This July at IPCPR 2016, Brian and I were taken around the General Cigar Company’s booth by Victoria McKee-Jaworski, director of public relations for General Cigar Company, who showed us their new offerings.  Several things caught our eye, but none more than the newest offering by Hoyo de Monterrey, La Amistad, which you can watch our video from the show here.  The La Amistad is a collaboration between AJ Fernandez and Hoyo using select tobaccos from Nicaragua.  La Amistad is limited edition line with tobaccos from 3 regions of Nicaragua made at AJ Fernandez’s factory in Nicaragua, Tabacalera Fernandez.

Let’s take a look at the blend:

• Wrapper:  Ecuadorian Habano
• Binder:  Nicaragua
• Filler:  Nicaraguan (Jalapa, Esteli, Condega)
• MSRP:  $7.50

Appearance

The cigar has a beautiful wrapper with almost leathery appearance and feel.  The cap is nicely applied and the cigar does have and hard or soft spots to the touch.  After clipping the cap, the draw was a perfect milkshake draw with notes of cedar, earth and sweet tobacco.

First Half

The cigar is a flavor bomb.  On first draw, I’m greeted with notes of cedar, pecan, black pepper and hints of cinnamon.  The cigar also has a nice toasty bread notes as well.  I get more black pepper and cedar when I retrohale the cigar.  The La Amistad is smoking beautifully with tons of smoke and the burn is great.  The cigar is medium/full bodied at this point.

Second Half

The second half of the cigar is even better.  The cedar notes increased in strength.  The pecan, black pepper and cinnamon notes were still there as well, but the cinnamon became more dominant.  The cigar also developed a leather note and a sweet, buttery caramel note.  On the retrohale, I still get the black pepper note, but I got the caramel note as well which really intensified the flavor.  The burn was still great with the body in the lower end of full.

Conclusion

The La Amistad is an exceptional cigar.  I couldn’t put it down.  The flavors were outstanding and the construction was great.  AJ and Hoyo did a great job with this cigar, especially at this price point.  I will definitely be buying a box of these cigars, especially considering they are a limited edition, and I think you should too.  I also think these would age well, but I don’t think many of mine will survive long enough to age.  Check these out at your local cigar shop as these are a great new smoke from Hoyo and AJ Fernandez.  I highly recommend them.