For its newest release, Boutique Blends is stepping out of the factory it has traditionally used and not just into another factory, but another country and another type of tobacco.
Today, Rafael Nodal announced the Aging Room Small Batch Pelo de Oro, a new limited release that is being made by Abdel Fernandez at his Tabacalera AJ Fernandez Cigars de Nicaragua S.A. in Estelí. In addition, Fernandez is also supplying the central tobacco in the new blend, pelo de oro, a notoriously difficult variety to grow due to its susceptibility to disease and low yields.
Around the filler lies both a Nicaraguan binder and wrapper, with the cigar being offered in a single vitola dubbed the Scherzo (5 1/2 x 55, $13.90). The cigar uses a triple cap and pigtail and will be packed in 10-count boxes. The name comes from the term for a section within a symphony or sonata where the music becomes lighter and more playful, which keeps in line with his usage of musical terms for other cigars in the Aging Room line.
In keeping with the protocol for Aging Room Small Batch releases, the Pelo de Oro will be available until its key tobacco component runs out, meaning specific production numbers are not yet available.
Nodal told Cigar Aficionado, which first reported on the story, that while the cigar will make its formal debut at the 2016 IPCPR Convention & Trade Show, he has already sent it to some stores.
The company has not yet responded to a request for comment.