Overall the H. Upmann Nicaragua AJ Fernandez Heritage Toro delivered the total experience. It fires on all cylinders: flavor, balance, complexity, and construction.  In particular, I want to point out the flavors were not only excellent, but they were some of the more unique flavors I’ve gotten from a cigar. The flavors also played well together – almost like a symphony orchestra. In the end, this is an excellent job by the team of Rafael Nodal and AJ Fernandez. This is a cigar I would recommend to a more experienced cigar enthusiast, but certainly would not discourage a novice from trying. As for myself, this is a cigar I would smoke again and give consideration for a box purchase. Coming in at 91 points, this cigar exceeds the threshold for the Cigar Coop Standard of Excellence.

Score: 91

This was a cigar of interesting finishes. From the onset, the primary flavor was espresso, and remained so throughout. What changed was the nature of the finishing flavors and the accompanying strength. Initially creamy, the finish transitioned to peat and finally to salted caramel. I thoroughly enjoyed the transitions and I think most smokers would as well. I would gladly smoke this again!

Score: 91

I thought that the flavor progression of the cigar was very nice. It started out how I expected a cigar this dark to start out, earthy with some spice. The base of earthiness provided a foundation in which all other flavors could make themselves noticed. While the earthiness might be a bit much for the mild to medium smokers, it wasn’t incredibly overwhelming for a smoker like me who likes a lot of variety in the sticks I smoke. This cigar really hit a sweet spot in its balance of spice and earth with the addition of some predictable nuances that provided relief from the solid foundation of bold flavors.