. The middle third got a bit boring but then it picked back up and ended in great fashion with everything in perfect balance. Spicy, creamy and some sweetness. Overall, a great cigar.” –Wes (SosaCub4Life)

“Overall, this was a pretty one dimensional stick with nice flavors, but not very pronounced, and with very limited changes or transitions. Not a bad experience at all, but nothing “wowed” me along the way.” –Dave (mdwest)

“I probably would have enjoyed it more except for the harshness and bitterness that it had. I didn’t care much for the flavor profile. The pepper is always good, but the wood smoke just wasn’t doing it for me. Not saying it’s a poor flavor profile, it just didn’t trip my trigger this time.” –Robert (NavyPiper)

Smoking Time (in minutes): 84

Edit
Reviewer Appearance Aroma 1/3 2/3 3/3 Draw Burn Constr. Overall
Sandeep 92 95 88 90 90 97 97 92 90
Jiunn 88 90 90 90 90 97 95 95 90
Wes 97 90 97 92 97 97 97 97 95
Dave 90 92 88 88 88 85 88 90 85
Robert 90 88 88 85 88 90 88 90 85

To view the complete scores and notes, click here.

Blind Cigar Review: AJ Fernandez | New World Almirante
Blind Cigar Review: AJ Fernandez | New World Almirante
Appearance
91
Aroma
91
First Third
88
Second Third
89
Final Third
89
Draw
96
Burn
97
Construction
92
Overall Experience
88
91
Total Score - Very Good