The Casa Fernandez Arsenio 2009 is named after Arsenio Ramos, who blends cigars for Tabacalera Tropical. What compelled me to pick some of these up was the price, and the fact that this is a nice looking cigar. As always, I paired this cigar with water and offer you my thoughts.
Wrapper: Nicaragua Cuban seed 2006
Binder/Filler: Nicaragua
Size: Robusto 5 1/4 x 54
Price: Around $5.00
Pre-smoke & Construction:
The wrapper looked good, with no major flaws and small to medium veins here and there. When I sniffed the wrapper and foot, I got a mild cedar. Squeezing the cigars length, I found it to be tightly and evenly packed. The pre-light draw was a little stiff, and had a woody/earthy flavor.
The burn required no corrections, and the ash held for just over an inch.
Flavor:
The first third immediately hit me with pepper and espresso. Slight sweet notes were in the background, but I couldn’t pin a flavor to it.
The second third kept that nice spicy peppery zing. Espresso or coffee remained the dominant flavor, while a slight dry cocoa appeared from time to time.
Like before, espresso kept it’s lead position in the flavor profile. Right up there with it was a creamy cocoa taste. The pepper kept it’s zing but mellowed out significantly.
Conclusion:
I really enjoyed this medium to upper medium bodied cigar. Sure, the flavor profile was simple. Where it lacked in complexity it made up for in being refined and smooth. The snug draw became less of an issue as I progressed, so I am not faulting it. In the end, this was a very good cigar.