Description
FLAWLESS NICARAGUA
Size: 6.5 x 52
Vitola: Box Press
Wrapper: Connecticut Shade
Binder: Nicaragua
Fillers: Nicaragua
Flavor Notes: Strawberry, cream, red pepper, cedar, honey, floral notes, hay, roasted peanuts
Pairing Notes: Jamaican rum, amber lager, fruit forward sour beer, cream soda, raspberry sorbet, white chocolate, strawberry jam
Manufacturer: Tabacalera AJ Fernandez
Privada Storytelling
About four years ago, we called AJ Fernandez with a simple assignment.
Make the most beautiful, flawless Connecticut cigar possible.
But we did not want a mild cigar.
We did not want a breakfast cigar.
We wanted a real Nicaraguan cigar wrapped in a flawless Connecticut leaf.
We told AJ that one of the things we loved about Connecticut cigars was the way pepper could work against the softer wrapper, but we also wanted the fruit notes these cigars can sometimes carry.
AJ delivered.
Nicaragua has not always been only about tobacco. The country once produced tremendous amounts of fruit and other crops, and sometimes a cigar has a way of reminding you of that history.
There are cigars where it almost feels like the soil is speaking.
The same land capable of producing tobacco can carry traces of the character associated with everything else grown there. Thankfully, the pioneers of Nicaraguan tobacco settled in Estelí because the land there was special.
The same volcanic soil that helped turn Nicaragua into a tobacco powerhouse once supported countless other crops.
Every once in a while, a cigar reminds you of that.
AJ sent us these cigars about three and a half years ago. We put them into the Privada coolers and let time do what time does.
The result is a cigar that somehow delivers pepper, cream, and strawberries at the same time.
This is the kind of cigar only a Privada member gets access to.
You will not find this exact cigar on the market.
Not even from AJ.
Flavor Journey
The first third immediately brings fresh cut strawberries, cream, and red pepper. It is bright, elegant, and still unmistakably Nicaraguan.
During the second third, the strawberry becomes richer while cream and cedar begin building underneath. Pepper remains present but becomes more balanced as floral notes begin drifting through the smoke.
The final third softens considerably. The pepper backs away and the cigar becomes far creamier. Sweet strawberry remains the star alongside cream, cedar, and soft honeyed tobacco.
It is an unusual combination that manages to be delicate and distinctly Nicaraguan at the same time.
Why It Belongs in Privada
Flawless Nicaragua takes a familiar cigar category and pushes it somewhere much more interesting.
Connecticut Shade is often associated with mildness.
This cigar was deliberately built against that expectation.
Underneath the flawless Connecticut wrapper sits a completely Nicaraguan core. Pepper and cedar give it structure while cream, honey, floral notes, and an unmistakable strawberry character keep the blend bright and unusual.
Then it spent three and a half years resting in Privada coolers.
It is not simply a Connecticut cigar.
It is AJ Fernandez showing what Connecticut can become when the tobacco underneath is allowed to have a personality of its own.
Production Notes
Produced by Tabacalera AJ Fernandez.
Flawless Nicaragua is a 6.5 x 52 Box Press using a Connecticut Shade wrapper over a Nicaraguan binder and Nicaraguan fillers.
The cigars spent three and a half years aging in Privada coolers before release.
That additional rest allowed the pepper, cream, fruit, cedar, and honey characteristics of the blend to settle together while maintaining the brighter personality AJ originally built into the cigar.
Highlights
Produced by Tabacalera AJ Fernandez
6.5 x 52 Box Press
Connecticut Shade wrapper
Nicaraguan binder and fillers
Aged three and a half years in Privada coolers
Fresh strawberry and cream profile
Nicaraguan pepper and cedar underneath
Exclusive Privada aged release
Not available as the same blend on the regular market
