Nasser The Goat by AJ Fernandez Connecticut Robusto (5×54)

The original Nasser The Goat started as a private cigar for a lounge in Pétion-Ville, Haiti. Jeff Nasser asked AJ Fernandez to build him something special, word got out the way word always gets out when AJ is involved, and what started as a shop exclusive became one of the more talked-about releases in the AJ Fernandez catalog. The Connecticut is the second chapter. Where the original leaned on a Mexican San Andrés wrapper for a bold, dark, full-flavored profile, this 5×54 Robusto goes in the opposite direction entirely. Ecuadorian Connecticut Shade wrapper over a double binder of Honduran and Nicaraguan tobaccos, with Dominican and Nicaraguan filler underneath.

The double binder is the construction decision worth paying attention to here. Two separate binder leaves working together give the blend a structural complexity that a single binder simply cannot produce, and in a Connecticut cigar that foundation elevates the profile from smooth and approachable into genuinely interesting territory. Cedar, toasted nuts, cream, a gentle spice from the Honduran binder, and a clean natural sweetness that holds through the finish. Soft box-pressed, 20 to a box, PCA 2026. The Goat in a completely different skin. Worth every bit of the attention the original earned.