Pre-light Experience

Aaron: The wrapper on the AJ Fernandez Enclave by Eladio Diaz Robusto light brown with some darker freckles and there are some thick veins running down the back of the cigar. The seams are smooth and the caps well applied. There are two bands, both in a white and gold color combination. The primary denotes the line, while the secondary denotes who it was made by, with the company logo on back. The aroma from the wrapper is a light mix of construction paper and earth, while the foot brings sweet cedar and construction paper. The pre-light draw brings cedar and floral notes along with a mid-level spiciness on my lips.
Seth: The AJ Fernandez Enclave by Eladio Diaz Robusto is finished with a nice wrapper that is between Natural and Colorado in coloring. The cigar has a nice antique brown color. It is slightly firm throughout, and silky in texture. There are small veins present on the wrapper, and it has a well applied cap. The aroma on the foot is that of light tobacco, hay and wood, while the wrapper is giving off leather, tobacco and spice notes.
John: The AJ Fernandez Enclave by Eladio Diaz Robusto came in cellophane with a UPC sticker on the cigar cellophane that has the cigar information and tears when the cellophane is opened. It has a primary Enclave band with a secondary, thinner by Eladio Diaz band. The cigar weighs 19.0 grams and the humidity measures at 64.9 percent. For aromas from the wrapper, I get fresh cedar and hay, and from the foot, I get tobacco, barnyard and hay.
Jiunn: The AJ Fernandez Enclave by Eladio Diaz Robusto has an even Colorado wrapper shade and shows some nice traces of oily content on the fingertips. Veins are well pressed, seams tight, bunch and roll even and the head is well wrapped and capped. Pre-light aromas consist of perfumey jasmine tea, cedar and dirt/soil.

AJ Fernandez Enclave by Eladio Diaz Robusto

First Third

Aaron: The cigar begins with toasted cedar and cinnamon forward baking spice. At a quarter inch in, some earth joins the profile. At a half inch in, the baking spice is no longer cinnamon forward. The retrohale is toasted cedar with even amounts of baking spice and earth. At an inch and a quarter, the baking spice transitions to black pepper. As the third comes to a close, the toasted cedar is up front, with earth a fair bit behind and the black pepper now just behind the middle of the profile. The strength was right at medium.
Seth: The first third of the cigar opens with soft cedar and hay notes. There is some faint tobacco notes present along with some warm spices. Touches of cinnamon and black pepper are present on the retrohale. In terms of strength and body, I would classify the cigar as a solid medium.
John: The first third opens with creamy wood and bread with a mild wood center that carries through to the finish and then mild dryness on the post draw. I find the flavors to be more decadent through the retrohale. There’s just simply more depth to the flavors in the retrohale. As the cigar continues, a sort of mossy mustiness is developing on the finish and a jalapeno-like spice is developing on the post draw which is lingering say roughly at medium strength on the palate between each puff. As the first third continues, some chocolate notes are developing on the retrohale at light plus strength. The profile remains stable and consistent moving towards the halfway point of the first third. Through the bottom half, the hay and wood notes in the center are intensifying to medium strength and carrying through the finish and into the post draw at the same strength level.
Jiunn: The first thing noticeable in this cigar is a nice dried red pepper spice. The pepper spice isn’t aggressive or meek, but a very balanced approach. Reaching deeper, there is also a bounty of what I get in a lot of AJ cigars, that is earthy dirt soil and hay. A subtle semi-sweet roasted nuts is there as well, which helps to break up the earthiness. Retrohaling gives deeper but still balanced dried red pepper spice. The finish is all about the AJ earthiness. Strength and body is medium.

AJ Fernandez Enclave by Eladio Diaz Robusto

Second Third

Aaron: As the second third begins, the toast level increases and has a long finish. At a half inch in, the earth increases a bit. At three quarters of an inch in, a light creaminess joins the profile. The retrohale is now toasted cedar, earth and light amounts of black pepper and creaminess. At an inch and a half in, the toast level becomes pretty heavy. As the third comes to a close, the heavily toasted cedar is up front, with earth a bit behind, black pepper just behind the middle of the profile and light creaminess in the background. The strength remained at medium.
Seth: The second third delivers a continuation of the first third profile. Soft cedar and hay notes. Bits of earth and tobacco present with warm spices. Cinnamon and black pepper notes are more pronounced in this third but not overpowering. Sharper profile while still dry. Like before, medium in strength and body.
John: In the second third, creamy bread leads off the profile, wood follows in the center becoming dry wood through the finish and post draw. Some tannins join the wood on the finish, a few puffs in. A raisin sweetness comes into the center of the retrohale as the second third continues. The flavor profile remains consistent in terms of flavor components and strength to the halfway point of the second third. Earth is joining the finish at light plus strength through the bottom half of the second third.
Jiunn: The second third reverts to classic AJ earthiness in dirt/soil and hay. The balanced pepper spice and roasted nuts sweetness is at a far distance now. Luckily, the retrohale is still full of flavors. Strength and body remains medium.

AJ Fernandez Enclave by Eladio Diaz Robusto

Final Third

Aaron: As the final third begins, the black pepper has now moved to the background. The retrohale remains toasted cedar, earth and light amounts of black pepper and creaminess. At three quarters of an inch in, the heavily toasted cedar becomes a bit damp and a light bitterness has appeared. As the cigar comes to a close, the heavily toasted and slightly damp cedar is up front, with earth a bit behind and some black pepper, creaminess and bitterness in the background. The strength remained at medium.
Seth: The final third of the cigar was in line with the first and second. Dryer flavor profile. Bits of wood, hay and tobacco are present. There are faint spice notes, showing some pepper and cinnamon, and it has some earth and mineral qualities on the finish. Like the first two thirds, medium in strength and body.
John: In the last third, creamy wood leads off with that turning into a mildly tannic wood through the finish. As the last third settles in, earth and tannic wood is joining the finish at medium minus strength. Wood is the primary flavor profile as it moves towards the halfway point, with tannic wood still finishing each puff. Medium strength earth joins the post draw and the finish through the bottom half lingering between each puff.
Jiunn: The final third stays on track within the second third. The profile is still all about earthiness in dirt/soil and hay. There isn’t much to break this up so I’m starting to get bored of the profile. Strength and body finishes the same medium.

AJ Fernandez Enclave by Eladio Diaz Robusto

Burn

Aaron: The burn was fairly wavy throughout and it required a touch-up to keep things in line atone point. The ash held on in one inch increments.
Seth: The burn on the cigar was good throughout. Not razor sharp or pretty, but solid.
John: The burn started straight but felt like it was stalling as I smoked it. The cigar goes out in the first third requiring a re-light. The burn became wavy in the second third, developing into an uneven burn that required a touch-up. As the rest of the review continued, the burn continued to be wavy but didn’t require intervention.
Jiunn: Great burn construction, providing an even burn, tight ashes and cool smoking temperature.

AJ Fernandez Enclave by Eladio Diaz Robusto

Draw

Aaron: The draw was perfect, with just the right amount of resistance that I prefer. For most of the cigar, a single draw didn’t produce much smoke and a second draw was needed, but I’m not sure if that was attributed to the draw or how the cigar was burning internally.
Seth: The draw on the cigar was a little tight for my liking from beginning to end.
John: The draw measures at 35 inches of water on the CigarMedics draw tester, and is subjectively a half notch towards open.
Jiunn: Great draw performance, providing the ideal balance between air flow and resistance.

Overall

Aaron: The cigar began with toasted cedar and cinnamon forward baking spice. Some earth joined in fairly quickly and then the baking spice lost the cinnamon forward profile. Later, the baking spice transitioned to black pepper and mellowed. The second third saw the toast level increase and it built up as the third went along. Some light creaminess also joined in. The final third saw the cedar become a bit damp and some light bitterness joined in. The AJ Fernandez Enclave by Eladio Diaz Robusto had an average flavor profile throughout. The cinnamon forward baking spice was a nice touch early on, but it didn’t last as long as I would have liked. Overall, not a cigar I’d see myself coming back to, but with the low price point, it’s an easy try to see what you think.
Seth: The AJ Fernandez Enclave by Eladio Diaz Robusto is a lacking cigar. It’s not a bad cigar, but there is nothing wowing about the blend. It is a dryer profile that shows some wood, earth, hay and spice notes while smoking at a solid medium level. There isn’t much to the cigar, but at the end of the day it is under $10.00. Now, would that lead me to buy the cigar? No; I would rather spend more on a blend by AJ out of his own factory. Eladio may have done some great things when he was at Davidoff, but we are not seeing that out of his own factory. This is rather in line for an Eladio blend, and a disappointment for AJ Fernandez.
John: The AJ Fernandez Enclave by Eladio Diaz Robusto had a promising start to it, with some layered flavors that seemed to almost be entirely Eladio Diaz’s style of blending and very little in the way of what I would put on something from AJ Fernandez. As the cigar continued, the profile was pleasant, but not as engaging as the first third. The draw was perfect and the burn required a touch-up and a re-light. I will say the price point on this cigar makes it very affordable for the current market in 2025. With that said, the profile wasn’t for me. I think if the first third had managed to continue into the second third, this is something I could see coming back to. Total smoking time was 2 hours and 41 minutes.
Jiunn: So there’s only good things about this cigar, regardless of my average tasting experience. The good things are: 1) It tastes like AJ so for the plethora fans out there, winner winner. 2) It’s only $9 for a Robusto extra-ish. Chicken dinner. With all that said though, the AJ Fernandez Enclave by Eladio Diaz Robusto isn’t for me.

Aaron Loomis

SCORE

5.55

Cost/Point

$1.62

Scoring System

Seth Geise

SCORE

5.60

Cost/Point

$1.61

Scoring System

John McTavish

SCORE

5.80

Cost/Point

$1.55

Scoring System

Jiunn Liu

SCORE

6.10

Cost/Point

$1.48

Scoring System

Team Cigar Review: AJ Fernandez Enclave by Eladio Diaz Robusto