The Stogie Guys

Not long after The Bull was released nationwide, my colleague reviewed this cigar and awarded it a four-stogie rating. Flash forward to about a week ago, when I found a stash of Robustos in my humidor, each begging to be smoked from beneath yellowed cellophane.

The Bull was originally distributed by the parent company of Cigars International, but last spring was joined by the rest of the San Lotano lines offered through A.J. Fernandez’s regular distribution channels. It’s marketed as a bolder (and more expensive) alternative to the popular San Lotano blends.

The Bull features an Ecuadorian Sumatra wrapper around Nicaraguan tobaccos that were grown on A.J. Fernandez’s farms. Four box-pressed sizes are available: Toro (6 x 54), Torpedo (6.5 x 54), Gordo (6 x 60), and Robusto (5 x 54).

The latter retails for about $10 and sports a dark, velvety exterior with thin veins beneath a cedar sleeve. Each of my three samples had a few bumps and tears in the wrapper, which is frankly a little annoying given the premium price tag. The pre-light notes remind me of sweet milk chocolate an oak.

On the palate, The Bull Robusto is full-bodied from the get-go with notes of espresso bean, black pepper spice, and a sensation I can only describe as Nicaraguan zing. The texture is thick and leathery. Ligero strength is evident, as is a taste of sweet cream that helps offset the dark, rich flavors in the foreground.

In my colleague’s review from April 2014, he wrote, “The Bull lives up to its billing as a more powerful smoke, while maintaining an inviting, smooth balance.” I wholeheartedly agree. While the Robusto is bold in taste and strength, the cigar is nevertheless approachable. Credit its balance. As The Bull progresses, tastes of cream, peanut, and sweet cedar prevent the profile from becoming too one-sided.

True to the A.J. Fernandez reputation, I have no qualms with this cigar’s combustion qualities. It burns like a champ and smokes like a chimney. Expect a straight burn line, solid ash, clear draw, and above-average smoke production.

Yes, by most standards $10 is a considerable sum for a five-inch stick. But if you crave flavor, strength, and also balance, The Bull Robusto is worth every penny. I concur with my colleague in awarding it four stogies out of five.

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

–Patrick A

photo credit: Stogie Guys

Each Saturday and Sunday we’ll post a Quick Smoke: not quite a full review, just our brief verdict on a single cigar of “buy,” “hold,” or “sell.”

 

Making a full-bodied cigar with a Connecticut shade-grown wrapper can be a challenge. Often, either the wrapper gets overwhelmed or there are significant bitter notes. Fortunately, A.J. Fernandez hits the mark with the San Lotano Oval Connecticut, made with Nicaraguan binder and filler, with additional filler from Honduras. The Robusto (5.5 x 54) features the unique oval shape Fernandez has created and marketed. It produces thick, creamy smoke along with notes of cedar, honey, and coffee. Construction is excellent, but most of all it’s impressive for being a full-bodied, balanced, and complex Connecticut-wrapped cigar.

Verdict = Buy.

–Patrick S

photo credit: Stogie Guys

San Lotano cigars have been a hit for A.J. Fernandez, and this extension seems certain to keep the line high on the charts. The Bull lives up to its billing as a more powerful smoke, while maintaining an inviting, smooth balance. The Bull was originally distributed by the parent company of Cigars International, but has since joined the rest of the San Lotano lines offered through A.J. Fernandez Cigar’s regular distribution channels.

The filler is from Fernandez’s fields in Nicaragua, as is the binder. They’re rolled in a fine-looking dark brown Ecuadorian Sumatra wrapper that is encased in a cedar sleeve stamped with the silhouette of a bull’s head.

The Robusto, one of the three introductory vitolas, sports a hefty 54 ring gauge with the typical length of 5 inches. Befitting the premium price tag of $9.60, it’s also decked out with a black cloth foot band and is lightly box-pressed.

I haven’t come across these locally yet; the two I smoked for this review arrived in my mailbox as part of a Fernandez sampler.

I’m a fan of cedar spills and it seemed appropriate to use The Bull sleeves to light the cigars. It was a good way to start. The natural cedar mixed with an explosion of flavors that included spice in the back of the throat, some floral notes, and a pleasant metallic tone.

About halfway through, The Bull took on a darker taste. There was less spice, and the floral notes were gone, replaced by a rich tobacco fullness. But spice reappeared in the final third as the cigar continued to evolve.

Construction in the two samples was excellent, as was the burn and dark gray ash. And it’s hard to imagine a cigar producing more smoke.

Near the end, The Bull did get a bit harsh, signaling time to let it go.

For those who enjoy a full-bodied cigar, this is one you shouldn’t miss. I give the San Lotano The Bull Robusto a strong recommendation and four stogies out of five.

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

–George E

photo credit: Stogie Guys

Each Saturday and Sunday we’ll post a Quick Smoke: not quite a full review, just our brief verdict on a single cigar of “buy,” “hold,” or “sell.”

This A.J. Fernandez cigar has been my go-to maduro in recent weeks. Sure, I’ve enjoyed it since it was launched in 2010, but a year of age has improved this Mexican-wrapped smoke, making the chalky taste of espresso, black pepper, and cayenne spice more balanced and sweeter. Expect more chocolate and nuts from the first generation of San Lotano Maduros, and expect them to be quite tasty. That makes the Robusto (5 x 52) a good investment at around $6 apiece.

Verdict = Buy.

–Patrick A

photo credit: Stogie Guys

This new line from A.J. Fernandez, formally introduced at the 2011 industry trade show, is Oval-shaped, like a box press with more rounded corners. It features an Ecuadorian-grown Habano 2000 wrapper (though for some reason at the trade show I was told it was Brazilian), a binder from Nicaragua, and three fillers: Nicaraguan, Honduran, and a “secret filler.”

Perhaps the “secret filler” is the new propreitary seed that’s growing outside Copan, Honduras, which Cigar.com’s Alex Svenson reports was cultivated exclusively by Fernandez.

Notable is the use of the Habano 2000 wrapper, which was very popular quite a few years ago, but hasn’t really been featured, at least not in marketing materials, in recent years. Habano 2000 (or “H2000”) was developed by the Cubans as a hybrid of Habano and Connecticut tobacco (and was supposedly used on many of the Cuban EL cigars) but it soon found its way out of Cuba where it has been used on many cigars made for the American market. In the early years, it was known for its reddish Colorado color and more auspiciously because many smokers reported burn issues.

Fortunately, I found no such burn issues with the Oval samples I’ve smoked so far. (Each of the three samples were given to me at the trade show.) In fact, from pre-light to nub, the cigar drew perfectly, burned evenly, and held its ash steady for a solid inch or more.

Once I cut the head off this torpedo, the oval shape that was left reminded me of the Chisel made by Litto Gomez of La Flor Dominicana. It’s a comfortable shape that makes the 54 ring gauge seem slightly smaller than it is.

When I finally got down to smoking the Oval, I found a full-bodied cigar with excellent balance. Coffee, earth, wood, and bread were all prominent, and I also picked up faint liquorice and subtle clove spice.

It’s not dissimilar to the San Lotano Habano (my favorite of A.J.’s three original self-released lines) in terms of flavors, but just a little but better in almost every area. In particular, the Oval’s flavors are fuller, and more complex, but still more balanced and rounded.

For such a well-composed combination of flavor and balance, I can do nothing but heartily recommend this cigar, which retails for around $10 and is available only in brick and mortar stores. That’s why the San Lotano Oval Pyramid earns four and a half stogies out of five.

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

–Patrick S

photo credit: Stogie Guys

A.J. Fernandez made his mark on the industry by producing top-selling cigars for the likes of Rocky Patel, Padilla, Graycliff, Gurkha, and others. Last year he broke the mold and released his first nationally-distributed solo cigar.

The blend, San Lotano, was once a pre-Castro Cuban line. “Retired for decades, the line is being reintroduced by A.J. Fernandez, whose grandfather first started the brand in San Luis, Cuba,” reads a press release. Fernandez says that “San Lotano has been a project many years in the making for me, and it is made to honor the tradition of cigar making that I learned from my father and my father’s father.”

San Lotano is handmade at the Tabacalera Fernandez factory in Estelí, Nicaragua, which turns out nine million cigars annually. The series is available in three wrapper variations: Habano, Connecticut, and Maduro. The latter features a Mexican outer leaf, a dual binder from the Dominican Republic and Honduras, and a two-country filler blend from Honduras and Nicaragua.

With a soft box press, the Robusto (5 x 52) retails for about $6 apiece. It has the look, feel, and smell of other Mexican cigars—notably Murcielago—with a rich, sun-softened exterior and mouth-watering aromas of cocoa and earth. The cold draw is smooth and easy.

After toasting the foot and establishing an even light, a chalky profile of cayenne spice, espresso, black pepper, and sweet coffee creamer takes center stage. A bitter taste is also present, a pleasant one that reminds me of dark chocolate. The interesting sweet-versus-bitter interplay continues into the midway point, and the finale is characterized by more espresso and intensified spice.

The construction is set-it-and-forget-it kind solid. Although slightly flaky, the ash holds firm for well over an inch, and the burn line requires zero maintenance.

True, there’s much to like about the Maduro Robusto, and the price is more than fair. While it may not be as exceptional as the San Lotano Habano, which boasts impressively complex flavors and loads of body, or the Connecticut, which sports a taste of almond and subtle spice, this savory specimen is worthy of three and a half stogies out of five.

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

–Patrick A

photo credit: Stogie Guys

Though you may not have heard of him, chances are you’ve enjoyed one of A.J. Fernandez’s smokes. The prolific cigar maker has crafted stogies for Rocky Patel, Padilla, Graycliff, and Gurkha, and he’s also made limited distribution lines like 5 Vegas AAA, Man O’ War, Diesel, La Herencia, and Sol Cubano.

Fernandez, who has as much cigar blending talent as anyone his age, has made quite a name for himself in recent years. So it wasn’t completely surprising when he announced just before this year’s industry trade show that he would be producing his first solo nationally distributed cigar. The San Lotano brand originated with Fernandez’s grandfather in San Luis, Cuba, but has not been made in decades.

The brand is being released in three versions: Connecticut, Maduro, and Habano. On the latter, beneath the shiny Brazilian Habano wrapper is a Honduran binder and Dominican, Honduran, and Nicaraguan filler tobaccos.

Each blend is released in four sizes: Churchill (7 x 52), Robusto (5 x 52), Toro (6 x 52), and Torpedo (6.5 x 52). The Toro that was the subject of a Quick Smoke and each of the three Robustos I sampled for this review were notably firm.

The San Lotano features an impressively complex combination of flavors. Warm tobacco, spice, toastiness, cedar, meaty char, and roast coffee are all apparent in the full-bodied blend.

It’s not knock-you-on-your-ass full-bodied, but there’s a lot going on here, including a certain “crunchiness” that is hard to describe properly, but easy to enjoy. The hour-long smoke features excellent construction as the firm cigar has a deliberate, but not difficult, draw.

Having sampled all three of the San Lotano blends, I can definitely say that while none are disappointing, the Habano is my clear favorite. And at $6 apiece, it provides good value.

The San Lotano doesn’t change much from beginning to end, but it doesn’t need change to be enjoyable, as the interplay between the flavors keeps the smoker plenty interested. That complexity, combined with excellent construction and solid value, earns the San Lotano Habano Robusto four and a half stogies out of five.

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

–Patrick S

photo credit: Stogie Guys