AJ Fernandez Enclave Churchill

1.August 5th 2021: I have been going through a box of the Figurado vitola of this blend and, at its best, it is one of my favourites. I therefore ordered a box of the Churchill. 

First a confession. This cigar was too moist. The box had arrived a week before smoking and hasn't had time to acclimatize. Nonetheless, it stood up well in terms of draw and burn. Flavour would probably improve with a little less moisture. 

Construction: 7 x 52, with a beautiful deep brown (colorado maduro?) wrapper. The foot is covered by the wrapper, offering a blast of wrapper flavour on lighting.

 

According to Neptunecigars.com:

Wrapper: Ecuadorian Habano

Binder: Cameroon

Filler: a mixture of Nicaragua and Piloto Cubano

Draw: Easy draw, despite the 7-inch length of the cigar. Smoke was nice and cool for the first two thirds.

Burn: Perfect burn. No retouch necessary.

Flavour: A light coffee flavour with a modicum of spice in the second half. Flavour was sometimes marred by moisture. At times flavour was a bit bitter. But I would not ascribe that to the cigar after one sample. Let's see if that improves with time. 

Complexity: Quite rich and complex in both flavour and aroma

Body: Medium body for most of the cigar, with a slight increase towards the final third.

Strength: Nothing overwhelming: medium strength throughout.

Finish: Good long finish.

Aroma: A medium strength aroma, quite complex and rich, but at times, difficult to savour.

Ash: Good, solid ash that held on for 20 minutes or so.

Balance and Consistency: This is a very well balanced blend. I'll defer on commenting on consistency as I suspect that my sample was too moist. I'll put them away for a month or two and then comment. 

Time smoke: 87 minutes. I was expecting more time from such a long vitola. But there you are, length of cigar doesn't always correlate with length of time smoking.

Overall: Quite delicious. The cool smoke from the long vitola was especially delectable and the slight increase in spice towards the end was also appreciated. I look forward to trying one again in a month or two, after they dry out a bit.

2. August 15th, 2021 Still a bit moist and squishy. I'm not sure whether moisture resulted in slight bitterness. It might be that this vitola is not as balanced as the figurado.

The cigar still burned evenly and flavour was quite rich, albeit with a slight bitterness. I should have had the discipline to leave them for another month or two, but there is something in this blend which is quite compelling, both in flavour and aroma, even with the slight bitterness in this cigar, which, I hope, will dissipate with a little less humidity. Let's see next month. 95 minutes. 

3. September 13th, 2021: Excellent! This cigar had dried out considerably since the last two samples, which were overly moist and consequently, bitter at times. This evening's cigar wasn't bone hard. It was solid with a bit of tenderness when gently squeezed. Wrapper was a beautiful oily dark brown. 

Flavour was rich, mellow and complex. There was no bitterness at all. There was no spice until the final third, by which time I welcomed a transition to something a little more intense. Body remained medium until the final third and then increased slightly as pepper kicked in. 

Aroma was rich and satisfying. Burn was excellent. No touch up was required. Smoke was cool down to the final third. This is one of the virtues of the Churchill vitola: cool smoke. Draw was a bit resistant at times, but nothing to complain about. 

Overall, this cigar was a delight. I had just smoked the Oliva Serie V Double Toro, a few days before. The Enclave cigar was very similar in flavour and complexity to the Serie V, but less potent in body and strength. I had doubts whether this vitola was as balanced as the figurado. This evening's cigar demonstrated that the Churchill can be just as balanced as the figurado. 90 minutes. Very satisfying.

Cool, mellow, medium bodied, delicious, excellent aroma and beautiful construction.

4. November 1st, 2021: Excellent, cool smoking, complex, balanced, medium-roast coffee and cocoa flavour, medium body plus, consistent throughout, a little strength with a hint of spice in the last third. No bitterness. Delicious long finish/aftertaste. Rich aroma. 

Very easy draw and adequate burn, albeit a bit wavy. The only downside of this cigar was that it burned quickly. It's 7 inches by 52, but barely reached 75 minutes.

Nonetheless, very satisfying.

Burn was a bit wavy, but no touch up required. The ash left a glowing spike, but there was no sign of a plug. Draw was effortless throughout.

5. February 2nd, 2022: Draw was quite resistant on this cigar. It eased somewhat during the second third and beyond. But it was still a struggle to get a flow. Burn was wavy during the first third, but corrected to razor sharp during the second half without touch up. Body was full throughout. There was quite a bit of pepper but no bitterness. Strength was noticeable throughout but never overwhelming. Flavour was complex, bold and rich throughout. 90 minutes, much due the the resistant draw. Satisfying but less so, due to the difficult draw.

6. June 14th, 2022: Started out smooth, medium bodied, cool, delicious. By the middle of the cigar spice began to build up. The final third was full bodied with a bit of strength. Burn and draw were fine. 110 minutes.

7. August 18th, 2022: No transitions in this one: it was medium bodied and flavour came and went in spurts. Burn and draw were perfect. A pleasant puff for 90 minutes. Quite satisfying. 

8. January 31st, 2023: Delicious, cool smoke with easy burn and good draw. Flavour might have dissipated towards the end, but it was still enjoyable. Around 110 minutes. Very satisfying. 

September 6th, 2023: As with the previous, this cigar was delicious, cool and burned consistently throughout. Very satisfying and around 110 minutes.

Perfect burn and draw

November 11th, 2023: This one began with a difficult draw, leading to an uneven burn. Flavour was compromised with a bitter, unbalanced profile. It was rarely enjoyable, if at all; in a word, a dud. 

Difficult draw, uneven burn, bitter flavour

December 23rd: This one made up for the dud of November 11th. Flavour was balanced, complex, smooth and consistent throughout. Smoke was cool to the end. Medium bodied, perhaps edging up to full at the end. Very satisfying. 90 minutes. 

An excellent example of the blend