Cigar Reveal #354

Aging Room
Quattro Nicaragua

The Aging Room Quattro Nicaragua marked an important turn for Rafael Nodal's Aging Room brand. Earlier Quattro releases had been made in the Dominican Republic, but this cigar was the first Nicaraguan puro in the line and the first Quattro produced outside the Dominican Republic. Nodal developed it with AJ Fernandez, pairing his own preference for balance and structure with AJ's access to Nicaraguan tobacco. The blend was selected after a series of test blends, eventually settling on aged Nicaraguan tobaccos beneath a Nicaraguan Sumatra wrapper.

The name Quattro had already earned a reputation inside the Aging Room portfolio, but the Nicaragua version gave it a different accent. It is still box-pressed and still built around Nodal's fondness for musical references in the vitola names, but the tobacco is unmistakably Nicaraguan in origin and character. The cigar's reputation grew considerably after the Maestro was named Cigar Aficionado's No. 1 Cigar of 2019 with a 96-point rating. That accolade made the Quattro Nicaragua one of the defining releases of the Aging Room brand and helped cement the partnership between Nodal and Fernandez.

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Quattro Nicaragua
Anatomy

  • Nicaragua

  • Nicaragua

  • Nicaraguan Sumatra

Quattro Nicaragua
Flavor Notes

First Third

Cocoa

Red Pepper

Natural Tobacco

Cocoa

Red Pepper

Natural Tobacco

Second Third

Cedar

Earth

Black Pepper

Cedar

Earth

Black Pepper

Final Third

Cappuccino

Cream

Red Pepper

Cappuccino

Cream

Red Pepper

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Reviews + Notes

Cigar Aficionado

(2019 #1 Cigar of the Year 🏆)

Score: 96 points

The story of Aging Room revolves around a central character who had no idea he was headed for the cigar business: Rafael Nodal. It’s a timeline of transitions, partnerships and collaborations that ultimately lead to the creation of the Aging Room Quattro Nicaragua Maestro, Cigar Aficionado’s 2019 Cigar of the Year.

But first we rewind back almost 40 years ago to 1980, when Nodal came to the U.S. from Cuba as a refugee on the infamous Mariel boatlift. With no background in cigars, Nodal sought a career in music that brought him to New York City, then to Miami where he embarked on a more practical career in healthcare. There, he met his future business partners Hank Bischoff and Dr. Alina Cordoves (now his wife).

Nodal’s foray into the cigar world was slow. In 1998, he and his partners began selling cigars online, and in 2002 they took over the Habana Cuba Cigar Co., a struggling company with a mediocre portfolio of forgettable cigars. For a while, the business situation was looking quite grim. Not one to be easily discouraged, Nodal explored the concept of producing cigars in small batches. In 2011 he came out with a new brand called Aging Room Small Batch M356. He also changed the name of his company from Habana Cuba Cigar Co. to Boutique Blends. The first Aging Rooms were made by José “Jochy” Blanco in the Dominican Republic. (Blanco is also a partner in the brand.) The cigars scored well in Cigar Aficionado, and the Presto size was named to the 2011 Top 25. Nodal got his first taste of critical success—and he kept going.

Today, you’d be forgiven if the name Aging Room creates a bit of confusion. There are a lot of different Aging Rooms made in different factories. The crowning achievement, however, is the Aging Room Quattro Nicaragua Maestro made by A.J. Fernandez in Nicaragua. The cigar is essentially Nodal’s vision, crafted by Fernandez with his distinct tobacco and signature factory style. Every last leaf in this blend is Nicaraguan and every puff is an overture of flavors that’s at times heavy and rich with notes of dark chocolate and wood, and other times, subtle and understated with hints of fine caramel and toasted almonds. In musical terms, the word for this box-pressed torpedo would be dynamic. Nodal is still an artist at heart and cigars continue to be his creative outlet. If the birth of Aging Room was his breakthrough, consider the Aging Room Quattro Nicaragua Maestro his masterpiece.

Cigar Coop

As mentioned in the introduction, there are a lot of companies seeking out AJ Fernandez to produce a cigar for them. The Aging Room Quattro Nicaragua Vibrato is one which flew under the radar. It provides a bolder, regular offering – something that was definitely needed in the Aging Room portfolio. If you like a bold Nicaraguan puro with what I would term “just the right amount of spice,” the Quattro Nicaragua Vibrato is going to deliver the cigar for you. Given this is a bolder cigar, I’m inclined to steer this to a more experienced cigar enthusiast. As for myself, this is a cigar that I would smoke again – and it garners box worthy consideration.

Value: Box Worthy Consideration

Score: 91