Pre-light Experience

Aaron: The wrapper on the rectangle pressed AJ Fernandez New World Navegante is medium reddish-brown with some darker marbling and has well pressed veins. The seams are slightly raised while the caps are well applied. There are two bands, with the primary being white and red and carrying the company and line name. The foot has a red ribbon. The aroma from the wrapper is a mix of cocoa, rich earth and some spice while the foot brings musty cedar and some earth. The pre-light draw also brings musty cedar and light earth.
Matt: The AJ Fernandez New World Navegante has a soft box press and light feel in the hand. Rustic-looking wrapper. Prominent veins and seams. Messy cap application. Very earthy smell off the foot and body of the cigar. Open draw with notes of dark earth.
Will: The AJ Fernandez New World Navegante had a dark brown color with a slight reddish hue. This cigar had a near square press to it. Aromas from the foot with notes of sweet tobacco and cedar. The cold draw also had notes of sweet tobacco and cedar as well as some earth notes mixed in.

AJ Fernandez New World Navegante

First Third

Aaron: The cigar begins with an aged, toasted cedar, black pepper, earth and some meatiness. At a quarter inch in, the toasted cedar takes on a bit of a stale profile. At three quarters of an inch in, some mustiness joins the profile, the black pepper mellows a bit and the meatiness has departed. The retrohale is musty and stale toasted cedar with dry earth and some slightly zingy black pepper. At an inch and a quarter, the earth is now fairly dry. As the third comes to a close, the profile is musty and stale toasted cedar up front, with dry earth right behind and black pepper in the back half of the profile. The strength was slightly below medium.
Matt: For this being an AJ, there wasn’t nearly as much pepper as I thought there’d be. Slightly stinging red pepper on the retrohale. Bakers chocolate and walnut are the main tones to start. Undertones of peaty earth and oak. Smooth smoke texture. Long finish. Medium plus.
Will: The New World Navigante opens up with notes of coffee bean, cedar, cocoa, earth and white pepper. Early on, the coffee bean and cedar notes emerge as the primary notes. The retrohale delivers an additional layer of mixed pepper notes. There was a good balance of flavors during this segment of the smoking experience. Strength and body is medium to full.

AJ Fernandez New World Navegante

Second Third

Aaron: As the second third begins, a construction paper note joins the profile. At a half inch in, a grassy note joins the profile. The retrohale is now musty and stale toasted cedar with dry earth and mild black pepper. At an inch and a quarter, a light meatiness returns. As the third comes to a close, the profile is musty and stale toasted cedar up front, with dry earth right behind and black pepper, construction paper, grassiness and meatiness in the back half of the profile. The strength remained at slightly below medium.
Matt: Raisin and milk chocolate notes dominate the flavor profile in this third. Even less pepper at this point – faint red pepper through the nose. Undertones of espresso, peaty earth, walnut and oak. Medium-full body. Long finish. Smooth smoke texture.
Will: During the second third, the coffee bean notes take over. These are rounded out by cedar, earth, cocoa and pepper notes. Overall, the sweetness diminished and there was more in the way of pepper spice by the end of the second third. Strength and body remain medium to full.

AJ Fernandez New World Navegante

Final Third

Aaron: As the final third begins, the black pepper increases a bit and becomes a bit sharp. At a quarter inch in, the musty, stale, toasted cedar gains some astringency. The retrohale is now musty and stale toasted cedar with dry earth, construction paper and mild black pepper. As the cigar wraps up, the profile is musty and stale toasted cedar with astringency up front, with dry earth right behind, sharp black black pepper a bit further behind and construction paper, grassiness and meatiness in the back half of the profile. The strength remained at slightly below medium.
Matt: Espresso, charred wood and peaty earth took over the profile in the final third. But luckily red pepper still didn’t ramp-up. Hints of bakers chocolate and walnut as faint undertones. Full body. Long finish. Arid smoke texture.
Will: The final third was mostly coffee bean, cedar and pepper. There were still touches of earth in the background. Most of the sweetness had dissipated. Strength remained medium to full and the cigar was now in full-bodied territory.

AJ Fernandez New World Navegante

Burn

Aaron: The burn was slightly wavy at times, but never needed any attention. The ash held on in inch and a half increments.
Matt: The burn line and combustion were great, never needing a touch-up.
Will: This was a low maintenance burn that did not require many touch-ups to maintain a straight burn path and straight burn line.

AJ Fernandez New World Navegante

Draw

Aaron: The draw was slight looser than I prefer, but didn’t seem to cause any issues with the smoking experience.
Matt: Great draw with the perfect amount of resistance.
Will: The draw had the right amount of resistance from start to finish. I liked how the draw of this box-pressed cigar was not too open.

Overall

Aaron: The cigar began with an aged, toasted cedar, black pepper, earth and some meatiness. The cedar became a bit stale pretty quickly and the meatiness dropped out. Some mustiness joined a bit later. The second third saw a construction paper note join in and later some grassiness. Some meatiness also returned to the profile. The final third saw the pepper increase and become a bit sharp and the cedar gained some astringency. The AJ Fernandez New World Navegante had an average flavor profile to start and then dropped a level in each third. Something seemed off about this cigar as the profile wasn’t close to previous offerings that I’ve smoked before in this line. I’m curious to what the others experience to see if there was something wrong with this batch or I got an outlier. Just not a great experience.
Matt: I was genuinely surprised with how much I enjoyed this AJ Fernandez New World Navegante. It’s been years since I’ve had the blend but I thought I remember it being a “pepper-bomb.” Although it had some spice, it was by no means a “pepper-bomb” and it’s a cigar I’d certainly come back to. I can see this cigar being a great candidate for aging with the amount of body it has as well.
Will: Overall, the first third of the AJ Fernandez New World Navegante was the most impressive. The flavors became more ordinary from the second third to the end of the cigar. I seem to have remembered this cigar having more of a wow factor when I first smoked it ten years ago. It’s still a good cigar and if it were on a table of cigars, I certainly wouldn’t mind picking one up to smoke.

Aaron Loomis

SCORE

4.08

Cost/Point

$2.06

Scoring System

Matt Masters

SCORE

7.43

Cost/Point

$1.13

Scoring System

William Cooper

SCORE

5.85

Cost/Point

$1.44

Scoring System

Team Cigar Review: AJ Fernandez New World Navegante