Aganorsa Leaf Signature Selection Goes Dark
Aganorsa Leaf is set to debut a new brand this summer called Aganorsa Leaf Signature Maduro, a follow-up to Signature Selection that will wear a shade-grown Corojo maduro cover leaf.
The new Signature Maduro sports the same all-Nicaraguan blend as its predecessor—Corojo ’99 binder and a filler mix of Criollo ’98 and Corojo ’99 tobaccos—only it will be covered in a dark, Corojo ’99 wrapper selected from a high priming and grown under shade in Jalapa.
The original Signature Selection, which was released last year, included a half leaf of rare medio tiempo, which are small tobacco leaves that occasionally sprout atop some (but not all) tobacco plants above the corona priming. Medio tiempo is prized for its rich flavor and strength. According to Aganorsa Leaf, Signature Maduro will also include some medio tiempo in its filler.
All of the tobaccos in the new cigar were grown by Aganorsa Leaf owner Eduardo Fernández’s vast Nicaraguan tobacco-growing conglomerate, Agricola Ganadera Norteña S.A., better known as Aganorsa.
Signature Maduro will come in four sizes: Robusto, measuring 5 inches by 52 ring gauge; Toro, 6 by 52; Corona Gorda, 6 1/2 by 44; and Belicoso, 6 1/4 by 52. While the Corona Gorda features a fantail cap, the Belicoso head is rounded and blunted, a shape known as a drop head or Conde 109. The cigars range in price from $9.99 to $10.99.
“This has been a long dream of Aganorsa going back 20 years to grow and naturally ferment a maduro cover leaf from our best fields in Nicaragua,” said Eduardo Fernandez, owner of Aganorsa Leaf.
Only 250 boxes of each size, each holding 25 cigars, will initially ship to select stores in June. After the IPCPR trade show, a second allotment will begin heading to cigar shops.
