First Look-Last Call By A.J. Fernandez On Its Way To Retail

Source from:  Tobacco Reporter 04/18/2016

Cigarmaker A.J. Fernandez is preparing to launch a new cigar line entitled Last Call by A.J. Fernandez. The cigar will be the first in a collection of brands known as the Portfolio Series-experimental blends that the company is planning to release separately from the company's flagship core lines such as San Lotano and Enclave.

"The Portfolio Series by A.J. Fernandez is a collection of unique blends that A.J. has worked on throughout the years in Nicaragua," Starky Arias of A.J. Fernandez Cigars told Cigar Aficionado. "The blends are comprised of unique cuts of premium tobacco from A.J.'s vast inventory of fillers and will be released to the public in the future. Some lines will be limited in production and others, such as Last Call, will be full productions."

Last Call will debut in one size, called Geniales, measuring 4 1/2 inches by 48 ring gauge and wears an Ecuador Habano Rosado wrapper over a Nicaraguan binder and fillers that Fernandez has grown on his own farms. The cigar first came to life as a personal blend of Fernandez's, which he shared with guests who came to visit his Nicaraguan estate.

"The cigar line was given this particular name since it literally became the final smoke of the evening for A.J. and his guests during their visits to the 'White House' [Estate] for Monday and Thursday night NFL games...The final smoke of the night," Arias explained.

Last Call by A.J. Fernandez will start shipping to retailers this month, and is positioned as a brick-and-mortar exclusive. The cigar comes in 25-count boxes and will retail for $5 each. While a previous artist rendering of the packaging featured an "A.J. Fernandez Cigar Company" inscription, actual photos of the slide-lid box revealed to Cigar Aficionado show an updated label that reads "A.J. Fernandez Cigar Family".

The cigars are rolled at Tabacalera A.J. Fernandez Cigars de Nicaragua, located in Estelí, Nicaragua. Enditem