This is a thick robusto gifted to us on the Hernandez Brothers' tour last Friday.

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The ring is 52 and the length is just under five inches, making the visual effect almost like a Rothschild. Beautifully-constructed, it seems heavy for its size; a Nicaraguan puro, the wrapper is a gorgeous Cuban-seed 2006 sun-grown corojo.

Pre-light, the draw is firm but plentiful; the impression is distinctly spicy, with warm cumin, coriander and pepper. Through the nose it actually tickles, promising a bounty of flavor.

Upon lighting and for the first ten draws or so, the predominant taste is of bitter hops; a little sour on the palate too. Heavy smoke imparts hints of warm spices again. Sharp through the nose but not harsh.

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After the first half-inch rich tobacco flavors assert themselves over a background of cut flowers and bitter greens. Sweet grains—wheat, oats—seem to find their way into the full flavor, but the hoppiness is at the back of the palate in every draw. The burn is clean and sharp, although it is a windy day.

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About halfway in everything else fades into the background and all that remains is the hoppiness; it's like an extreme IPA but with no balance of malt now.

Past the halfway mark, I find the unrelenting bitterness hard to take and I stop.

It could be that I didn't let the stick settle; after all, I just got it on Friday. Could just be one bad stick. But I have a few others, so I will revisit the vitola again in a couple of weeks and report back.
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Thanks for the review, unfortunate about the second half. Let us know how the next one does.
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Wow, sorry about the second half. Never experienced that with a Casa Fernandez stick. Could have been dried out or over humidified if it was from an event. I personally love the sticks.
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I will. A couple of weeks in my ready-to-smoke fridge should yield a different result. Casa Fernandez is a very popular brand and I can't imagine that would be so if all their sticks tasted like this, so it makes sense that it was a one-off.
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I would agree, that sounds nothing like a Casa Fernandez. I love the Aganorsa Leaf and have never had one that bad, off a little but nothing like that.
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Thanks for the review, I will pass on trying this...thanks
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Please don't pass on trying this cigar, I really think he just got a bad one, DaBear above agrees with me. By the same way they are made from the factory that makes Illusione and Viaje, so if you like them be sure to give this a try.
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Okay; true to my word, I gave this cigar another try tonight.

Pre-light, powerful and fresh, notes of wood and spice. Very yummy smells.

This one was not offensive like the last one; no bitterness and no off-flavors. But still, smoking this was close to a chore; all pepper, no complexity whatsoever. About the two-thirds mark I let it die out.

Arguably, this is still a very fresh stick. I got a lot of rawness from it, a lot of burning sensations through the nose even though I was careful not to hotbox it. I would venture a guess that this is a cigar which will age handsomely and pay off down the line for someone who is patient.

That won't be me.
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Thanks for the follow up review. I purchased two of these and will stash them away for a while and hope that the rest does them good as you suggest.
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