AGANORSA Leaf Arsenio Corona

When I was growing up as a kid in the 1980s and 1990s, there was only one person I knew of named Arsenio, the comedian, actor and late night talk show host, Arsenio Hall. Flash forward into the mid to late 2000s when I was getting deeper into the world of cigars, and I came to know of another Arsenio: Arsenio Ramos.

I came to know Ramos through his work with AGANORSA, but his career in tobacco started much before that. Ramos spent more than four decades working for Cubatabaco, the country’s state-run tobacco company. Around the year 2000, Ramos would leave the island country, joining up with Eduardo Fernández, who had recently purchased Tabacalera Tropical in Nicaragua, the company that became Casa Fernández and is now known as AGANORSA Leaf. He would become the head of the manufacturing team for the company’s TABSA factory, which also underwent a name change and is now known simply as the Aganorsa factory.

While most people in such positions don’t see their names end up on cigars, Ramos was an exception, as the company released lines including the Casa Fernández Arsenio in 2009 and the Casa Fernández-Miami Arsenio in 2012, a pair of complementary lines but with the same blend but made in two different places. Then there was the Casa Fernández Arsenio Oro, another Miami-made, Nicaraguan puro that came out in 2014 in celebration of his 80th birthday.

Unfortunately, Ramos passed away in 2018 at the age of 83.

While he may no longer be with us, his legend lives on both in tobacco and cigar blends he created, as well as in a new line created in his memory that was released in July 2024.

The AGANORSA Leaf Arsenio is a Nicaraguan puro highlighted by a corojo wrapper grown in Jalapa, along with two binders: a criollo 98 leaf and an undisclosed varietal from Estelí, while the fillers come from AGANORSA’s farms in Condega and Jalapa.

It is offered in three sizes:

• AGANORSA Leaf Arsenio Corona (6 x 44) — $14.99 (Box of 15, $224.85)
• AGANORSA Leaf Arsenio Robusto (5 1/4 x 54) — $15.99 (Box of 15, $239.85)
• AGANORSA Leaf Arsenio Toro (6 x 52) — $16.99 (Box of 15, $254.85)

AGANORSA Leaf says that for 2024, there will be 2,000 boxes each of the Robusto and Toro, while there will be just 1,500 boxes of the Corona, which was Ramos’ favorite size.

“Arsenio was a giant of the Cuban tobacco industry,” said Fernández when the cigar was announced in March. “He was a self-taught man of humble means, a true craftsman. He was a great human being who was instrumental in creating the singular flavor that distinguishes the richness of Aganorsa’s leaf, taking us back to the traditions of a true Habano of old. This blend was his favorite and a tribute to his lifetime of work.”

• Cigar Reviewed: AGANORSA Leaf Arsenio Corona
• Country of Origin: Nicaragua
• Factory: Aganorsa
• Wrapper: Nicaragua (Jalapa Corojo)
• Binder: Nicaragua (Criollo 98, Estelí)
• Filler: Nicaragua (Condega & Jalapa)
• Length: 6 inches
• Ring Gauge: 44
• Shape: Round
• MSRP: $14.99 (Box of 15, $224.85)
• Release Date: July 1, 2024
• Number of Cigars Released: Regular Production
• Number of Cigars Smoked For Review: 3

I like that the band bears an image of Arsenio Ramos, and kudos to the designer(s) for the subtle stylization of his name. The wrapper has a nutty color that initially reminds me of almonds, with some mottling that gives the color some variation and depth. A few veins stand out, and the seam lines are just slightly visible, but neither are distracting. There is also some oiliness to the wrapper, and while it doesn’t make the leaf glisten, it is immediately noticeable on my fingers. All three cigars are firm, though the second cigar has a bit more sponginess than the current average for cigars. The foot has some leading black pepper followed by an aroma of freshly toasted wheat bread and some creaminess, with a touch more pepper on the finish to tingle my nostrils. The first and third cigars’ cold draw are a bit firm and makes me wonder if I’ll need to take a bit more off the head or will notice it once the cigar is burning, while the second cigar’s is much better and has me optimistic for an issue-free performance. The flavor is soft and reminds me of cookie dough, just a bit sweet and very agreeable to my taste buds even though there isn’t much depth or complexity. Some pepper comes out and begins to tingle my taste buds, while some creaminess works to soften things out for a brief moment before my lips and tongue start tingling from the pepper.

The AGANORSA Leaf Arsenio Corona gets going with some familiar pepper and spice backed by a bit of freshly cut firewood, a combination that I think of as signature flavors of the criollo 98 and corojo 99 varietals that are staples in the AGANORSA Leaf portfolio. The sensation lingers on my tongue after the smoke has been exhaled, leaving a bit of creaminess behind that starts to alert my taste buds to its presence in the profile. There’s a distinctive aroma that reminds me of warm graham crackers, sometimes smelling slightly burnt as if they’ve been put over a campfire as part of the s’more-making process, and it is easily one of the most enjoyably unique aspects of any cigar I’ve smoked in recent memory. The retrohales vary, as the first two cigars offer a milder sensation than I would have imagined, as the pepper tingles my nostrils fairly mildly, seemingly not wanting to overpower the flavor. The third cigar, meanwhile, packs a blast of pepper that is more than I would have expected if trying to find an enjoyable complement to the flavor. Creaminess becomes more of a contributor after the first clump of ash falls off, becoming the first flavor I pick up while the pepper, spice and woodiness unfold as part of a long finish that allows the flavors to layer on top of each other while allowing each individual one its own spotilght. Flavor is medium-plus, body is medium and strength is mild. Construction is very good thus far; all three cigars have good draws and airflow, an even burn line, and produce plenty of smoke.

While the second third of the AGANORSA Leaf Arsenio Corona starts by staying creamy, it’s not too far into this section where the base note turns a bit more textured led by a more prominent woodiness that stimulates both my taste buds and the roof of my mouth. There’s still some spice and pepper, but neither one seems to have changed appreciably, still serving as primary accents that drive the finish as well. Pepper settles down a bit through the nose, as all three cigars now have a more balanced pepper that still tingles my nostrils without overpowering the experience but complementing it. Just like in the first third, the cigar puts off a really pleasant aroma of cedar shavings and a bit of smokiness while at rest that adds another dimension to the experience, one that I do not commonly find in most of the cigars I smoke. Past the midpoint line, the flavor begins to get a bit more textured, almost as if the creaminess—which has largely faded away—was covering up this sensation. I’m not thrilled about it, though the flavor puts up a valiant fight in distracting me from its related sensation. Flavor is medium-plus but with a trend toward medium-full as this section progresses, while body is medium and strength is medium-minus. Either the combustion struggles a bit in this section, or it’s changed the pace it needs to be puffed on without telling me, and so the first two cigars need relights, while I speed up my puffing a bit in the final third to avoid the issue. 

I can’t tell if the relights are causing the change, but the final third of the AGANORSA Leaf Arsenio Corona starts with a little funkiness, nothing that would have me putting the cigar down, but enough to be noticeable. Even without the third cigar needing relights, the change still shows up, leading me to think its inherently part of the profile. It’s not off-putting, but it’s the first time I’ve found something not to like about the profile. It doesn’t hang around too long, but the transition out of it brings about a smokier profile that is rooted more in charred wood and pepper, with the creaminess now completely gone. I get a bit of a Lay’s potato chip sensation on the retrohale, as the pepper now has a dry, slightly greasy undertone. The relights make it harder to focus on the flavor, but the smoky, almost ashy flavor continues, sitting prominently atop a hearty wood flavor, while the spice and pepper combination is largely found on the finish. Flavor is full, body is medium-plus, and strength is medium-plus. Construction is hampered by the need for several relights.

Final Notes

• We first purchased AGANORSA Leaf Arsenio cigars to review in August and I found them to be very dry, to the point that we ultimately didn’t review those specific cigars. Apparently, this wasn’t a widespread issue and the subsequent cigars we purchased in September seemed fine in that regard. — Charlie Minato.

• As I mentioned above, the band designer(s) did a great job stylizing his name, using the O to double as a smoke ring and making those latter letters look more like smoke while the earlier letters are more typical.
• Seeing Arsenio Ramos’ face on the bands made me think of some other cigars we’ve reviewed that have people’s faces on them, namely Compay Segundo, Eladio Diaz, Cano A. Ozgener, and Ilja van Horssen.
• I’m not counting regular production brands in the above list, but there’s also Simon Bolívar, Juius Caeser Newman, the La Gloria Cubana figure, and the woman on the Cuesta-Rey bands, among others.

• AGANORSA Leaf released this video in memory of Ramos.
• As noted above, the final third really struggled with combustion, requiring several relights to trudge through the section with frequent stops along the way.
• I wouldn’t say that the AGANORSA Leaf Arsenio Corona packs a lot of strength, but the final third offers enough to be noticeable. The first two were more manageable, but the third had me feeling like I wasn’t going to be in the mood for another cigar for at least a little while until the sensation dissipated.

• The company lists these as a 6 x 44 corona. The numbers above are the measurements we found for the three cigars used for this review.
• Final smoking time was about two hours and 10 minutes on average, though that was weighted down by the number of relights. Without needing those, I have a feeling this would clock in under two hours.
• The cigars for this review were purchased by halfwheel.
• Site sponsors Atlantic Cigar Co., Corona Cigar Co., Famous Smoke Shop, and Smokingpipes carry the AGANORSA Leaf Arsenio Corona.