Wrapper: Ecuadorian Habano
Binder: Nicaraguan Aganorsa
Filler: Nicaraguan Aganorsa
Size: 4.25 x 52 (My stick is 4.75 x 52- Who can’t use an extra half inch?)
Strength: Medium/Full
Price: $5.79
Today we take a look at the Casa Fernandez JFR Lunatic Habano.
Released: July, 2016.
No real info available for this cigar. You generally don’t see a lot when it comes to value cigar blends.
DESCRIPTION:
A slight tan colored wrapper with no aesthetically outstanding appeal. No shortage of veins. A couple of soft spots where the cigar is under filled. A nicely done triple cap with a closed foot.
SIZES AND PRICING:
Short Robusto: 4.25 x 52 $5.79
Short Titan: 4.25 x 60 $6.11
El Chiquito: 4.75 x 70 $6.65
Habano Lunatic: 8 x 80 $8.50
AROMAS AND COLD DRAW POINTS:
From the shaft, I can smell caramel, pepper, milk chocolate, green veggies, cream, and a bit of mustiness.
From the clipped cap and the opened foot, I can smell milk chocolate, almonds, red pepper, caramel, cream, café latte, cedar, and dry tea leaves.
The cold draw presents flavors of cedar, cream, red pepper, milk chocolate, mineral notes, marzipan, caramel, and malts.
FIRST THIRD:
The draw is too light and airy. Feels like puffing through a drinking straw peppered with pin holes.
Flavors arrive toot suite: Creamy, malts, red pepper, milk chocolate, savory notes, and bits of dried fruit.
Strength hits a potent medium immediately.
The good stuff rises to the top in a most timely manner. The Casa Fernandez JFR Lunatic Habano wastes no time in making a good impression.
I’m a little put off at how spongy the bottom half of the cigar feels. The top half feels normal so I expect the first half to smoke quickly and hopefully see the second half slow down.
Flavors do the high jump increasing their value to the complexity. There are big dollops of peanuts, creamy whipped cream, vanilla, floral, with the slightest hint of coconut. The malts are seriously appealing.
Red pepper keeps up with the flow opening sinus cavities and tears flow down my cheeks like Bambi at the realization his mother was dead.
A wonderful perfumey note shows up in both flavor and aroma.
Complexity wastes no time. Transitions are beginning. The finish is delicious.
At the time, I didn’t have the opportunity to pick up a few of these cigars. I foolishly snagged just one stick so I have no comparison to previous shots at this blend.
The Casa Fernandez JFR Lunatic Habano is a nice little value priced stick. No diminishing return on flavors, a simple complexity, an orderly flow of transitions, and a nice finish.
SECOND THIRD:
I was right. The first third got blown through in only 15 minutes. Whoa Nelly!
Lovely notes of creaminess, vanilla, chocolate, lemon custard, cedar, peanuts, and coconut bring out the best in this blend.
Strength remains at medium/full. The light color of the Habano wrapper is deceiving in that it relays the false sense that this will be a light bodied cigar.
If you do some snooping around online, you can find this cigar in the $5.00 range. This blend beats the shit out of most value priced cigars like Torano or Padilla or Perdomo. Someone actually put some love and passion into this blend and didn’t get greedy…providing a wonderful, every day, go-to stick.
I remember trying my first JFR back in 2008. Wasn’t the slightest bit impressed and I’ve not let go of the prejudice I had for what I considered to be a low rent cigar. A lot of progress has been made since that 2008 first try.
The airy flow has disappeared as the cigar enters a better filled section of the stick.
The strength has kicked up to full. This has become a very strong blend. And I’m only halfway through.
There are so many familiar old school blends on the market that exceed the price point of the Casa Fernandez JFR Lunatic Habano and yet beg to be your everyday cigar…I’ll take this puppy over the lackluster blends who get by on their brand name.
I could easily smoke this cigar daily.
The burn has been consistent. No issues. The draw corrected itself.
And flavors are anything but stagnant. Normally, an inexpensive cigar will fall into the category of being a one trick pony. The Casa Fernandez JFR Lunatic Habano pooh poohs that notion.
LAST THIRD:
Smoke time is 40 minutes.
We have a sweet spot. Creaminess and malts dominate with a strong push by the spiciness.
I never learn my lesson. Smoking a potent cigar on an empty stomach to preserve my palate for the cigar is not recommended. Eat my kindele…
The Casa Fernandez JFR Lunatic Habano is not a high premium but it sure wants to be. I found so many online stores sold out of this cigar; in the original and the maduro as well. So clearly, a lot of smokers have discovered this little gem long before I did.
I want to thank my buddy Tyler Jeffery at Havana Lounge & Cigar for turning my attention to this blend.
I believe this is one of the shortest reviews I’ve written. A straight ahead, no nonsense blend that is a crowd pleaser and does not require me to belabor the point.
I most definitely recommend the Casa Fernandez JFR Lunatic Habano.
Final smoke time is one hour.
RATING: 89
Categories: CIGAR REVIEWS
Cigar Reviews by Phil 'Katman' Kohn 
I’ve enjoyed all the Casa Fernandez cigars I’ve had. I’m a huge fan of the Miami, which in my experience (not much recently) has been awesome and so much more affordable than most other cigars made in Miami.
I’ll have to keep my eye out for these. Wish they came in some more traditional sizes, though I know the different Lunatic lines are usually crazy with the sizing.