AJ Fernandez

AJ Fernandez is a cigar company in Estelí, Nicaragua, founded by Abdel “AJ” Fernández. He grew up in a tobacco family in San Luis, in the Vuelta Abajo region of Cuba. His grandfather, Ignacio Fernández, made a cigar called San Lotano before the 1959 revolution. Fernández moved to Estelí in 2003 and began making cigars there in a small way. His company, Tabacalera AJ Fernandez Cigars de Nicaragua, grew quickly and now has large factories and its own farms in Nicaragua.

The company’s own lines include San Lotano, revived in 2010 in honor of his grandfather, New World (2014), Bellas Artes (2016), Enclave, and Last Call. Most are medium to full in strength.

AJ Fernandez is also one of the biggest contract makers in the industry. It has long made cigars for other companies, including several Altadis U.S.A. lines such as H. Upmann by AJ Fernandez. After U.S. sanctions in late 2025 stopped Altadis from buying from its Dominican factory, AJ Fernandez took over production of some of Altadis’s best-known cigars, including Montecristo White and Romeo y Julieta Reserva Real. Boxes made there carry an AJ mark.