Casa Fernández Tobacco Haven 30th Anniversary

Long time readers of this site know that the process that leads to a cigar getting a redux is pretty varied. I try and make my reduxes coincide with a one- or two-year period since the original review went up. But inevitably some cigars get overlooked for one reason or another, including that the company is no longer in business, it was an odd release that’s no longer available or something else that keeps it from being selected in the monthly scavenger hunt inside one of my humidors.

One such cigar is this one, the Casa Fernández Tobacco Haven 30th Anniversary, a very limited store exclusive that came out in April 2018 in celebration of the 30th anniversary of Tobacco Haven, a retailer located in Brookline, N.H. It is a 7 x 52 double robusto with an all-Nicaraguan blend, though the store did not release any specifics about it. It wore the same primary band as the Casa Fernández Miami line, also a Nicaraguan puro but with a wrapper identified as a corojo 99 leaf.

As mentioned, production was extremely limited, with just 100 boxes of 12 cigars produced. Individual cigars were priced at $9.99, while a full box was priced at $99.99.

In July 2018, the store got a second exclusive release: the Casa Fernández Tobacco Haven 30th Anniversary Connecticut would debut. It used an Ecuadorian Connecticut wrapper in place of the Nicaraguan wrapper and was once again limited to just 100 boxes of 12 cigars. Both cigars were produced at the Casa Fernández Miami factory.

In case you haven’t heard the Casa Fernández name for a while, or are newer to cigar smoking and have never heard it, it’s because the company rebranded itself to AGANORSA Leaf in April 2018, quite literally as this cigar was making its debut. In the years since, the Casa Fernández name has departed, as lines like the Casa Fernández Aniversario became the AGANORSA Leaf Aniversario.

Here’s what I said about the Casa Fernández Tobacco Haven 30th Anniversary when I reviewed it in May 2018:

Every so often I get asked why we insist on reviewing multiple samples of a cigar for each review, and I think the Casa Fernández Tobacco Haven 30th Anniversary is a prime example. For as much work as cigar manufacturers put into making sure their offerings are consistent, there really is no way that I’m aware to completely homogenize premium cigars, and the three samples showed just how subtly yet noticeably one cigar can differ from the next. The starting point was generally the same, but the progressions had some marked differences, even though the landing points clustered fairly tightly. There were points in individual cigars where I’d have been tempted to pull out my wallet and buy a box, and yet others where it seemed like a decent smoke but one that I wouldn’t be quick to revisit. Having smoked three, I can comfortably and confidently say that the Casa Fernández Tobacco Haven 30th Anniversary is a solid if slightly less than spectacular cigar that offers several very enjoyable points, yet still leaves a bit to be desired in terms of smoothness, with hopes that additional time may be the cure.

• Cigar Reviewed: Casa Fernández Tobacco Haven 30th Anniversary
• Country of Origin: U.S.A.
• Factory: Casa Fernández Miami
• Wrapper: Nicaraguan (Corojo 99)
• Binder: Nicaragua
• Filler: Nicaragua
• Length: 7 Inches
• Ring Gauge: 52
• Vitola: Double Robusto
• MSRP: $9.99 (Boxes of 12, $99.99)
• Release Date: April 2018
• Number of Cigars Released: 100 Boxes of 12 Cigars (1,200 Total Cigars)
• Number of Cigars Smoked For Redux: 1

The Casa Fernández Tobacco Haven 30th Anniversary doesn’t come packaged in cellophane, so I’m not surprised to see that the wrapper doesn’t have much oiliness to it, but it still feels fairly supple with a touch of waxiness. The wrapper shows some signs that it’s been handled a few times over the years, as there are small chips along seam lines and on the front of the wrapper, but otherwise, it’s held up well over the years. The wrapper has a flat, medium-brown color to it, far from what I describe as vibrant or particularly eye-catching. The cigar looks like it was rolled well and has a very firm density to it, though given the wrapper, I’m not squeezing it much. The foot has a very mild aroma, with parchment, light toast, a touch of pepper and wood chips. The cold draw reveals a soft texture and flavor profile, almost chewy like the center of soft white bread, while a bit of unsweetened condensed milk lingers in the background. While I don’t get any pepper here, my lips tingle from the tobacco.

The Casa Fernández Tobacco Haven 30th Anniversary starts with a very agreeable profile for my palate, offering creaminess, some dry earth, light pepper, and a sprinkling of ground espresso beans. Retrohales have some weathered wood and black pepper, making for a pleasant complement to the flavor. As the burn line progresses, the flavor dries a bit , while the first clump of ash drops on my desk around the one-inch mark. After some dry earth in the first puffs and then a departure, some richer and less-dry earth comes along to give the cigar some body. When the creaminess combines with it, I get the flavor of peanut butter, which is quite good. Approaching the midpoint of the cigar, I wouldn’t say that any of the puffs to this point have had this kind of accent, but there is some cedar sweetness emerging, giving the cigar a slight nudge in a different direction. However, that sweetness does not make its way to retrohales, as they still have a powdery mix of dry, dusty earth, old wood and black pepper. The first half has a medium-plus flavor, medium body and mild strength. Construction is very good in terms of draw, burn line, combustion and smoke production. The wrapper did have some damage that got exposed by the leaf splitting a bit, but it did not impact the experience.

The second half of the Casa Fernández Tobacco Haven 30th Anniversary gets underway with a toastier, crisper flavor profile, as the smoke hits my taste buds slightly differently than it did in the first half. The same core components are driving much of the profile, meaning some dry earth, old wood and pepper, but the finish just past the midway point introduces some peanut shells, while the aroma gets more fragrant as the wood livens up. That change makes its way to the retrohale as well, giving it a different sensation in the nostrils than when it was led by pepper. There’s a touch of waxiness emerging in both the flavor and texture of the smoke as the final third gets underway, but the cigar hasn’t abandoned its core notes. After getting crisper, the flavor turns a bit softer, maybe even muddled, as the final third burns, but keeps the core intact. The second half is still in medium-plus flavor territory, while body is medium-plus now and strength is medium-minus. Things wrap up after three hours and 10 minutes of smoking time with no construction issues of note.