IPCPR 2014: A.J. Fernandez

There’s a New World for A.J. Fernandez, literally. The reality is the booth looks much the same, but the name of the company’s newest release tells a different story. In the booth were some new faces: Robbie Streitz is now the national sales manager and Ismael Fernandez, the father of company founder Abdel Fernandez is now with the company.

New World
The company believes it made a $8-10 cigar that’s priced at $6. New World samples showed a cigar that had a lot of aggressiveness on the palate, particularly the retrohale, although it’s more medium in strength. New World is a play on both the name of much of the tobacco-producing regions of the world, as well as a personal message. More details, here.

Mayimbe
Fans of Mayimbe will have to wait another year for the limited edition, high-dollar cigar. Abdel Fernandez told halfwheel he was planning on releasing the cigar next year. The company wanted to focus on New World, and its value offering, rather than another $10+ release.

Charlie Minato

I am an editor and co-founder of halfwheel.com/Rueda Media, LLC. I previously co-founded and published TheCigarFeed, one of the two predecessors of halfwheel. I have written about the cigar industry for more than a decade, covering everything from product launches to regulation to M&A. In addition, I handle a lot of the behind-the-scenes stuff here at halfwheel. I enjoy playing tennis, watching boxing, falling asleep to the Le Mans 24, wearing sweatshirts year-round and eating gyros. echte liebe.