Cigar Review: Casa Fernandez Aganorsa Leaf Maduro Délire

First, a confession. These cigars were in my humidor far longer than I intended. Two Délires were included in a package I received from Casa Fernandez last fall. They got misplaced in my humidor, and I only came across them the other day.

Relieved to have finally found the cigars and eager to give them a try, I lit one up almost immediately.

Going into it, I had some reservations. First, I’m not a big maduro fan, though I do enjoy some of them occasionally. Second, and significantly more important, I’m more than “not a fan” of the Mexican San Andrés wrapper, though, again, there are exceptions.

So, how’d it do? Well, at the start I was a bit concerned. There was a back-of-the-throat sharpness that wasn’t particularly pleasant. But that disappeared within, literally, a few puffs and it was smooth smoking thereafter, particularly as this proved to be one of the San Andrés exceptions. I found none of the disagreeable dirt taste I frequently associate with this leaf.

What I did find was a lot of flavor in the aged Aganorsa tobacco that serves as filler and binder. The Délire is a complex smoke with tastes of burned coffee, sweet black cherry, wood, and leather. I also found the typical maduro sweetness weaving in and out along the way.

Strength was, for me, certainly enough to make an impression but not at all overpowering. Obviously, I can’t say what, if any, impact months in the humidor had, but my guess is that it wasn’t significant.

Construction for the Miami-rolled, lightly-pressed toro was excellent, with an even, slow burn and a tight ash. The draw was near perfect in each of the two samples.

The 6.5-inch, 50-ring gauge Délire (French for “delirium” or “frenzy”) is one of four vitolas in the line and has a more than reasonable MSRP of $8.90. They come packaged in boxes of 15.

I recommend you try this cigar, whatever your general preference. I think you’ll find it a highly engaging and satisfying smoke. I give it a solid four stogies out of five.

[To read more StogieGuys.com cigar reviews, please click here.]

–George E

photo credit: Stogie Guys