It’s been a while since we talked to the Casa Fernandez people at IPCPR, so we made a point of checking in with Max Fernandez this year. As with years past, Casa Fernandez shared a nicely sized booth with Warped Cigars. And much like Kyle’s side of the booth, their part was looking sharp.

Max starts off by telling us about Guardian of the Farm developments. The new Guardian of the Farm Rambo (an extension of the previously launched collaboration with Kyle Gellis) is named for their dog in Jalapa, the source of the Corojo-99 wrapper used on the cigar. Max assures us that this Nicaraguan puro isn’t as strong as the name might lead you to believe.

Next Max moves onto Condega, named for the well known tobacco growing region in Nicaragua. Paraphrasing Dion Giolito of Illusione, Max tells that smoking a leaf of Condega tobacco is like smoking a complete cigar. This idea is the inspiration for the blend. He tells us it’s a medium bodied cigar that sells very well in Spain, holding its own against popular Cuban brands, and they’ve decided to introduce it the American market.

We also take a look at some cigars that released between last year’s trade show and this year’s, and discuss the blends with both Cuban and Aganorsa leaf. (The manager of their new factory in Jalapa used to put create cigars with Cuban wrapper leaf and Aganorsa binder and fillers in Russia.) Max also fills us in on how Casa Fernandez continues to evolve, in part by learning from their many clients.

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