New World Decenio Staff Review
The latest addition to the AJ Fernandez portfolio, New World Decenio, has arrived, and I’m smoking a 6.5-by-54 Toro for today’s review. New World Decenio comes in three soft box-pressed sizes: a chunky 6-by-58 Gordo, a 5.5-by-54 Robusto, and the Toro I’m about to fire up. Decenio cigars are handcrafted in Ocotál, Nicaragua, at AJ’s San Lotano cigar factory.
Decenio is Spanish for “Decade” and was blended to commemorate the tenth anniversary of the New World brand, one of AJ’s top-selling lines. The tenth anniversary of New World was actually in 2024; however, AJ delayed the release of Decenio until 2025 to avoid confusion with his limited-edition AJ Fernandez 20th Anniversary cigar, which debuted in 2024. For New World Decenio, AJ blended a dark San Andrés wrapper leaf over premium Nicaraguan and Honduran long-filler tobaccos, a recipe similar to his popular San Lotano Maduro blend.
New World cigars are named for the “New World” Christopher Columbus discovered in 1492 when he sailed from Spain in search of a passage to the East Indies, instead encountering the Bahamas, Hispaniola, Cuba, and Haiti. When Columbus returned to Spain in early 1493, he introduced Europeans to tobacco, which the natives had given him as a gift.
New World Decenio cigars come in attractive blue boxes of 20. Each cigar boasts a pair of navy blue and gold cigar bands at the top, depicting Columbus’ arrival in the New World. A third gold band covers the foot. Despite the phenomenal number of cigars produced at AJ’s factories, the rollers are known for their rigorous standards for consistency. Every Toro bears a uniform complexion in the top row when I open a fresh box. New World Decenio reveals a rich and pungent aroma of leather, mesquite, and anise with hints of barnwood.
The cap of the Toro comes off with a clean snap in the aperture of my Xikar Xi1 Cutter when I squeeze the blades together. The cigar exhibits a loose cold draw with lots of tangy, zesty flavor. Voluminous clouds of smoke layer a pronounced profile of pepper and charred toast over my palate in the first minutes of toasting the foot. New World Decenio stimulates my nasal cavity with a feisty spice. After five minutes, the blend shifts into a more cohesive smoke.
Malty notes of black pepper and espresso bean blanket the palate while a foundation of bittersweet cocoa persists. As the Toro progresses, a long, white ash forms with laser-like precision. The draw remains easy and loose, yet the flavor stays concentrated. New World Decenio is an emblematic smoke from AJ Fernandez. While the blend is unique, I’m confident I’ve tasted similar components in other cigars AJ has blended. Decenio is reminiscent of the original New World blend and Bella Artes Maduro, for example.
After forty minutes of smoking, the spice recedes in the second half. Decenio maintains toasty and charry flavors of dark cocoa powder and espresso. By the time I’m enjoying the final third, the Toro doesn’t shift much in taste but produces sufficient smoke until the nub expires in my ashtray. The cigar lasts over an hour when a long, rounded finish of wheat toast, bitter spice, and espresso settles on my palate.
Order New World Decenio if you’re a fan of AJ Fernandez or Nicaraguan cigars in general. It’s a solid new smoke from one of today’s most popular cigarmakers. While it bears certain hallmarks of other blends from AJ, it’s a worthy new cigar to savor and one that will likely get plenty of buzz this summer.
