Cigar Reveal #341
AJ Fernandez
New World Dorado
The New World Dorado was introduced in 2022 as the fifth core blend in AJ Fernandez's highly successful New World series. While previous New World cigars focused on wrapper variations and different blend styles, the Dorado was built around a much more specific idea: showcasing tobacco from a single farm. AJ drew inspiration from the wine industry's concept of a vineyard expressing a unique terroir and sought to create a cigar centered around the character of one exceptional growing region.
The cigar is named after AJ's Dorado Farm in Estelí, Nicaragua. "Dorado" means "Golden" in Spanish, a reference to the farm's distinctive golden-colored soil. AJ has described the farm as producing tobacco with a unique flavor profile unlike any other property in his portfolio. The Dorado blend was created to highlight those tobaccos, making it one of the most farm-specific cigars AJ Fernandez has ever produced. While not every leaf comes from the farm, the wrapper, binder, and a significant portion of the filler are sourced from Dorado, giving the cigar a strong sense of place and identity.
New World Dorado
Anatomy
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Nicaragua
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Nicaraguan Criollo (Dorado Farm)
- Nicaraguan Sun Grown Habano (Dorado Farm)
New World Dorado
Flavor Notes
First Third
Baking Spice
Cinnamon
Natural Tobacco
Baking Spice
Cinnamon
Natural Tobacco
Second Third
Toast
Coffee
Dried Fruit
Toast
Coffee
Dried Fruit
Final Third
Earth
Berries
Floral
Earth
Berries
Floral
Reviews + Notes
Cigar Coop
Overall, I thought the New World Dorado Robusto delivered a solid smoking experience. In terms of flavor, the cigar excels during the first third. Once this cigar moves into the second half, the flavors become ordinary. On one hand, the flavors are solid and avoid getting harsh. On the other hand, it’s fair to say the cigar didn’t really have a “wow” factor like I was expecting. Still, this cigar scores a very respectable 88 points. It’s enough for me to recommend this cigar to any cigar enthusiast – novice or experienced. It’s also a cigar that I would go and purchase and smoke again.
Score: 88/100
Cigar Dojo
It isn't often that you get to experience something truly new in the world of premium cigars. Sure, there are new combinations of preexisting ingredients, but to genuinely smoke through uncharted territory, you need a cigar crafted largely (or entirely) from either (a) new seeds or (b) new soil. The New World Dorado falls into the latter camp, showcasing wrapper, binder, and filler components harvested from A.J. Fernández's Dorado farm of Estelí, Nicaragua. Being that the majority of the blend uses leaves harvested from this soil, I consider this a rare occasion of authentic newness. In terms of actual performance, the cigar is certainly an intriguing specimen, offering an especially aromatic experience without being overly nuanced (it's got some heat!). Savory, earthy flavors kick things off, hitting unique flavor combinations that reminded me of Italian cooking. This included a subtle sweetness in the background of an overall warm profile, which eventually helped to transition into aromatic florals, citrus, perfume, and even gingersnap. Unfortunately, not all samples smoked for review provided such thrills, with some leaning towards darker profiles that overlooked the aroma-heavy experience that I've found myself reaching for consistently since smoking this cigar for the first time.
Score: 91/000
Simply Stogies
The pepper never leaves the cigar, and permeates throughout the entire smoking experience. It dies down towards the middle, and resurges towards the end. Leather also remains the entire time as a secondary companion to the pepper. The earth present in the first third eventually turns into an enjoyable bread-like taste in the middle. The end of the cigar is punctuated with pepper and heat. This is not a cigar that lets you easily ignore it.
