Casa Fernandez Aganorsa Robusto

[lenguamor]

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



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.



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.



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.