Blind Cigar Review: Fernando Leon | Family Reserve Robusto
This cigar was reviewed blind (no bands) by a panel of at least 4 reviewers. They did not know what they were smoking beforehand. The scores are an average of all the reviewers' scores with outliers removed. All of our cigars reviewed are shipped to the panelists with Boveda packs to ensure optimal smoking experience.
Vital Stats:
Vitola: Robusto
Length: 5″
Ring Gauge: 50
Country of Origin: Dominican Republic
Wrapper: Corojo
Binder: Dominican Republic
Filler: Dominican Republic, Peru, Brazil
Factory: La Aurora S.A.
Blender: Guillermo Leon
Number of reviewers: 5 —– Myles (MylesT) Jason (bigslowrock) Will (Dubv23) Brian (B-daddy) Derek (StogieNinja)
Price: $9.00
Contributed by: Nicholas (volpow61)
Initial Impressions
Appearance: 88
Aroma: 89
Construction: 90
“Fairly rustic wrapper the color of brown leather. Several streaks throughout. Several prominent veins are visible, both from the wrapper and underneath. Quite sloppy cap, however, the cigar still looks decent.” –Derek (StogieNinja)
“Flawless. No, really, this is what I want all my cigars to smell like! Rich, musty barnyard, tobacco barn, hay and cedar, all powerful and in your face.” –Myles (MylesT)
“Pretty firm (almost hard) overall but there is one soft spot right under the band. A triple cap but the top cap is a bit crooked and wrinkled. ” –Brian (B-daddy)
First Third
Flavor: 90
Strength: Medium-Strong
Body/Complexity: Medium-Full
“Black pepper with a rich core of leather. There’s an undercurrent of baking spices. The smoke is very dry. At about half an inch, the smoke becomes much creamier, and the black pepper fades somewhat. Wood is added to the rich leather, and a syrupy sweetness appears along with a sharp sensation on the retrohale, similar to smelling cedar chips, the kind used to thwart moths in closets. There’s a slight harshness in the throat as well that’s a bit unpleasant. After correcting the burn, the harshness fades a little, though not entirely, and the flavors are primarily dry wood, with some mild cinnamon and pepper.” –Derek (StogieNinja)
“This third, I had a lot of rich, nougat and almond oil flavors. Loads of spice also, but not out of balance. Nice spots of baked custard and toffee, mixed with black coffee and pepper. Very nice!” –Myles (MylesT)
Second Third
Flavor: 87
Strength: Medium-Strong
Body/Complexity: Medium-Full
“The second third was very reminiscent of the first. The campfire qualities of burning ember, spices, pepper and even the floral quality were still present. At times I detected a leathery counterpart that overpowered the woodiness. It was a very robust and heavy profile that was quite unique.” –Will (Dubv23)
“Primary flavors transition to a deep earthy leather. I feel it way in the back of my mouth and throat. This is a real big boy cigar through the first half. The flavors do start to mellow about midway through this third (half-way point of the stick). The mouth feel becomes a little more rich and I start to pick-up on some of the cinnamon I tasted on the cold draw. The cigar suddenly goes out at the end of the second third. Odd. Re-lit it without any issues or bad flavors and we’re on to the final third.” –Brian (B-daddy)
Final Third
Flavor: 89
Strength: Medium-Strong
Body/Complexity: Medium-Full
“It came back to me a bit. I’m getting spice and wood to go along with that terrible harshness.” –Jason (bigslowrock)
“Big transitions in this third were the main attraction of spice and pepper. In the background the leather hung around consistently and there was also a coffee bean quality that showed. The campfire flavors that I was starting to get used to has gone away but I was still pleased with what was left over. Toward the conclusion there was a vanilla sweetness that balanced everything out.” –Will (Dubv23)
Overall Impressions
Draw: 94
Burn: 87
“Just about right. Could have stood for a bit more resistance, but fine overall.” –Myles (MylesT)
“Fairly uneven burn that required multiple touch ups to keep going. Thankfully the cigar never went out.” –Will (Dubv23)
Overall Strength: Medium-Strong
Overall Body: Medium-Full
Overall Experience: 87
“Nice enough that I’d likely give it another go. There’s always a fair chance that I just got one with some issues. The flavors were from good to great, so if the construction/burn issues are fixed or not there in a second stick, it’d be great!” –Myles (MylesT)
“This was a very unique smoke. The flavors were great, complex and very robust. I am not sure I have smoked a cigar that I could truly compare this too. At times the uniqueness had me thinking of the recent Sam Leccia White label I smoked but I couldn’t pin point it. I would recommend everyone give this stick a shot…” –Will (Dubv23)
“This is a big cigar. Big smoke, big flavors and strong. I like full bodied full flavored cigars but this flavor profile just didn’t quite float my boat. It started strong but by the end, the flavors had turned mediocre and I grew tired of them. It wasn’t bad but nothing to write home about.” –Brian (B-daddy)
Smoking Time (in minutes): 88
Total Score: 89 (Good)
Link to full scores and notes: Full Notes