Wrapper: Habano / Nicaragua
Binder: Habano / Nicaragua
Filler: Nicaragua: Estelí and Jalapa
Size: Toro (6 x 52)
Strength: Medium
Body: Medium → Medium-Plus (first half)
Price: US$10.95–$14.10 per single
Factory: Tabacalera Annex, Nicaragua
Blender: AJ Fernandez
Release: Regular production since September 2022
Smoking Time: 1 hour, 10 minutes
I’ve smoked the Privada Blue Cheese several times, always at my local lounge. It’s been a solid stick every time, with AJ’s fingerprints all over it, but I’ve never sat down to review it. I’ve always suspected I was getting to it a little too soon after the shop opened a box. People have been crazy about this cigar since it came out, and a fresh box disappears in a couple of days.
I could’ve bought some to take home, of course. But the Blue Cheese has always been a shop stick for me. This time, I’ve got a few that I’ve been able to let settle in my own environment.
Time to see what’s what.
The wrapper is generally smooth, with a few minor veins, and the cigar has that firmly packed heft I associate with AJ’s work. After a day of dry boxing, the surface seems to have developed an oily sheen I didn’t notice when I removed the cellophane yesterday.
The wrapper gives off a subtle fragrance of flowers and dry grass. At the foot, I get fresh bread and a little fruitiness. The draw has exactly the resistance I want, with plenty of airflow and flavors of sweet grass and fresh-baked bread.
The Blue Cheese stands up on the first puff. Espresso, black coffee, black pepper, and a light, tangy spice arrive immediately. Sweet cedar and black tea follow on the next puff. I love a cigar that tells me where it’s from and who made it without making me wait around. Actually, I appreciate that from any cigar. It gives me something to work with.
Both strength and body start at medium. Privada’s description mentions a subtle, savory, tangy “blue cheese” character, and I can see how someone could arrive at that description. I catch a little of it in these opening puffs, but it disappears quickly. It certainly isn’t the smoke’s theme.
Within the first inch, the spice begins to swell. It’s like someone is inflating a balloon inside the profile, expanding the space the flavors occupy. Leather enters, and oak joins the sweet cedar. Coffee moves forward into all that wood, and for a moment, it’s like I’m drinking it from a wooden cup.
I was athletic and in great shape when I was younger, but I was never particularly good at traditional team sports. Football and baseball weren’t my thing. I played them, but I was horrible. I was okay at basketball, though being 5’6″ in high school relegated me to the short man’s league. Even there, I was just okay.
Individual sports suited me better. I excelled at tennis and snow skiing, and I danced ballet for over a decade. In college, friends would give me shit about being a dancer, so I’d invite them to take one of my beginner classes. None of them lasted. The workout was too hard.
The football coach knew better. He made a lot of his players take ballet, especially the running backs, wide receivers, and defensive backs. I loved kicking their asses in class. Some of them actually took to it, and I loved seeing that dedication.
By the time I come out of that little trip down memory lane, I’m finishing the first third. A good cigar will do that to you, and it doesn’t have to be some ultra-premium stick. It gives you what you need, then gets out of the way so you can do your thing. Thinking back to the Blue Cheese at the lounge, I realize how often I’ve smoked one through a conversation, only to look down and discover I’ve finished the damn thing.
The smoke has become creamy, with the body moving into medium-plus while strength stays at medium. Coffee, cedar, and black pepper form the core, wrapped in a light cream. Leather sits alongside the wood, with roasted nuts, malt, fruity sweetness, and a light herbal quality.
It’s not spectacular, but I’m certainly not bored. Just because I’m not thinking about a cigar every second doesn’t mean it has nothing to offer. This one reminds me of an attentive server at a fine dining restaurant. Everything I need is there. I know I’m being looked after, but I’m free to enjoy myself without making the service the evening’s focus.
At halfway, the nicotine rises a little, and the core takes on a darker character. The fruity sweetness resolves into ripe plum. Nice. The Blue Cheese otherwise keeps doing what it’s been doing, remaining attentive while my mind wanders.
As I enter the home stretch, the profile starts giving me déjà vu. It reminds me of the San Lotano Requiem Habano, though without the teak. It isn’t quite the same cigar, but the resemblance is there. I love the San Lotano, so I’m happy enough with the company. Still, there’s a definite been-there, done-that feeling.
Comfort food, I suppose.
Which makes me think of Wendy’s, where I worked the summer after my first term at college. I hadn’t lined up a summer job before school ended, and my mom was getting on my ass to find one. I’d worked at Wendy’s in high school, so she sternly suggested I go back. Idle hands and all that. My dad offered another option: he had plenty of yard work and house maintenance projects that needed doing.
I went back to Wendy’s.
I took the opening shift so I could have my afternoons free to train. By then, I was getting serious about dancing, and keeping myself in shape was a priority. One of my morning jobs was preparing hamburger patties for the day. After that, I’d take out the garbage.
One morning, standing in the parking lot by the enclosure where we kept the bins, I decided to see whether I could hammer-throw the garbage bag over the wall. I wound up, started spinning, sighted my target, and let it fly.
I think I held on a little too long.
Instead of sailing toward the enclosure, the bag turned 90 degrees to my left and flew straight into the huge dining room window. The glass literally exploded on impact.
It was spectacular.
My manager, Cliff, came running out from the back of the store and found me frozen in the parking lot. When he asked what happened, I told him. All of it, including the part where I’d imagined myself to be a hammer thrower.
He shook his head. “You’re lucky we have insurance. Guess you’re not gonna do that again.”
Then he went back to his office and called the glass guys. That was it. I told him I’d understand if he wanted to fire me.
“No way. You get a pass this time, but no more fucking around. Okay?”
I nodded, still stunned that I had a job.
Right! The cigar!
I’ve been happily puffing away through all of this. The Blue Cheese hasn’t demanded that I stop reminiscing and pay attention to it. Every puff has been delicious, right in my wheelhouse. I’m winding down now, and I’m sated. I’ll nub this one, just as I’ve nubbed every other Blue Cheese I’ve smoked.
What I love about this cigar is how little it asks of me beyond enjoying it. There are no wild transitions, and the flavor profile doesn’t send me reaching for some elaborate piece of metaphoric imagery. It’s familiar and incredibly satisfying.
That’s very mainstream AJ. He has an uncanny ability to put together profiles that work. I can enjoy what’s in front of me without spending the whole smoke figuring it out, and that familiarity never turns pedestrian. The flavors keep delivering while I go about enjoying myself.
The Blue Cheese is that attentive server, making sure I have everything I need and giving me the space to enjoy the experience.
RATING: 92
Katman here: You should check out Unco B’s Stogie Diary and then subscribe. Brendan’s cigar blog is my favorito.
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Categories: CIGAR REVIEWS
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