Back in June of last year, Aganorsa Leaf announced an extension to their Guardian of the Farm line, Guardian of the Farm Nightwatch. In this version, blenders Max Fernandez and Kyle Gellis of Warped Cigars Aganorsa’s proprietary Shade Grown Corojo Maduro wrapper to makea more intense smoke. That is the same wrapper found on the Aganorsa Leaf Signature Maduro. The Guardian of the Farm line gets its name from the dogs that stand watch over their tobacco fields.
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.
Guardian of the Farm Nightwatch comes the same four sizes as the original: Rambo (4.5 x 48), JJ (box pressed 5.25 x 50), Campeon (6 x 52 109 head), and Orpheus (6 x 44). All are in boxes of 25 and MSRP is between $8.50 and $9.95. The only difference in format between the original blend and Nightwatch JJ is box pressed and the Apollo has changed its name to Orpheus. Some of the artwork for Nightwatch was created by Dean Keever, of Tree House made famous for art design of beer can.
Vital Stats:
Vitola: Lonsdale Length: 6″ Ring Gauge: 44 Country of Origin: Nicaragua Wrapper: Nicaraguan Shade Grown Corojo Maduro Binder: Nicaragua Filler: Nicaragua Factory: Tabacos Valle de Jalapa S.A. (TABSA) Blender: Max Fernandez & Kyle Gellis Number of reviewers: 4 – Mickey T.(irratebass) Ryan H.(Ryan H.) Doug S.(Unpossible_1) James H.(Keikan Jim) Price: $9.96 Age: 4 Months Release Date: August 2019 Contributed by: Blind Man’s Puff
Initial Impressions
Appearance: 91
“Good looking cigar that appears to be a corona. The wrapper is dark brown , and smooth to the touch. This cigar feels firmly packed and based on looking at the roll through the foot this may tunnel on me…..I hope not.” –Mickey T. (irratebass)
Aroma: 88
“Earth, sweet bread and a touch of autumn spice. Just a hint of milk chocolate as well. This smells amazing.” –James H. (Keikan Jim)
Blind Cigar Review: Aganorsa Leaf | Guardian of the Farm Nightwatch Orpheus
First Third
Flavor: 86 Strength: Medium-Strong Body/Complexity: Medium
“Dry draw is open with a light resistance. This should be nice. Right off the bat, I get black pepper on the finish. After the first few draws, I detect a citrus note mixed with autumn spices and a touch of earth. There is another flavor that I can’t put a name on that creeps into the mix. Whatever it is, it doesn’t play well with the other kids which brings the grade down a notch.” –James H. (Keikan Jim)
“First few puffs are white pepper mostly muted by sweet tobacco. Nothing really exciting here folks, but the journey is just beginning. White pepper is still the primary profile about an inch in, with some licorice and earth. As the first third comes to a close, the retro singes my nostrils with the goodness of red pepper… finally some excitement.” –Doug S. (Unpossible_1)”
Second Third
Blind Cigar Review: Aganorsa Leaf | Guardian of the Farm Nightwatch Orpheus
Flavor: 85 Strength: Medium-Strong Body/Complexity: Medium
“So far, this cigar has the complexity of 1+1… just not a whole lot going on period. Haven’t hit the halfway point, so there’s hope for an awakening still. Alright, so remember when I was complaining about the lack of complexity? The cigar is making me eat my words right now, but not in a good way. That bit of earth is now straight up graphite. My mouth even feels like it has been coated with a pencil. This makes me sad. Reminds me of days back in elementary school when the teacher was so boring, you would chew through a pencil in hopes a splinter would take you out. No? Just me? Figures. Even the retro gives me little to nothing now. I can honestly say that so far, this cigar would only be grabbed while doing some yard work. Not a horrible cigar, but nothing I would think to myself and go, ‘Damn, I sure could go for one of those cigars right now.’ ” –Doug S. (Unpossible_1)
“Prior to reaching the second third, several relights were needed as this cigar dies out quickly when I sit it down. There was a strong metallic note that took over the profile and was unpleasant to me. The cigar also became very soft to the touch as it warmed up. I’m not giving up though because I feel there is potential here. ” –James H. (Keikan Jim)
Final Third
Blind Cigar Review: Aganorsa Leaf | Guardian of the Farm Nightwatch Orpheus
Flavor: 85 Strength: Medium-Strong Body/Complexity: Medium
“Burn has performed very well throughout the experience. Ash was pretty weak and flaky I think the spongy bunch attributed to this problem. Bread cream and baking spices is the profile as the cigar comes to the nub.” –Ryan H. (Ryan H.)
“As I approached the final third, the metallic note subsided a lot but was still there. The citrus returned with a very long salty metallic finish. Not my wheelhouse but an improvement from the second third. Relights are a giving at this point. The final third was the best of the three with citrus and autumn spices returning from the first. There was also a return in the pepper which I do like. ” –James H. (Keikan Jim)
Overall Impressions
Draw: 87
“Draw ha a tad resistance, but no issues. Gave me plenty of smoke.” –Mickey T. (irratebass)
Burn: 89
“I couldn’t keep track of the burn line due to constantly having to relight this stick. With the beautiful draw, this was unexpected and somewhat annoying.” –James H. (Keikan Jim)
Construction: 85
“Really no issues with the construction. Even though I had a few relights, the cigar never burned uneven or tunneled as I feared so thankful for that. ” –Mickey T. (irratebass)
Overall Strength: Medium-Strong Overall Body/Complexity: Medium Experience Overall: 84
“Despite my reporting that the flavors were one dimensional, I am not beating up on the cigar. There is nothing wrong with a cigar being one dimensional. Sometimes you just want to smoke and not have to think about it. They are made for relaxation anyway right? I would definitely smoke this cigar again to compare notes.” –Mickey T. (irratebass)
“Even with construction and draw problems thus was a stellar stick very complex and enjoyable profile. Buy a fiver and see if it is something you would be interested in.” –Ryan H. (Ryan H.)
“I almost forgot to mention the body. Yeah, this thing has the body of an Olsen twin. No meat on these bones either. This was a pretty disappointing cigar all around. Maybe I got a dud, maybe not. I’d be hard-pressed to seek out another to smoke though, as the profile I was getting was not anything I really enjoy.” –Doug S. (Unpossible_1)
“A beautiful cigar with a lot of potential. The flavors, when not covered by the metallic note, were very nice indeed and this cigar could have rated much higher in my opinion.” –James H. (Keikan Jim)
To view the complete scores and notes, click here.
Blind Cigar Review: Aganorsa Leaf | Guardian of the Farm Nightwatch Orpheus
Overall Score – 86 – Fair
Blind Cigar Review: Aganorsa Leaf | Guardian of the Farm Nightwatch Orpheus
Summary
"Despite my reporting that the flavors were one dimensional, I am not beating up on the cigar. There is nothing wrong with a cigar being one dimensional. Sometimes you just want to smoke and not have to think about it. They are made for relaxation anyway right? I would definitely smoke this cigar again to compare notes. " -Mickey T. (irratebass)
