PCA Magazine 2022 Show Issue

22 PCA The Magazine | VOLUME 2 2022 PREMIUMCIGARS.ORG farms throughout Nicaragua. Pre-industry and cigar rolling are accomplished in two large factories, the original in Estelí and a newer facility in Jalapa. A limited quantity of cigars are still produced in the boutique Miami factory as well. Aganorsa Leaf produces cigars for some of the most sought-after boutique cigar companies, including Illusione, Foundation, Warped, HVC and Viaje. It also provides leaf to several well-known manufacturers, and has a portfolio of its own proprietary brands to rival those of the highest-rated premium cigars. But Aganorsa is not the only company to grow its own tobacco, sell leaf to other AGANORSA. It sounds like an acronym for a secret government weapons program. It actually stands for Agricola Ganadera Nortena SA, an agricultural concern established by Eduardo Fernandez in 1999. Aganorsa specializes in the cultivation, fermentation, processing and distribution of tobacco leaf for cigar production. For its first several years, Aganorsa strictly supplied leaf to other cigar manufacturers, which it still does to this day. Its reputation for high-quality leaf has led to its becoming a major source of tobacco for some of the top manufacturers in the industry. With their deep inventory of leaf, and the infrastructure and expertise to process that leaf, it was only a matter of time until Aganorsa expanded into cigar production as well. In 2001, Fernandez purchased Tropical Tobacco, a manufacturer and importer of bundled and premium cigars, from founder Pedro Martín. The company then functioned under that name, taking advantage of Tropical’s foundation of viable brands and substantial customer base. The next change in Aganorsa’s marketing began in 2008 when the company launched Casa Fernandez as its principal proprietary brand. Initially made in Nicaragua, the Casa Fernandez line was moved to Miami to give it the cachet of a boutique brand. COVID severely curtailed the Miami factory’s capabilities, and production of the majority of house brands was eventually shifted back to Nicaragua. Terence Reilly joined the firm as vice president of sales and marketing in late 2017. Under his direction, Aganorsa embarked on a re-branding campaign to bring all its lines of premium cigars under the eponymous Aganorsa Leaf brand. Today the company harvests 20,000 bales of cigar tobacco annually from its numerous BY LARRY WAGNER The Blend › companies and market its own products. So what sets it apart from the others? Reilly sums up the Aganorsa difference this way: “Our slogan is ‘Our leaf is our strength.’ It’s the leaf that we grow. It’s the seeds we use, how we grow them, where we grow them, the curing, fermentation, the blending, aging and rolling processes, all controlled by us. The two leaves that form the backbone of our blends are Corojo 99 and Criollo 98. They are in all our cigars.” Employing different proportions of these leaves in the filler, binder and wrapper of the various blends gives each Aganorsa Leaf brand its distinctive characteristics, Aganorsa Leaf Terence Reilly Eduardo Fernandez 'Our leaf is our strength'