AJ Fernandez

AJ Fernandez learned tobacco before most kids learn to drive. Born in San Luis in Cuba’s Pinar del Río, he was working the fields with his father and grandfather by thirteen, in a family that had grown leaf for generations. He left for Nicaragua in the early 2000s and started in a run-down Estelí factory with six rollers, making cigars for other brands before building one of the most prolific operations in the business. Today he grows much of his own tobacco on Nicaraguan farms and blends for himself and others, reviving his grandfather’s San Lotano brand and creating hits like New World, Bellas Artes, and Enclave. He also produces Cuban-legacy editions for Montecristo, Romeo y Julieta, and more. A grower and blender in equal measure, AJ Fernandez cigars deliver Cuban-style flavor at honest prices.