AJ Fernandez New World - Connecticut Belicoso - BOX OF 20

The New World Connecticut's only figurado in the box of 20 lineup. A Belicoso that tapers to a pointed head and opens to a 54 ring gauge body, giving the US Connecticut Shade wrapper its most concentrated delivery at the opening draw before widening into the widest ring of any box of 20 Connecticut vitola.

Every other New World Connecticut in a box of 20 is a parejo: a consistent ring gauge from foot to head. The Robusto at 50 ring, the Corona Gorda at 46 ring, the Toro at 52 ring. The Belicoso is the exception. It is a figurado, a shaped cigar where the head narrows to a point before the body reaches its full ring gauge of 54. This makes the Belicoso structurally unlike any other Connecticut in the standard lineup, and the structure changes the experience in a specific way.

Through the tapered head, the wrapper-to-filler ratio per draw is higher than at any other point in the session. The US Connecticut River Valley shade wrapper, which is the defining element of the blend, delivers its cream, fresh bread, and cedar character through the narrowed tip at maximum concentration before the ring opens to the full body. This is the same principle that makes any figurado format interesting: the opening draws give you the wrapper more intensely than the body's ring gauge would suggest.

When the Belicoso burns past the taper to the full 54-ring body, the San Andrés Mexican binder and the Nicaraguan and Brazilian long-fillers open fully. The 54 ring is the widest body diameter among the Connecticut box of 20 sizes, wider than the Toro's 52, the Robusto's 50, and the Corona Gorda's 46. This means the mid-smoke of the Belicoso delivers more of the filler's caramel, vanilla bean, and brown sugar character than any narrower box of 20 format does. The transition from the tapered wrapper-dominant opening to the fuller mid-smoke body is the most dramatic flavor shift in the Connecticut lineup.

The Belicoso is the vitola for buyers who specifically enjoy the figurado experience: the concentrated opening through the tapered tip, the transition as the ring gauge widens, and the subsequent fuller session at maximum ring. It is the most structurally interesting cigar in the New World Connecticut collection.

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Flavor progression:

1. Through the tapered head: the US Connecticut wrapper at its most concentrated, cream and cedar arriving with more presence than at any full-ring-gauge format
2. First third transitioning to body: San Andrés binder's pepper integrating as the ring opens to 54, the session shifting from wrapper-dominant to balanced
3. Second third at full body: Brazilian filler's caramel, vanilla bean, and brown sugar at their most prominent of any box of 20 Connecticut vitola, the wide body delivering filler complexity
4. Final third: white pepper, cedar, and citrus on the close, the session ending cleanly at the full 54-ring body

Key Features

1. Brand: AJ Fernandez
2. Line: New World Connecticut
3. Blender: AJ Fernandez
4. Factory: Tabacalera AJ Fernandez Cigars de Nicaragua S.A., Estelí
5. Country of Origin: Nicaragua
6. Wrapper: US Connecticut Shade (Connecticut River Valley)
7. Binder: San Andrés, Mexico
8. Filler: Nicaraguan and Brazilian long-fillers
9. Construction: Round figurado (Belicoso, tapered head), handmade
10. Vitola: Belicoso
11. Size: 6 inches x 54 ring gauge (at body)
12. Head: Tapered, pointed (Belicoso)
13. Strength: Mild to Medium
14. Flavor Profile: Concentrated Connecticut cream opening, cedar, San Andrés pepper, caramel, vanilla bean, brown sugar, white pepper finish
15. Line Rating: 92 points Cigar Journal, #5 Top 25 Cigars 2021
16. Smoke Time: Approximately 55 to 70 minutes
17. Box Count: 20 cigars
18. Price per Cigar: approximately $7.10